Under the Dome by Stephen King

I had been excited to read this book for months. I won it on a bet with Webster and saved it for vacation. It did not disappoint.

The book is about a small town in Maine that is mysteriously encapsulated in an invisible impermeable dome one fall day. Slowly, a series of logistical problems faces the town - what are the boundaries of the dome, how to distribute or conserve food and fuel, how to communicate with the outside world - and then they begin to face larger problems of power and order.

I expected the book to explore some of the same themes as Blindness and City of Refuge: the dissolution of society upon an apocalyptic event. That having been a pet interest of mine recently in literature, I was looking forward to King's take on this. While he did employ these themes, most obviously in the form of a power-hungry Town Selectman, his damaged son, and his rogue police force, he didn't make that the only focus of the story.

There was also social commentary on drug abuse, families, religion, sex, food, and love. There was a huge cast of characters to portray all of the archetypes found in a small town. And there was a small highly-likable band of citizens determined to break through the dome. I think that's what separated it most from these other stories - there was a palpable, visible, "before" surrounding the town that gave some people a desire to persevere and escape, not just survive.


While I didn't find this as complex as King's other epics, it was a 'work', not just a book. At 1000+ pages, Under the Dome was clearly representing an important point of view to King, and one that he attempted to write several times in the past before succeeding this time. Perhaps one of the things I liked most about this book was that it was subtle and pointed and had a quiet point to make, without all of the epic battles and reliance on the supernatural that we come to expect from King. (If you are a King fan, though, rest assured - there is plenty of blood.) For certain, the climax and the 'reveal' at the end is not a loud crescendo - and that has kept me thinking all week - why write a thousand pages that ends with a bit of a whimper - what is the greater point King wants me to know?

Recently I read somewhere (and I would credit it but I can't find the quote) that when we look back on the late 20th and early 21st century fiction, Stephen King will be prominent in the canon. I believe it.