The Green Mile

It took me three days to finish Stephen King's The Green Mile, which I didn't know was written by him. (Not a fan mah.)

It had been in my possession (but not mine, it was someone else's registered Bookcrossing book) but had no real intention of reading. I only started on it mostly because there was nothing else to read at the time.

For the most part, I try to not read Stephen King and the ilk because once I like an author, I'd want to read up all their works, potentially harming my finances more than it has. (According to my mum, I've spent about RM1900 something on books alone in the last year, but that's another story).

I've also not seen the big screen adaptation with Tom Hanks and Michael Clarke Duncan, so I didn't have a lot of preconceptions. Based on the back cover, I was glad that it's not like Carrie or It, so I carried on.

The first-person flashback narration of Paul Edgecombe, former superintendent of E Block (for death row inmates) at Cold Mountain State Penitentiary, who tried to purge himself of his sins by writing about his life when John Coffey ("like the drink, but spelt different"), a 6' 8" black man convicted of raping and killing a pair of white twin girls was brought to the block in 1932.

If you've read the book, then you know what happens in the end; I can't say the same for those who have only seen the movie. But all I can say is that the ending's not really scary at all.

It was engrossing; it's hard to put down once you start.