Here is my first Stephen King book review, many more to come. A coworker had this audiobook on Audible and he lent it to me so I could listen to it before I watched the 2019 version of the movie. Pet Sematary is not my favorite Stephen King book but it was good and I liked it.
Book Stats
- Title: Pet Sematary
- Author: Stephen King
- Genre: Horror
- Series: N/A
- Published: November 14th, 1983 by Doubleday
- Pages: 374
- Est. Reading Time: 9 hours
- My Rating: 4/5 stars
- Buy Now: Amazon
Plot Summary of Pet Sematary
Dr. Louis Creed and his wife, Rachel, moved to Ludlow, Maine with their two young kids, Ellie and Gage, and their cat, Church. In the woods, near their home is a pet cemetery with a sign that was spelled sematary. The neighborhood children had made it, for their animals who had been hit by vehicles on the dangerous road that went in front of the Creed’s home.
Louis quickly became friends with his neighbor, Jud Crandall, an old man who has lived in Ludlow his whole life. Around Thanksgiving, when Rachel and the children were visiting her parents in Chicago, Jud finds Church dead on the side of the road after being hit by a truck. Louis is anxious about Ellie’s reaction and isn’t sure if he should wait to tell her until they get back. Jud wants to repay Louis since he saved his wife when she was having a heart attack, so he leads him toward the pet cemetery but doesn’t stop there. He leads him further into the woods, to an ancient burial ground and gives him specific instructions on how to bury the cat.
The next day the cat is back but something seems off about him. He is no longer graceful and stumbles a lot. He now likes to hunt and kill small animals, which he never did before. Also, he smells awful and no matter how many times they brush or wash him, he stays matted and smells rancid. Ellie no longer wants anything to do with him. Louis and the Creeds are about to learn the price that has to be paid when tapping into the unknown energy of an ancient burial ground. A series of tragic events befall him and his loved ones.
About Stephen King
There’s an author’s note at the beginning of Pet Sematary, where Stephen King talks about which of his books he finds the most frightening. Pet Sematary is the book that scared him the most, the one that he thought he finally crossed the line. I understand why he finds this book the scariest because it’s the most real to him.
He actually lived in a home with his young children on a busy road with a pet cemetery nearby. They buried their cat there after it got hit by a car. They also almost had a near accident with their young son. He was running toward the road without looking and was caught just in time. King described it as a flash of every parent’s worst nightmare. For this book, he said, “I took existing elements and threw in that one terrible what if.”
In fact, he never wanted the book to be published. It only ended up being published because he was switching publishers and he still owed them a book. All his others were accounted for, except for Pet Sematary. He talked it over with his wife who said, “It’s too good not to be read.”
Narration
A narrator can make or break an audiobook. Michael C. Hall is the narrator for Pet Sematary. For those of you who don’t know who that is, he played Dexter Morgan, the main character in the Showtime series Dexter. In Dexter, he lives a double life, a crime scene investigator by day and a serial killer that targets the guilty by night. If you like Dexter, I’m sure you will enjoy his narration since he is great at making things sound suspenseful and creepy. He also has a decent range of voices. He’s not one of the best that I have heard but he does a good job.
My Thoughts
I liked Pet Sematary, I don’t think its Stephen King’s scariest book though. So far I think IT is his most terrifying book. Pet Sematary has a very different vibe from his other books, that I have read. It’s not as in your face scary like IT, which has a lot of elements from a child’s worst nightmare. This is more suspense and has more real-life horrors such as the death of loved ones.
I like his books because he makes them believable even though there are usually a lot of outlandish supernatural elements in them. For instance, in Pet Sematary, he took reality and sprinkled in just enough paranormal to keep it scary and the reader wrapped up in the story. Additionally, I really like that he puts in little Easter eggs of references to his other stories. In Pet Sematary, he references Derry, the town where IT and several other stories take place. Also, there is a quick mention of a rabid dog, which would be Cujo.
Favorite Quotes
“He’s my cat! He’s not God’s cat! Let God have his own cat! Let God have all the damn old cats He wants, and kill them all! Church is mine!”
Stephen King, Pet Sematary
Since Stephen King took a lot of real elements from his life, he also used some quotes from his actual life too. “He’s my cat! He’s not God’s cat! Let God have his own cat!” is a quote his young daughter actually said after their cat was hit by a car. It captures perfectly how a young child would react. It’s a genuine reaction of a child who has never experienced the death of something they loved before. He also had a quote from a neighbor. They warned the road in front of their house “used up a lot of animals.” Which is a very chilling way to look at it.
“I’m going crazy, Louis thought wonderingly. Wheeeeee!”
Stephen King, Pet Sematary
I don’t know how Stephen King does it and maybe it was partly due to Micheal C. Hall’s narration, but he made Louis’s descent into madness serious and amusing at the same time. Louis knew what he was doing was ridiculous but he couldn’t help himself. Louis made little jokes in his head as a coping mechanism to deal with the horrors. His love for his family and the power of Pet Sematary was too strong and drove him on.
“Sometimes dead is better.”
Stephen King, Pet Sematary
This quote is the one that Stephen King finds particular uneasy. I have to agree I find it very unsettling. With the context of this story, it is definitely true, dead is better than coming back as an empty shell. He could be alluding to a euthanasia situation too. Hoping that you aren’t in so much pain that death would be better. His main point though is coming to terms with grief. Once you accept what happened it’s easier to move on and come to peace.
Final Feelings
Overall, I liked Pet Sematary and the flow of this story. Some critics say it was too slow but I didn’t get that from it. I got a more suspenseful feeling. I’m sure it’s even scarier for readers who are parents. Like I said before I really enjoy Stephen King and this won’t be the last Stephen King novel I read, listen to, or blog about.
Do you agree with Stephen King? Do you think this is his scariest book? What do you think is his scariest?
Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss when I write another Stephen King book review.
Leave a Reply