Rating: 
Summary: A new high mark
Review: It seems as though Stephen King does his best work when he's forced to do something he's not too familiar with. Don't get me wrong--I like his regular, run-of-the-mill work (i.e. Christine, countless others), but it just seems as though something special comes out every time he breaks the bounds of his genre. That's certainly the case here--The Green Mile is a wonderful story that any reader should be able to appreciate.Of course, the story isn't without it's flaws. Most noticeable is the fact that this was originally a serial novel. Stephen King may be a good writer, but he's not Charles Dickens. There are about five or ten pages in here that are nothing more than straight reprints of what you, as the owner of an omnibus, just red not five minutes ago. That can be annoying--it certainly interrupts the flow of the narrative--but it's not really that destructive to the experience. Of greater concern is the narrative itself--there's a lot of time jumping, and sometimes it's hard to keep track of just where things are. That occasionally interferes with the main story of the novel (set in the Depression), interrupting moments of strong flow for dubious reasons. King's characterization is good, as usual, though I do have one substantial objection. I believe that Paul Edgecomb, the narrator, is as old as he claims about as much as I believe there's a monster running around in the sewers in Maine. Simply put, he doesn't sound like any old person I've ever talked to. This is only reinforced by the fact that the voice of Paul Edgecomb, the narrator from the past is, so far as I can tell, indistinguishable. It doesn't feel as though Paul has changed at all as a result of the events that he's described. It's certainly not apparent in the novel's presentation. These shortcomings, are minor blemishes at best on the face of an otherwise great book. I should say that this is in no way a horror story. Stephen King seems to have outgrown the genre to an extent, and if you're looking for a cheap dimestore thrill a minute type experience (a format some of his earlier writing fits with), you'll likely be disappointed. If that's the case, though, I wouldn't recommend you read anything at all that he's published since 1996. I would recommend the Green Mile, then, to almost any reader. While his earlier fans may be somewhat disappointed, anybody looking for a novel that's a little more mature, with some depth and fine characterization will not be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: THE BEST KING
Review: A huge novel which I read in two days and I am a slow reader. I saw the movie before the book but still I could not put the book down. This is a real masterpiece.
Rating:
Summary: A literary accomplishment of the highest order
Review: I may be upset that King has gotten away from his roots-GO FOR THE THROAT HORROR-but this was quite simply a beautifully written novel! This book is successful on any level or genre; it does what a book is supposed to. And that is entertain, make you laugh, cry, all the usual feelings you feel when reading a book. King has seemingly crossed over to mainstream fiction and while he is good at it(see Hearts of Atlantis), we die-hard horror buffs want our piece of the pie-oops-KING!
Rating:
Summary: One of King's Best
Review: Having read about half of Stephen King's books now, The Green Mile ranks just behind Needful Things as his best book, and in a way, the serial novel is better than it. Boasting an excellent plot, with strong storytelling, King is able to create the perfect scenery for the situation in The Green Mile, and we as the reader, are drawn in comepletly. The characters are compelling, the gift Coffey possesses is intriuging, and the book boasts and excellent twist, when revealing the truth about Coffey, that makes us smile at the way King is able to pull us into his writing. The novel is also scary at times, and the book itself will be a quick and easy read for most. The Green Mile will go down as one of Stephen King's best non-horror books for the simple fact that it shows the true storyteller he is. Though we all know his true love, this man is something very special, and he shows it within these pages.
Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: I've been a Stephen King fan for many years. I think this book is on of his best, maybe the best of all his best. If there is any King fan out there that hasn't read it he should do it very very soon. Keep on writing Stephen King.
Rating:
Summary: Comparing the Paperback and Video Versions
Review: I've a project to read two books by each of the ten novelists who will be lecturing at the Maui Writers Conference this summer. When I finished The Blackstone Chronicles by John Saul, a serial horror novel which the author says he was encouraged to write by King's success with The Green Mile, I took a break to engage in another pending project; to compare the book and video versions of The Green Mile. My stepdaughter is an avid reader and a Stephen King fan. After enjoying the video version of The Green Mile, I asked her if the book was significantly different. She said it was very similar, but varied in some respects. It occurred to me that comparing the two might be helpful in understanding the difference between book and script writing. It was. Both the movie and the book are five-star. Despite their similarities, they have a different feel, and doing both is a worthy endeavor. I recommend you read the book first, but that's not crucial. My review technique was to read about a scene, study its video version and then read some more; I used the rewind button frequently. This method percolates up some interesting trivialities. In the movie, Coffey says, "as lonely as a sparrow in the rain," but in the book he says "as lonely as a robin in the rain." King is an expert writer in every respect, and I'm certain his research is faithfully done. I suspect "robin" was a boo-boo though. Stephen King hangs out in New England, where robins are plentiful. Coffey is a southern boy, and not too bright. He never saw a robin. Another triviality that smacks of a research problem is the year. The events in the book happen in 1932, whereas the movie is set in 1935. Some Hollywood sharpie may have noted that a crucial prop was not available in 1932. I couldn't spot the problem, perhaps because I wasn't born until 1936. Maybe the clip from the Fred Astaire movie shifted the date. Although watching movies in the "Resource Room" at the Georgia Pines home for "wayward droolers" is featured in the book, the tear-jerking dancing scene is not. Congratulations Hollywood, you gave me a real Kleenex moment. I doubt if even a master like Steven King could write that cry, however, or even want to. Hollywood has the advantages of sight and sound to stir our emotions. Movies, after all, are drama; a combination of facial expressions, artful camerawork and musical scoring designed to grab us in the groin. Writing, on the other hand, can suck us into the minds of the characters, and make us think. That is why I say the feel of the two versions, two unlike mediums, is different. This is a story about death. While reading the book, I shuddered on occasion with a sense of mortality, my mortality. King made me droop his book onto my lap as I stared at the willow tree out back, he having reminded me that my time is running out. The video, on the other hand, often had me wiping my eyes, as much from laughter as the pathos, the response to good actors playing out a predicament and making it feel real. Still, even with the facilities of the pause and rewind buttons, the movie is about this scene, then the next one, and moving right along. How often have you walked out of the theater after the show before you could begin to think about it? The acting is excellent. Expressions, pauses, posture and stutters suggest what is going on in the character's head, but they cannot compete with the power of the written word. When Paul and his wife visit Melinda, who is dying from a brain tumor, King writes for Paul: "...my eye happened on the blue hearth rug by the fireplace. It occurred to me that it should have the shade of tired old limes, because now this room was just another version of the Green Mile." Hollywood can't do that. Writers work with protagonists, whereas scriptwriters work with stars. Although the movie dialogue is usually verbatim the book, the best lines from Brutus and Dean, like "What happens on the Mile, stays on the Mile," are given to Tom Hanks. In the book, when Brutus and Paul (Hanks) confront Percy in the room with Old Sparky, Percy drives the end of the scene and forces the handshake. In the movie, Tom Hanks never loses control of the altercation. Hollywood's tendency to sharply distinguish between its villains and heroes sometimes overly exaggerates reality, although it was not offensive in this case. There are some subtle differences for the role of women. In the book, King points out that only two women attended Delacroix's execution; there are several in the movie. In the book, Paul's wife pointedly excuses herself when the men plan their risky mission, whereas in the movie she is an influential participant. Hollywood, I suppose, is more politically sensitive than King. There are only two major differences between the two works. In the book, Paul sleuths the solution to uncertainties about the death of the Detterick twins. The movie accomplishes this with dramatic visualization by making one of King's incrediblenesses more incredible. I prefer King's version; too much hard to believe stuff upsets my stomach. The other significant difference is that the movie version eliminates the sub-story with Brad Dolan, the Georgia Pines orderly. To me, this is an important plot echo, a twist on the theme of mortality. Its omission underscores the difference between the two forms, the visual versus the thoughtful. Similarly, after reading the book, you might remember what John Coffey said about Old Sparky; "They're still in there. I hear them screaming." King put it in Italics; the movie left it out. As an amateur (i.e. unpublished) novelist, I sought to understand the difference between book and script writing. I found my answer just as the credits began scrolling up the tube. "Screenplay written by Frank Darabont, based on a novel by Steven King."
Rating:
Summary: Oh my God.
Review: Let me first say that when Coffey took the Walk, I cried. Like a baby, tears rolling down my cheeks like there was no end to them. I've never seen the movie. I have no desire to, absolutely not. It will ruin my perception of this wonderful, extraordinary novel. I started it this morning at 9:30 a.m. Being the incredibly lazy and engrossed person I am, I just finished it now. At 11:30 p.m. I didn't stop to eat or sleep or take a shower. I just laid in bed and read this book. Please, for my sake, go buy it. I won't rest until I can discuss it with everyone I know.
Rating:
Summary: Unbelievable!!!
Review: I waited until it came out in its entirety to read for a reason; I know that I cannot put down a Stephen King book until I have finished it. It would have been too difficult for me to have waited for the next installment of the series. This is not a typical King book at all..I laughed, I cried, and I was amazed at the personality emitted from these characters. Never in my life has a book made me cry!!! Set in a prison in the south, particularly death row, you meet several inmates, guards, and a mouse. It is hard not to fall in love with a few characters in particular. John Coffey, a man wrongly accused of murder with a very special power is the one that had the biggest impact in the novel. I forced my roomie to read it before she was allowed to see the movie (even though she hates Stephen King and was highly skeptical), and she was in no way disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Imagery in The Green Mile
Review: In Stephen King's, The Green Mile, the use of imagery helps to provide our imagination with a strong starting place for our own ideas. King uses very vivid language that portrays the emotions of the characters and atmosphere in the scene. He is very good at describing the characters in a way that you can relate them real life. Every one can think of someone they know that has the same attributes as the main characters.
King's uses of light and dark to set up the mood in the book is a positive factor. An example of this can been seen in this passage about Melinda Moores, "We found Melinda in the sitting room, planted in a bright slant of unseasonably warm October sun, and my first shocked thought was that she had lost ninety pounds"(220). The light seen in this passage sets the mood for the visit with Melinda, one of happiness and joy. Another example of this technique is found in this passage about the tunnel form the execution room, "Here it was as chilly and dank as a dungeon, ... Hanging lights with crude tin shades...showed a brick tube that ran thirty feet under the highway"(114-115). After reading this we get the image of a cold dark hallway of doom that leads the prisoners to the end of their lives. We almost feel as if we are there with the warden wheeling the diseased to the hearse.
King's imagery in The Green Mile is a real advantage to the novel. It strengthened the writing and made the book more enjoyable to read. A reader can become more enveloped in the plot and the thematic development because of King's writing style. Overall the book was enjoyable and helped by Kings employment of imagery.
Rating: 
Summary: Good book
Review: We enjoyed this book, it was great reading, very easy reading. This book got us hooked from the start. This is one of the better books we have read in a long time. This books gives great examples of peolpe in the 1930's. How some peolpe down in the south had not gotten rid of the dislike of black peolpe, but yet there are a few who can deal with them. This book deals with peolpe have earned there job and peolpe who have had it given to them and don't care who they do. This book shows the very best in people and the very worst of peolpe. The biggest problem with the book was the fact that is was very long. This book was one we really enjoyed. Everybody should give this book a chance.
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