1. Liseys Story (2006)
I've told you about the pool, right?""Yes, Scott. Where we all go down to drink.""Yep. And cast our nets. Sometimes the really brave fisherfolkthe Austens, the Dostoevskys, the Faulknerseven launch boats and go out to where the big ones swim, but that pool is tricky. It's bigger than it looks, it's deeper than any man can tell, and it changes its aspect, especially after dark." The title of this is particularly apt; it is indeed Liseys story rather than that of her dead writer husband Scotts. Stephen Kings work is often about writers, perhaps in the write what you know vein and this story seems almost to be a tribute to his wife, Tabitha. It tells the story of Lisey a no-nonsense woman married to a brilliant but haunted (by metaphorical, familial and very real demons) writer who dies unexpectedly leaving her to deal with his things. Its my favourite of Stephen Kings stories simply because the plot is so intense and so frightening at times and also because it says a lot about being a writer, in particular the quote which Ive used to preface this. Its a particularly divisive book and Ive heard people say that they love it or they hate it. I find it enchanting; it incorporates the gritty realism of madness and the supernatural elements of Booya Moon and the pool where we all go down to drink. The analysis of its themes of family and love doesnt shy away from the difficult to discuss or the uncomfortable and the protagonist is easy to like with her steadfast support of her husband, the stereotypical tortured artist. The language is entertaining and apt, SOWISA, babyluv and smuck. More than anything, and more than any other book of Kings, I feel this is the book that really talks about what it is to be a writer; the difficulties and the triumphs. It may not make me as scared as some of the other stories on this list, but it makes me feel the most and always leaves me thinking after Ive put it down. Although this list is in no particular order I would definitely say that Liseys Story is my favourite piece of writing out of all of Kings work, the book which I would always turn to and enjoy. I said at the beginning that this list is my top 10 but it might not be yours. Id reiterate that again here, this is my number 1 because it means so much to me. Reading a book is an intensely personal experience and this books prose pulls at my emotions more than any of his other work, thats why Id say its the best.