The Green Mile - Softcover

King, Stephen

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0671041789 ISBN 13: 9780671041786

Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 1999

Synopsis

The #1 New York Times bestselling dramatic serial novel and inspiration for the Oscar-nominated film of the same name starring Tom Hanks, the "literary event" (Entertainment Weekly) of The Green Mile is now available in its entirety. When The Green Mile first appeared, serialized as one volume per month, Stephen King's The Green Mile was an unprecedented publishing triumph: all six volumes ended up on the New York Times bestseller list--simultaneously--and delighted millions of fans the world over. 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, keeping a date with "Old Sparky," Cold Mountain's electric chair. Prison guard Paul Edgecombe has seen his share of oddities in his years working the Mile. But he's never seen anyone like John Coffey, 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. In this place of ultimate retribution, Edgecombe is about to discover the terrible, wondrous truth about Coffey, a truth that will challenge his most cherished beliefs...and yours.

About this title

Review:

When Stephen King originally wrote The Green Mile as a series of six novellas, he didn't even know how the story would turn out. And it turned out to be one of his finest yarns, tapping into what he does best: character-driven storytelling. The setting is the small "death house" of a Southern prison in 1932. The Green Mile is the hall with a floor "the color of tired old limes" that leads to "Old Sparky" (the electric chair). The charming narrator is an old man, a prison guard, looking back on the events decades later.

Maybe it's a little too cute (there's a smart prison mouse named Mr. Jingles), maybe the pathos is laid on a little thick, but it's hard to resist the colourful personalities and simple wonders of this supernatural tale. And it's not a bad choice for giving to someone who doesn't understand the appeal of Stephen King, because the one scene that is out-and-out gruesome (it involves "Old Sparky") can be easily skipped by the squeamish.

The Green Mile won a 1997 Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel --Fiona Webster

Review:

"Entertainment Weekly

[The Green Mile]" has everybody talking....[King's] best fiction in years....A prison novel that's as haunting and touching as it is just plain haunted.

"Entertainment Weekly"

A literary event.

"USA Today"

One of King's most immediately engaging page-turners.

"The New York Times"

Mr. King now dominates like Carrie at the prom.

"Boston Globe"

King surpasses our expectations, leaves us spellbound and hungry for the next twist of plot.

"Entertainment Weekly" A literary event.

"Boston Globe" King surpasses our expectations, leaves us spellbound and hungry for the next twist of plot.

"Entertainment Weekly [The Green Mile]" has everybody talking....[King's] best fiction in years....A prison novel that's as haunting and touching as it is just plain haunted.

"USA Today" One of King's most immediately engaging page-turners.

"The New York Times" Mr. King now dominates like Carrie at the prom.

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0671041789
• ISBN 13: 9780671041786
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 544