Stephen King’s column in Entertainment Weekly centers on Bret Easton Ellis’s new book, Lunar Park, and the whispers about how the book is a type of Ode to Stephen King.  So, basically, this is King talking about someone doing an impersonation of King.  [Yeah, I know, but read the sentence again because it does make sense.]

One of the many reasons I like King - I just can’t help it - has to do with his unapologetic and forthright discussion of authors, books and the literary world.  In an Oprah-like move back before Oprah pimped books, King helped to launch several books from obscurity to prominence (see:  A Simple Plan) which, as a writer, I can’t help but admire.  And, he’s never afraid to say something honest even if it causes a flinch.  For example:

I’m not quite a Bret Easton Ellis virgin.  I read American Psycho just to see what all the bellowing was about, and thought it was bad fiction by a good writer, the sort of hectoring narrative you can’t wait to get away from at a party, delivered by a guy who’s backed you into a corner and keeps telling repetitive anecdotes while his drink dribbles slowly onto your shirt.

That’s pure King.

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 25th, 2005 at 10:32 am and is filed under About Authors, About Books. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.