Dolores Claiborne

by Stephen King

[Jo]

I read Delores Claiborne after being lent it by a mate who thought I would enjoy it, despite the fact it's outside my comfort zone genre wise. I was originally doubtful about how much I'd enjoy it, sure it would be a long ol' slog to get through and not particularly looking forward to it, but my mate had lent it to me, so I had to give it a go. Turns out it wasn't that bad.

I originally found the way it was written pretty annoying; it's written colloquially, and it takes a while to get used to. This also made the story drag quite slowly for me at the beginning. The first part, where she talks about her employer, Vera, didn't seem to have a point. She just describes what the character is like, and then jumps to talk abut something else. It makes sense later, but the language along with what seemesto be pointss character introduction made i t difficult for me to get into. However, once I did get used to it, I found it made the story more credible; Delores seemed more believable because she tells the story throughout in her dialect, you could really hear her talking. I thought it worked really well in the end.

The book could be slightly annoying in that Delores didn't tell her story in chronological order, and would sometimes to back and forth disjointedly, but that's how it built tension and eventually had you sitting on the edge of your seat wanting to know what the bloody hell happened. Despite the fact I wasn't a big fan of Delores the character - I just didn't warm to her - you become more sympathetic towards her. The more she tells, the more you come to realise what a tough life she's had, and what a git of a husband she's married to. Ooooh, you have no idea how much I hated her husband, Joe! I just wanted her to get right on with it.

All in all, not a bad book. It becomes a gripping, un-putdownable read despite an iffy beginning, and one I would highly recommend.