Good morning! I hope the world is being good to you and you’re being good to it.

Grab your coffee or beverage of choice and share a thought with me!

Several weeks ago I wrote about my reading goal for the year, which is to read 15 books. Since then, I’ve completed two more (seven to go), with the most recent being Apt Pupil by Stephen King. Now, I’m sure we all read for different reasons like entertainment, education, necessity, etc. These days, I’m personally reading to be entertained. A good book still provides a uniquely imaginative and engrossing experience I’ve yet to see matched by anything else. In this case, Apt Pupil was entertaining, but wow, I don’t know if that was the one to read before going to bed.

I’ve never been a big Stephen King reader. I’ve certainly watched a plethora of his adapted works, but prior to Apt Pupil, I’d only read The Dark Tower. Admittedly, I also only knew of Apt Pupil from the 1998 movie trailer for the adaptation starring Ian McKellen and Brad Renfro. It wasn’t until my brother mentioned how it was a twisted read that I discovered King penned the novel. He is such a prolific author it’s challenging to identify all his work. And to be clear, even though I’ve not read much King, I consider him a fantastic writer. The way he connects events and characters across the entire work, with the perfect language sprinkled between to get you feeling exactly as intended, is daunting for anyone hoping to exhibit even a modicum of his talent as a writer.

For Apt Pupil (no spoilers), it is a story about an affluent teenage boy in California who discovers he lives near a former Nazi concentration camp commander living under a false name. The boy, Todd Bowden, previously developed a strong interest in what occurred in the camps, so he blackmails “Arthur Denker” into telling him first-hand accounts. From there, Apt Pupil writhes through the horrors of the concentration camps and into the dark recesses of letting intrusive thoughts win and getting in too deep.

I cannot recall another book where I have been so disturbed by what I was reading and yet so eager to keep turning the page. The story is taut and hits you with several surreal moments that reinforce how deranged the world can become. There really was no supernatural element to Apt Pupil, with the present fully occurring in the realm of plausibility because it sat upon a foundation of horrifying historical truths. The book’s events ratcheted up in intensity as the story progressed, creating a natural grotesque wonder. Ultimately, I kept reading because I developed an uneasy fascination with terrible events, just like Todd.

Apt Pupil is a good book, but it requires some stomach to read, so I definitely cannot recommend it if you’re looking for some lighter entertainment. I mean, at the end of the day, it’s still Stephen King. This book did help me appreciate the diverse qualities to King’s writing; you never know what kind of story you’re going to get, but chances are it will be an experience you did not expect. My next book, however, definitely needs to be a palate cleanser