Thinner

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Author: Stephen King (Writing as Richard Bachman)

Genre: Horror

Rating: *** (3 Stars)

Summary:

Billy Halleck is a successful lawyer, husband, and father. He is also dangerously overweight. One day, driving with and distracted by his wife, he runs over and kills a jaywalking gypsy woman. He is tried and acquitted of any wrongdoing, but as he leaves the courthouse, the woman’s father approaches, lightly strokes Billy’s cheek, and whispers, “Thinner.”

Although Billy’s eating habits don’t change, he begins to lose weight, passing his ideal weight and continuing downward. Concerned, he visits his doctor, who, after a series of tests, assures him that nothing is wrong. The weight loss continues, and Billy, who by this time has become desperate, sends a private investigator to find out where the band of gypsies has moved on to. At the same time, he learns that the police officer who responded to his accident, as well as the judge in the case, have each developed mysterious afflictions of their own.

Billy enlists the help of Richard Ginelli, a former client with underworld connections, and sets out to find the old gypsy and persuade him to lift whatever curse he has placed on Billy. Most of the action occurs during this last portion of the book, which ends with a startling plot twist.

My Thoughts:

I’ve read and enjoyed many of Stephen King’s novels. Thinner is one of his early books, back when he was still writing as Richard Bachman, and his style hadn’t matured yet. The characters and action aren’t as complex as in some of King’s later works.

One thing I enjoyed was the way the accident was analyzed during the story. At first, Billy rationalizes his own guilt by focusing on how the woman he killed was not only jaywalking, but stepped out from between two parked cars without looking. Later, he acknowledges that if he had been paying attention, he could have stopped in time to avoid hitting her. Billy’s cycle of blame ranges from his wife, who was distracting him, to the old woman he hit, to the old man who cursed him, but inevitably back to himself. He even begins to empathize with the way the old gypsy responded to his daughter’s death. This is classic Stephen King ambiguity. He usually doesn’t demonize the bad guys; instead he shows you their humanity, including the events and choices that got them where they are.

Perhaps I’m over-analyzing, but I think there is a parallel in real life. Often, when bad things happen, they are the result of multiple factors, and changing just one factor can completely alter the outcome. Blame is complex, and is heavily dependent on your point of view.

Potentially Offensive Content:

Sexual content, violence, occasional disturbing imagery, profanity.

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