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Available
Call number
Call number
F Kin
Series
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Publication
Pocket Books (2017), 512 pages
Description
Fiction. Literature. Suspense. Thriller. HTML:Masterfully told and as suspenseful as it is haunting, The Green Mile is Stephen King's classic #1 New York Times bestselling dramatic serial novel and inspiration for the Oscar-nominated film starring Tom Hanks. Welcome to Cold Mountain Penitentiary, home to the Depression-worn men of E Block. Convicted killers all, each awaits his turn to walk "the Green Mile," the lime-colored linoleum corridor leading to a final meeting with Old Sparky, Cold Mountain's electric chair. Prison guard Paul Edgecombe has seen his share of oddities over the years working the Mile, but he's never seen anything like John Coffeyâ??a man with the body of a giant and the mind of a child, condemned for a crime terrifying in its violence and shocking in its depravity. And in this place of ultimate retribution, Edgecombe is about to discover the terrible, wondrous truth about John Coffeyâ??a truth that will challenge his most cherished beli… (more)
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User reviews
LibraryThing member sedelia
Stephen King should stick to writing these sorts of books. Don't get me wrong, I love most of his horror stuff, but it's this sort of subtle supernatural genre that I think really shows his talents as a writer and story-teller since the horror element isn't overshadowing everything else within the
The Green Mile is a little long, being comprised of 6 novellas and it is definitely slow-paced. That doesn't mean it isn't exciting, though! The slowness of the story really allowed me to delve into the characters and the story King has created. I felt like I got to know all the characters, especially Paul, whose first-person narrative it is. This made the action parts even better, since I had a connection with the characters and cared about them.
I liked how the narrative jumped from Paul as an old man living in a nursing home to Paul as a middle-aged man meeting John Coffey. I think it added a lot to the intrigue, as there were multiple mysteries you were trying to solve at once. The Green Mile has a great message and is a compelling story that will leave you in tears by the end.
I saw the movie before reading the book and honestly, if you've seen the movie, the novel won't add all that much for you. The movie is very true to the book and captures the most important events. Naturally, the book has other elements that added to my appreciation of the story. The parallelism between the prison and Paul's nursing home, for example, and a deeper understanding of the characters.
There were some things I didn't like -- like I said, the pace sometimes seemed too slow at times. But then again, King's books always seem to drag just a little bit for me. I also didn't like how at times the characters all laughed at something as if it were hilarious, and I didn't think it was funny at all. Besides that, though, it was a good story and I enjoyed the read. I definitely recommend this.
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novel.The Green Mile is a little long, being comprised of 6 novellas and it is definitely slow-paced. That doesn't mean it isn't exciting, though! The slowness of the story really allowed me to delve into the characters and the story King has created. I felt like I got to know all the characters, especially Paul, whose first-person narrative it is. This made the action parts even better, since I had a connection with the characters and cared about them.
I liked how the narrative jumped from Paul as an old man living in a nursing home to Paul as a middle-aged man meeting John Coffey. I think it added a lot to the intrigue, as there were multiple mysteries you were trying to solve at once. The Green Mile has a great message and is a compelling story that will leave you in tears by the end.
I saw the movie before reading the book and honestly, if you've seen the movie, the novel won't add all that much for you. The movie is very true to the book and captures the most important events. Naturally, the book has other elements that added to my appreciation of the story. The parallelism between the prison and Paul's nursing home, for example, and a deeper understanding of the characters.
There were some things I didn't like -- like I said, the pace sometimes seemed too slow at times. But then again, King's books always seem to drag just a little bit for me. I also didn't like how at times the characters all laughed at something as if it were hilarious, and I didn't think it was funny at all. Besides that, though, it was a good story and I enjoyed the read. I definitely recommend this.
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LibraryThing member ChicGeekGirl21
One of King's more recent better novels. It's not as fucked up as his earlier stuff, but has heart.
LibraryThing member Sarahfine
King again proves himself to be a modern master with this spectacular novel. Green Mile is one of those rare stories which seamlessly marries film to text, and vice versa. Tom Hanks somehow inhabits the narrator, Paul Edgecombe, and one wonders how any other voice could have suited King's
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colloquial, dignified narrator. Indeed, any of the cinematic inhabitants of the mile would be equally at home in this printed land of their origin, and vice versa. Green Mile is infused with a dark, sometimes sweet, tone, tempered with the nostalgic pangs that inhabit so much of the author's fiction. Our heroes are threatened, and sometimes prevail, but there is also the constant presence of evil--"the bad 'un hurts us all in the end, doesn't he?" It says much about Edgecombe's soothing presence that the reader feels comforted, even when little solace is offered. Show Less
LibraryThing member stacy_chambers
I know it's strange to think of King—hardly the world's most comforting novelist—as comfort reading, but that's what King has always been for me. He's a lone, sane voice quacking in the wind of this wide, cruel world. This novel is sad and fraught with King's usual excoriations on human nature,
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but there's heroism, too. At least a bit. Show Less
LibraryThing member StephenBarkley
This is more than generic horror: It’s a human story that makes you question your views and values. Does a death-row inmate deserve respect? Is capital punishment justified at all? What is the significance of the electric chair when it just speeds up the inevitable? Is human vengeance ever
I thought this book might loose something by being released in serial format. Now I’m convinced that its progressive released helped the story. In order to draw the reader back into the story each installment, King used a frame-narrative. An old man in a home for the aged spends the entire book writing out his memoirs (which become the book). In the end, the frame-narrative and the main story interact in marvelous ways.
King is prolific enough to have some stinkers under his belt (like Rose Madder). Fortunately, most of his work shines. While this story doesn’t quite stand up to the scope of The Stand or The Dark Tower, The Green Mile (along with his other prison narrative: Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption) is one of his best.
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warranted?I thought this book might loose something by being released in serial format. Now I’m convinced that its progressive released helped the story. In order to draw the reader back into the story each installment, King used a frame-narrative. An old man in a home for the aged spends the entire book writing out his memoirs (which become the book). In the end, the frame-narrative and the main story interact in marvelous ways.
King is prolific enough to have some stinkers under his belt (like Rose Madder). Fortunately, most of his work shines. While this story doesn’t quite stand up to the scope of The Stand or The Dark Tower, The Green Mile (along with his other prison narrative: Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption) is one of his best.
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LibraryThing member rincewind1986
A beautiful book, that will make you spit with rage, smile with joy and cry with a deep sense of sadness and loss. For me this is Kings very best, never before and never since had i hated a character as much as Percy and loved one as much As John Coffey. I cried at the end and loved every second of
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this book, the film is fantastic, but this is in a different league. Show Less
LibraryThing member SparklieSunShine
I’m not to sure how I feel about this book. I only read it because I really loved the movie. I enjoy reading the books that movies I love are made from because I like to get all of the extra details. This book really sort of mirrored the movie and most of the added elements are things that I
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really could have done without. Still I am glad I got the chance to read it. Show Less
LibraryThing member bookishjoxer
I thought the book was kind of dull in a way, but I loved it just the same.
LibraryThing member placo75
Excellent. Never saw the movie. Picked up the book at the library on a whim. Was blown away by how good it was.
LibraryThing member andyray
King was in his gladiator period when he wrote this. It came out as seven (I believe) little books before published as a complete novel. The movie was faithful to the book.
LibraryThing member kalobo
I am not a fan of horror stories so have not read much Stephen King but I like his abrupt writing style. He's a good storyteller. He makes the reading easy.
He has a tendancy to leave ripped edges and The Green Mile is an example of this. But it's clear he's not interested in literary balance, but
He has a tendancy to leave ripped edges and The Green Mile is an example of this. But it's clear he's not interested in literary balance, but
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does like to ponder life's inequities. Good story-telling. Show Less
LibraryThing member DarkRaven2
I LOVE this book and was glad it was made into a movie. The book kept me on the edge of my seat. This big guy was accused of killing these two little girls but he didn't do it, he in fact tried to save them. He was a product of what the guards come to believe, God, a miracle worker. Given a gift to
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heal people. He passed it onto the guard so he could see for himself the truth, therefor giving him Life, he watched all of his family and friends die, because John Coffey gave him part of his gift. This was a really good story about an innocent man on death row aka The Green Mile, convicted of a hideous crime he didn't commit that had a wonderful gift. Show Less
LibraryThing member rhohnholt
Wow! What a great story. I read this orginally in it's serial form and couldn't wait for the next installment. A good introduction to those that have never read SK before and are nervous about getting scared our of their wits with his more typical fare.
LibraryThing member wakors4quakors
this book is about a man that is falsy accused of the murder of to little blond girls
LibraryThing member bookwitch24
Wonderful book. One of my favorite by Stephen King. In ways, it’s a very sad story, but it also gives you hope. A definite must read.
LibraryThing member Finxy
WARNING!!! This book could seriously disrupt your life on the grounds of it being almost impossible to put down. Originally written in six novellas in the Dickensian tradition The Green Mile tells the story of a group of prisoners and the guards who watch over them in a small 'death house', waiting
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their turn at the electric chair in 1932. It stands alongside his Dark Tower books as being some of King's finest work. I can only imagine what it must have been like having to read them novella by novella with time in between: It must have been like Hell and Christmas five times in a year. Show Less
LibraryThing member hellonicole
If I was going to read only one Stephen King novel ever again, it would be "The Green Mile". A story filled with rich characters, good dialog, and of course amazing story telling.
LibraryThing member MonicaLynn
I read this book when it came out in installments, I would read the book as soon as it came out and pass it on to a friend, I could not wait until the next one came ot. What a book, it is a great read. He tells a great story about John Coffee and his amazing faith. This is a must read book and the
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movie is so close to the book it isn't even funny. Show Less
LibraryThing member wareaglern633
Not a typical Stephen King and why I love it. I like that Stephen incorporated his suspense and supernatural theme while drawing me in emotionally with the super sensitive, gentle giant, John Coffey. We follow him as he is arrested, accused, and sent to a 1930's jail for raping and killing two
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little white girls. Supernatural events begin to occur and key characters begin to wonder if they have the right man. I am so glad that I did not find out about this book when it was being released in six separate volumes! Get out your Kleenex and be prepared to fall in love with Mr. Jingles... Show Less
LibraryThing member skinglist
One of a handful of King where non-King fans don't believe you when you say this is a Stephen King book. Made me cry. I loved Coffey and Mr. Jinx.
LibraryThing member jayde1599
Synopsis:Paul Edgecomb works at the Cold Mountain Penitentiary, on Block E - The Green Mile. Most prisoners who come to the Green Mile, do not leave it alive. They leave on Old Sparky - the electric chair. 1932 was a memorable year for Paul - it was the year he had a severe urinary infection. It
Pros & Cons: This was a great book and I don't know why I waited so long to read it. I have had it for years! I remember watching the movie when it came out and liked it as well. Something I did not realize before I began reading was that Stephen King issued this as a series of 6 books coming out once a month. I do have the complete 6 part novel, but didn't know why it was broken down into 6 books of roughly 90 pages each. King attempted to copy the format that Charles Dickens usually did - write novels in installments to keep the readers in suspense. I don't know if I would have been able to wait for the next book to come out!
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was also the year that Eduard Delacroix, John Coffey and William Wharton were prisoners on the Green Mile. John Coffey is giant of a man, who was tried for the rape and murder of twin blonde girls. Paul discovered something else about Coffey, a gift that he has. This gift presents a devastating truth that will follow Paul for the rest of his life.Pros & Cons: This was a great book and I don't know why I waited so long to read it. I have had it for years! I remember watching the movie when it came out and liked it as well. Something I did not realize before I began reading was that Stephen King issued this as a series of 6 books coming out once a month. I do have the complete 6 part novel, but didn't know why it was broken down into 6 books of roughly 90 pages each. King attempted to copy the format that Charles Dickens usually did - write novels in installments to keep the readers in suspense. I don't know if I would have been able to wait for the next book to come out!
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LibraryThing member jcwatts
GREAT! The movie did it no justice!
LibraryThing member nmele
My first Stephen King novel, unless you count my reading "The Dead Zone" some 25 years ago or more. King certainly keeps things moving, but what surprised me was finding he is a moral writer in the sense that Tolstoy and John Gardner use the word. I am going to read more King stories.
LibraryThing member SonicQuack
Due to the episodic nature of The Green Mile, there is a degree of redundancy in the narrative. Once that is put aside, King's tale of a death row convict who may be more than he seems is gripping and emotionally charged. The blurb claims it's a thriller, however not much happens to offer thrills
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and spills, the steady build up to the finale is certainly drama, possibly even melodrama. The real win for King with The Green Mile is the character development and the emotional ties he creates; the finale is empowered with an affecting charge and will resonate for some time after the final page has been turned. Show Less
LibraryThing member sabera_haque
Green Mile was not a good book at all. I hated it.. i only did read caz i had to read it for my english class.
Pages
536