Insomnia by Stephen King

Plot: when elderly Ralph Roberts loses his wife after a long battle with a deadly illness, he doesn't know what to do with his life. Soon he begins to have trouble sleeping. It starts slowly, but after a while he isn't managing to sleep more than a few hours every night. Strange things start happening in his small town, but apparently he is the only one who can see them. Is Ralph going crazy or is a deadly storm brewing above the unsuspecting townspeoples' heads?

Comments: this book is really long (slightly over 700 pages) and it's not exactly an easy read. It took me a long time to go through it, and sometimes I had to take mini breaks to read something fun and light-hearted. This book is just kind of creepy, and it drags a little long.

Ralph was a nice character. He seemed like your average innocent old man, taking daily walks and sitting on benches in the park. Then he started losing sleep, and after a while he began to see auras. He definitely thought he was going crazy, and for a while, that's what it seemed like. Then the book got even stranger. Little bald doctors, balloon strings attached to everyone's heads...definitely a weird storyline. I didn't really like how Lois, Ralph's friend and sweetheart, was kind of helpless. Sure, she went along for the adventure, but she really didn't do all that much, and it was annoying how she had to depend on Ralph. I guess it's partly because the book's about fifteen years old, and the two main characters are old and therefore old-fashioned. But still. I hate damsels in distress.

Though the writing is great and at time the story was gripping and engaging, it was a little too long and a little too incredible to believe. I understand that it's not written as a biography or historical account, but even fantasy has its limits, in my mind. It was like King just randomly chose details out of a hat and strung them all together. I was rather skeptical that he actually thought up and decided to use some of the ideas. Anyway, read it if you want, but I warn you that it's long, it's graphic, and it's kind of repetitive.

Rating: I rate this book a five and a half out of ten.