#CastleRock #Readathon ‘Gramma’

About the story…

‘‘Send him to me, Ruth. I want to hug him.’

Published in the 1985 short story collection, ‘Skeleton Crew’, ‘Gramma’ is another one of King’s ‘Dollar Baby short stories made into a film,renamed Mercy.  I haven’t seen it and to be frank, this adaptation of one of the most terrifying tales in this book could well give me sleepless nights!

It takes the child’s fear, a rational one in my humble opinion, of elderly relatives who you visit rarely, and scare you because of the cruel nature of ageing. On the one hand, you are being told to completely avoid strangers, and on the other, told to kiss, hug, jump on the lap of someone you see maybe twice a year? And that might behave ‘differently’, smell unusual and move awkwardly. It’s a state of awkwardness on all sides, and exploits the way in which we are so uncomfortable around the infirm , disabled and dying. We are so bad at talking about it, the whole ‘not in front of the children‘ rhetoric has left myself and my brothers completely unable and unguided on how to deal with the grieving process. Taken away from funerals, death and dying, it is tremendously hard to know what to do with this person in the bed, in the coffin,who looks exactly like your relative. And at the same time, is a complete stranger.

So when George is left on his own with his blind, elderly, infirm grandmother, his Gramma, by his mother who has to take his brother to the hospital, he is both scared and does his best to prepare for any eventualities. He has phone numbers by the kitchen phone, for emergencies, tea ready prepared for her, food set out in the oven, in case she wakes and bellows for it.

Gramma is kept in the back bedroom, like a dirty secret, exuding an almost malevolent force as she wavers between life(such as a life being bed bound and blind is)and death. George knows he has to be responsible beyond his years, his mother being a single parent upon whom the burden of caring for Gramma has fallen. She has enough to worry about and so George is prepared to do what he can to keep her safe.

He has not , however, accounted for the following-a storm, a death, and a resurrection….

This story really freaked me out, so keenly felt is the terror and bravery of this young boy, fighting for dominion whilst he watches the clock tick away, hoping his mother comes home soon. As an adult reader, you can infer so much from the things George remembers about how he and his family have encountered Gramma, and the resulting dread sinks like a hard stone in your stomach. Genuinely chilling, crossing into other worlds and creating a truly memorable protagonist in George, as well as the monstrous Gramma, this is bone chilling King at his best.

Links to other King works-

Pg 418- Henrietta Dodd, related to the infamous Frank Dodd from ‘The Dead Zone’

About the author…

Stephen King is the author of more than fifty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. His first crime thriller featuring Bill Hodges, ‘Mr Mercedes’, won the Edgar Award for best novel and was shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger Award. Both ‘Mr Mercedes’ and ‘End Of Watch’ received the Goodreads Choice Award for the Best Mystery and Thriller of 2014 and 2016 respectively.

King co-wrote the bestselling novel ‘Sleeping Beauties‘ with his son Owen King, and many of King’s books have been turned into celebrated films and television series including ‘The Shawshank Redemption‘, ‘Gerald’s Game’ and ‘It‘.

King was the recipient of America’s prestigious 2014 National Medal of Arts and the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for distinguished contribution to American Letters. In 2007 he also won the Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America. He lives with his wife Tabitha King in Maine

Links-https://www.stephenking.com/

Twitter @StephenKing

@HodderBooks