If this book does not make you feel physical pain, I don't know what will.

This isn't a book about killer clowns or haunted hotels. It's not a Hunger Games type of book, despite the "game show" element of the Long Walk, nor is it a world attached to any tower, Dark or not. This book is in-your-face and physical, while simultaneously never losing that dreamy, philosophic quality of existenstial fiction.

The premise of the book is very simple: Every year, 100 boys enter a contest called the Long Walk, and the winner gets all his heart desires. Each contestant has to maintain a pace of 4 miles per hour or more, or else he gets a warning. If the boy who gets the warning can keep walking 4 miles per hour or faster for the next hour, the warning is revoked. However, if the boy collects three warnings, the next time he slows down, he's shot in the head and out of the game.

I love this book, but it's really hard to communicate what I think it's trying to relate. As I'm writing this review, I'm desperately trying to organize my jumbled thoughts. The best I could do is to divide the book into two sections that broadly describe which parts of this book stood out to me the most: The Deeper Meaning (as I see it) & How it's Done and The People.


n  The Deeper Meaning (as I see it) & How It's Donen

The physical aspect of the journey immediately comes to the spotlight. You think you can outwalk 99 boys? Well, despite the 100% chance of someone actually doing it, you're 99% going to be the one to die either from exhaustion or carelessness.

The story's downward spiral from the optimism of the first 10 hours to the torturous hell that is the last 10 hours is slow, relentless, and ultimately certain. Some of the boys' death were incredibly cringe worthy, not because their death was bizarre or fantastic, but because it's so damn relatable. I can't relate to a woman running away from her ghost-possessed husband as much as I can imagine my legs giving out after hours of walking in my own blood and pus.

But what's extraordinary about this novel is despite its physicality and its real grit, it's very spiritual and contemplative. Ultimately, this book questions what it means to live through the eyes of one boy (and 99 others) who are walking right into the arms of death.

As the boys break down physically, their minds deconstruct past the point of madness until they become lifeless, soulless automatons. I think it's at this point, when the boys are broken beyond exhaustion, that King really questions the value of life in the midst of such suffering, and how we push beyond sanity to sustain life. King doesn't point at authority or paternal figures to place blame on how extraordinary and torturous this desire to live can be. It's the walker who chooses to go on the Long Walk that, in the end, leads to death, no matter what we do.

And life isn't nice. It won't slow down for you. Got blisters on your feet? Tough. Can't climb that hill after walking +24 hours? You'd better. Got to take a shit? If it takes longer than three warnings, you're going to die with your pants around your ankles.

It seems, in this light, that life is much crueler than death.



n  The Peoplen

Ah, the other great part about this book--and what makes this book so amazing!

Unlike many of King's works, this book is not atmospheric. With the exception of comments about the weather and the terrain (obvious factors to consider when walking quite literally until death), the entire narrative is solely focused on the Long Walk itself and the people who are a part of it. I was hesitant to shelf this book under "dystopian" because I don't really know if it's a dystopia. All I know is that the Major, whoever he is, seems to be in charge (how much, I don't know) and the Long Walk is something celebrated by everyone who doesn't partake in it.

All we get to know is Garraty, the main character in the story, and the other boys he meets in the Long Walk. None of these characters are forgettable. Garraty, McVries, and even Barkovitch are some of the most developed, fleshed out characters that I've had the pleasure of reading. The boys' interactions, teetering between the desire for the other to die and genuine camaraderie, were incredibly complex and touching. Whenever I read about a gunshot, I desperately hoped that it wasn't one of the boys that I knew because they were so real and likeable.

Amid the hardship and torture, something about this book was very sincere, and despite what King may have intended, characters like McVries and Garraty made the journey extraordinarily...enjoyable, if not more emotionally painful.

This book is something that will always remain in my mind. Not only was the writing engaging and visceral, but it struck a chord deep within me. Some people may not enjoy the book. It's raw, painful, and depressing. But on the other hand, it challenges, breaks, and strips bare the human soul, and ultimately the sympathy such an act invokes is an intense experience.


5.0 stars and highly recommended!

Ever wonder what those mall walkers are preparing for? Or when/why speed walking became an Olympic event? Well, I suspect this is all the result of this tale of the ultimate endurance race. Those walkers are going to be ready for the walk-a-thon for their lives, should they ever need to be. Yeah, you hadn't thought about that, had you? They are ready to walk your sorry backside into the ground - loser!

My take, so far, on the Bachman books is sort of summed up in this way: shorter, sharper, more open-ended... and perhaps relentless, pointless human violence. NIHILISM!! Although, is that right either? IDK. King, sorry Bachman, certainly seems to not get too lost in the details of things not relevant to the action moving, we get at the characters through conversation, but we do not dwell, and we're often left with just snippets, which is not necessarily a negative - bravo for restraint! Otherwise, this spry novel that does delve deep into the human psyches (and the cracking thereof) of these young men/walkers could have been suffocated by the explanation of how in this universe WWII went slightly differently setting a trajectory that ended with the volunteering of teens for what is sure to be a torturous journey most likely preceding an ugly death. This is an brutal story, but with some glimmers of humanity sprinkled within... sort of.

Also, as a marathon runner, might I say, DO NOT READ THIS WHEN TRAINING FOR ANY LONG DISTANCE RACE! Dang this book makes me want to never slide my shoes on EVER AGAIN! I might just puke, cry, and go home the next time I hit a starting line.

I don't know why I keep trying to read Stephen King books because I hate every one I read.

Wow, what a slog. Like the exhausted characters in this book, I thought this thing would never end. After I somehow made it to the halfway point, I figured I better finish the damn thing to find out what happened, mark it as read and move on to something better. I'm not sure it was worth it.

The premise is simple: 100 male teens compete in The Long Walk, which duh, consists of walking. For days. No naps. Night and day. Rain or snow. They have to maintain a minimum speed of 4 miles per hour; if they go below that they get a warning. If they exceed three warnings in an hour, they get shot by trucks of soldiers who are monitoring them. The winner gets granted anything he wants.

Stephen King began this book as a freshman college student, and it feels precisely like something a talented, but inexperienced writer might churn out.

It's an obvious allegory about young men going off to war and getting senselessly slaughtered, but it's not much else. The characters are thin and hard to keep track of. The writing is banal and repetitive. (This book could have easily been cut in half to form a 200-page novella.) And, worst of all, King barely develops the dystopia in which the characters are living. There's potential for a satiric look at societal bloodlust – the walk is lined with cheerful, excited onlookers, many of whom have bet on the outcome, and at one point King mentions the author Shirley Jackson, whose story "The Lottery" of course also deals with ritualistic killings.

King published this book in the 70s as a paperback under the name Richard Bachman, and I much preferred Bachman's The Running Man (another pulpy book set in a dystopia, but with more tension and backstory) and the macabre, darkly funny thriller n  Thinnern.

I read this because: (a) I'm a big King fan – I've read more novels by him than any other author, living or dead; and (b) many King fans rate the book highly. Maybe it's the sort of novel you find profound and mind-blowing when you're a teen yourself, and see your life as one big endless existential slog.

Whatevs. Give me mature King any day.

A brutal dystopian story. An annual competition where 100 boys start to walk from the Canadian border through Maine until only one is left. They win anything they want.

The catch is you get three timeouts and then if your not walking you are executed. This is a story about physical and mental endurance. King weaves in the characters well with their back stories and the tension between the teenager boys.

In the end we are left hanging on what happens with the winner. A good story.

The Long Way is a novel Stephen King published early in his career under the name Richard Bachman, at a time when his publishers didn’t think his audience could handle more than one book a year. Modern readers may take away from this novel how similar it’s premise is to that of The Hunger Games but The Long Walk sits closer to such novels as William Golding’s Lord of the Flies and Philip K Dick’s The Man In The High Castle.

The Long Walk is set in an alternative future where The Second World War lasted beyond 1945. In this future there is a competitive event in America known as The Long Walk. A 100 boys are chosen to walk across the counties highways until only one remains. The rules are they have to walk above 4 miles per hour. If they don’t they get a warning. If they get three warnings they are murdered before the world by a troop of following US soldiers.

I first read this book ten years ago and I remember being fully engaged with its story that I immediately thought of it as a four star book. It’s still that for me now. The writing, while it is not at the level of his later books, is still poetic in moments when it needs to be and brutal when required. It also showcases King’s finesse with creating layered characters.

The book begins with the reader being introduced to the cast of characters through the eyes of the main protagonist, Ray Garratty. First impressions are everything and instantly the reader knows, which characters they like and dislike. These impressions don’t last as the walk continues on and the reader is subjected to the breaking down of each of these characters to the point were that original perception of them completely changes. This is heightened by the heavy sense of dread that hangs over this book, especially as the people taking the lives of these young men one by one are human and not some supernatural entity. This accompany’s the brutality of the world within this story. The novel is peppered with small details about the world these characters live in but not enough to give the reader a full perspective of it, which only adds to the sinister sensation of dread the reader feels in reading it. Overall The Long Walk is a masterful achievement made by a young writer that has a bright future ahead.

I had a difficult time enjoying this one. It started out good but then it fizzled out for me. The story could have been shorter by 100 pages and paced along slowly. After Stephen King filled in the plot, the rules of the 'walk', and began to introduce the characters the story lagged. I have enjoyed other Stephen King stories tremendously but this one fell short. Thanks!

Ray Garraty has been selected to enter the greatest sports competition in the dark police state of America's twisted future. One hundred young boys are selected to enter a 450-mile marathon walk with no breaks, the winner is given all the fame and riches he could ever want for the rest of his life. There's only one catch. Failure is illegal. Those who fail to keep moving are killed and disposed of like worthless trash. In a sadistic game where only one can win, who will be able to remain standing with the weight of 99 deaths resting on their shoulders?

Exhausting in more ways than one. I felt physically tired after every chapter. The brutal descriptions of bloating feet, open sores, twisting ankles and skin being scratched raw against blazing concrete left me with aches and pains all over. And then there's the psychological aspect of experiencing kids walking slowly to their deaths, watching their friends heads get blown off and going insane from trauma and exhaustion. It's like Battle Royale but without the ability to defend yourself. You either walk or you die, not very pleasant options.

A simple concept with a painfully brilliant execution. I thought the mile run from my high school days was agonizing to get through, but that doesn't hold a candle to what these kids go through. March on, brave soldiers.

***

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Wow, what a brutal novel! This was my very first Stephen King novel that I picked up during my time in high school but I never got around to finishing it. Now, years later, I decided to pick it up and actually finish and boy was this novel wild. Who knew that you can have such an engaging story with such a simple plot?

Fun fact: this novel inspired a sports event similar to the one in the novel in Sweden with the only difference being you don’t get a bullet to the head for losing. That and you also get 20 minutes of bathroom time.

| "Camina o muere, esa es la moraleja de este cuento."

UF UF UF, después de una especie de recreo con Stephen King, regreso al ruedo de la mano de La Larga Marcha: un futuro distópico donde una especie de dictadura policial promueve una competencia en la que 100 chicos deberan caminar hasta que solo quede uno en marcha. ¿interesante, no? Definitivamente, y fue una buena manera de volver a leer a este autor.

"Los antiguos romanos llenaban las gradas de los circos durante los combates de gladiadores. Es el espectáculo, Garraty."

Al estilo de los Juegos del Hambre (sé que La Larga marcha salió mucho antes, pero la leí después), la historia nos presenta una sádica competencia que es transmitida por los medios de comunicación. La novela carga con una crítica resonante a los medios y a como estos utilizan aspectos inhumanos para satisfacer a las masas; King retrata perfectamente a la multitud frente al espectáculo, de tal forma, que me horrorizó, sobre todo por la similitud con la realidad. Esta es una novela muy oscura que, a diferencia de otras, no tiene ningun elemento fantástico sino que se mantiene en los parámetros de la realidad (y probablemente sea eso lo que la hace tan oscura).

Al mismo tiempo, me hizo acordar a Misery por dos elementos:
1. Por llevar a cabo la novela en un mismo ambiente, en este caso, la carretera. Puede sonar aburrido escuchar que toda la historia, de principio a fin, gira en torno a un joven que camina sin parar y ya, pero el autor sabe jugar bien con la historia y mantener el suspenso y entretenimiento constante con la presencia de anécdotas, recuerdos, traumas, contratiempos, conversaciones, dilemas y, por supuesto, muertes.
2. Por todo lo relacionado a llevar al ser humano al límite, tanto psicológicamente como físicamente. Es sumamente interesante ver la evolución de los concursantes durante la carrera, como, al mismo tiempo, se encuentran entre la realidad y el delirio, siempre al borde de explotar pero empujados por el miedo a morir. ME DUELEN LOS PIES Y NO ME LEVANTÉ DE MI CAMA.

En fin, aún estoy procesando ese final que, como acostumbra SK, está lejos de ser claro, cerrado y dador de respuestas. No es una de sus obras maestras pero tampoco es de esas que puedan quedar en el olvido fácilmente.

"كل سنة في اليوم الأول من شهر مايو يلتقي مائة فتى مراهق للمشاركة في حدث معروف في كل أنحاء الدولة تحت إسم "المسيرة الطويلة". ومن بين المشاركين في هذه السنة.. المراهق "راي غاراتي" -المتسابق رقم ٤٧-
إنه يعرف القواعد.. فبعد التحذيرات الثلاثة إذا ابطأت عن السرعة المسموح بها للسير.... تحصل علي بطاقة.. رصاصة تنهي حياتك يتم إطلاقها من أحد الجنود السائرين بجانب الطريق"

n  n

فقط الموت يستطيع أن يمنعك من الوصول إلي خط النهاية.


n  n



رواية المسيرة الطويلة للكاتب ستيڤن كينج أقدر أقول عليها نوع من أنواع الديستوبيا ومن الروايات المرهقة وإنت بتقرأها.

في خلال المسيرة الطويلة بتبدأ تتعرف على حياة الشخصية الرئيسية "راي غاراتي" وطفولته بعد كدا بيتم الانتقال لكل الشخصيات المراهقة إللي بيتعرف عليهم "غاراتي" وإللي بيمثلوا حلقة صداقة أثناء المسيرة. وطول مانت مكمل في الأحداث كإنك مشارك معاهم في المسيرة و بتعيش معاهم مراحل الانهيار البدني والذهني خصوصا بعد سقوط جثث المراهقين إللي مقدروش يكملوا المسيرة وسط هتاف وضحك ومرح الجمهور وهما بيشوفوا المشاركين بيموتوا قدمهم برصاصات الجنود ...

يبدأ غاراتي واصدقائه يسألوا نفسهم هو ايه اللي خلاهم يكونوا بهذا القدر من الغباء علشان يقرروا المشاركة في حدث زي ده!!

- لماذا شاركت إذا ؟
- نفس السبب الذي جعلنا كلنا نشارك... نريد أن نموت.. هل هناك سبب آخر ؟


عجبني في الأحداث إنه في مرحلة ما بدأ البعض يفكر إزاي يهرب من المسيرة..
فمثلا أحد المشاركين قرر إنه يجري ناحية الجمهور لإنه ببساطة الجنود مش هتأذي الجمهور وبالتالي مش هتطلق عليه النار.. وإللي حصل إنه ببساطة الجمهور نفسه رفض يخلي المشارك يهرب و دفعوه بعيد عشان يشوفوه وهو بيتم إطلاق النار عليه.

بينما أحد المشاركين قرر إنه يهجم علي الجنود ويسرق السلاح بتاعهم... وإللي بالفعل نجح في قتل أحد الجنود وانتزاع سلاحه وكان منتظر باقي المشاركين ينضموا ليه.. بس ببساطة المشاركين رفضوا الانضمام ليه و كملوا المسيرة غير مبالين بنظرة الخيانة علي وجه صديقهم. قبل أن تخترق رصاصة جمجته ويسقط ميتا

"اللعنة لقد كانت هذه فرصتنا الوحيدة"
" هاه.. ماذا تقول.. أي فرصة"
" لا شئ.. فقط أكمل السير...."

ولكن تظل أجمل ما في الرواية... هي نهايتها.. علي الرغم إنه ليها كذا تفسير.. بس فعلا من أجمل النهايات إللي هتفضل معلقة معايا لفترة.

n  n


"احتجت إلي بعض الوقت لكي أفهم الأمر،... سر أو مت.. هذا هو مغزى هذه القصة"
"لا يوجد فائز.. لا جائزة.. الجميع يخسرون من الأفضل أن تصدق ذلك"


رواية ممتعة مليانة إسقاطات كعادة ستيفن كينج
19/8/2023

I know a lot of people have a rocky relationship with the Bachman books but I’m definitely not one of those people. I’ve read all the Bachman’s multiple times now and it’s an ALL love relationship for me! I even find I enjoy each one more the more times I read it because I catch little things I missed previously. One thing can definitely be said, whether he’s writing as King or Bachman this man can write one hell of a story! This is a brutal and heartbreaking story and I loved every second of it. I felt like I was walking right alongside them and feeling every second of their pain and despair and it was such a delicious feeling. I grew so damn attached to these characters, there was nothing but time to get to know them and enjoy each of them for their quirks. Seeing them all drop one by one is just absolutely gutting even though you already know that’s what’s going to happen. Nothing can prepare you for the dread and emotions this story brings out in you. It’s a story idea that you wouldn’t think would work and would get boring but it’s just executed flawlessly here. The Long Walk is without a doubt my favourite Bachman book, it just screams right to my soul.