Under the Dome Book Review

"Under the Dome" is one big book, but that's nothing new for Stephen King. My bet would be that the 40-times-over bestselling horror author prefers longer projects but is limited by the plain and simple fact that not everyone is willing to commit to a thousand-page journey. So is this one worth it? With a book as solid as the dome King has created, the answer is yes.

The premise is fairly simple: Chester's Mill, a small Maine town, is suddenly and implacably separated from the rest of the world by a large "dome," which isn't really a dome at all. It's an invisible force field that extends miles into the sky and down into the Earth's crust, conforming exactly to the town's boundary lines. And it's impenetrable. This is the very beginning of the book, and the rest of the 1000+ pages deals with all the juicy drama in The 'Mill afterward. Oh and by the way, the story only takes place in the span of one week.

Some of you may be thinking, admittedly appropriately, "The Simpsons did it!" Yes, "The Simpsons Movie" did involve a giant dome cutting off Springfield. But don't be fooled, the two are about the same as "Harry Potter" and "Twilight." Besides the fact that King first started this novel back in the '70s, his aim was something totally different. He wanted to create a diorama of the world we live in, which is just a big 'ole Chester's Mill enclosed in a colossal dome...but a dome, nontheless. And in that, he succeeds.

The writing is fresh and unique, a quality King constantly delivers on. The descriptions are enough to paint a clear picture of the little world into which the reader is invited, but doesn't cross into the excessive. He still manages to find new metaphors that will make you stop and think, from the small chuckle-inducing one-liners to a strong theme that comes together in the end. And instead of spending pages describing how a character looks, King presents them little by little by attributing unique quirks or harping on a certain physical trait. For example, Big Jim Rennie's small teeth and blatant disregard for human life forever paint him as a large, unattractive dictator who only cares about power. And Joe McClatchy makes his mark as the stereotypically tall, lanky nerd with genius only to be matched by his popularity. It works, supplying the reader with essential qualities and letting the imagination fill in the blanks.

The dialogue is intriguing, real and surprisingly modern for an author who is at least a couple decades older than the vast majority of the characters. It all adds to the building of personalities through showing, rather than telling. This style of describing is very important here, because there are a lot of characters (100+) and taking too much time to assemble every part in the imaginary realm would have made "Under the Dome" even bigger. And who wants to lug around a book that would be better suited for a dumbbell rack at the gym?

That being said, there was never the feeling that this behemoth of a novel was going on further than it should. There are so many characters and perspectives from which to look at the dome (some see it as a God-send, others as devastating enough for suicide, and still more are all but oblivious to its existence), that you'll hardly get bored or feel that a certain scene is dragging on needlessly. Considering the short time span of the plot, this is quite an accomplishment.

King takes time to have fun in various parts of the story, where he talks to the reader in first person as he soars over the town, or writes a brief chapter or two from the much-simpler perception of man's best friend. The overall style is an improvement for King, as some of his earlier works would go on extensive, sometimes chapter-long tangents that ultimately added to characterization but could make the reader restless to return to the story that matters.

The ending is love-it or hate-it. On one hand, it is an arguably welcome change from what the reader would come to expect. It concludes in a way that doesn't leave the reader sighing in relief that everything turned out okay, but rather inspires deep thought about the strong theme that shines through. On the other, some may find themselves frustrated after 900 or so pages of character conflict and set-up, only for the resolution to spring forth from a relatively unrelated plot element. It's like watching weeks worth of hype for a boxing match and then, on game day, the power goes out. Some may call the ending rushed and argue that if King had the luxury of 500 or so more pages, the intricacies would have been worked out more delicately, with the amount of time they deserve.

My opinion? The ending is necessary for the completion of King's political message but isn't the proper resolution avid readers would expect from an extensive piece of fiction. It's still a hell of an ending, though.

King apparently wanted to get a lot of criticisms on society, government, and the way we treat our environment off his chest. Although the dome is the catalyst, the characters are the real culprits for the bulk of the novel's tragedies. Leaders are power-hungry and have forgotten the good of the town. Normal citizens turn into rapists, looters and active participants in angry mobs as panic rises and threat of punishment from outside government dwindles. Although it is approaching winter, the exhaust and pollution makes the dome act as a mini-green house (sound familiar?). The change is noticeable to all inhabitants, yet people still continue to carelessly pack the main road with their exhaust-spitting cars to travel to an important town-wide event. There are a lot of moments that make you shake your head. But then you may realize that the portrayal isn't far off.

It's clear that to King, we humans are the irresponsible residents of Chester's Mill. If the people of the town would have cleaned up their acts, a lot of the devastation could have been avoided and living with the dome could have even been possible. In the same light, we have the ability to work towards a better world, yet we continue along the same path. The only difference is, for better or for worse, we don't have the luxury of a writer to decide for us how it will all end.