I have been a Stephen King fan ever since one of my cousins lent me their copy of “Firestarter” at the tender age of 11. Over the next couple of decades, I would read any new book of his that I could. Then I slowly stopped reading his books. In this time, he has written a number of new books that have passed me by. So when I picked up a copy of “The Institute” I didn’t know what to expect. Well, I wasn’t disappointed.
Over the course of his career Stephen King has drifted away from the horror genre and dabbled in some cross-genre writing, but I would argue that this is pretty much classic King. “The Institute” is set over two major settings. The first setting is the small South Carolina town of DuPray where we meet Tim Jamieson. Then we quickly segue over to The Institute itself.
This facility is a place where kids are plucked out of their normal lives in the dead of the night and whisked off to the mysterious institute. Why these kids? One thing that they have in common is their ability to read people’s minds (telepathy) and the ability to move inanimate objects with their minds (telekinesis). As you get deeper into the story you realise why these kids are so valuable to the adults. It is a tough read at times, as the institute is quite a brutal place and the experiments that the children undergo are very unpleasant. Some of the doctors at The Institute are caring and compassionate, but mostly they are modern day versions of Dr Mengele during World War 2.
King has this knack for portraying his protagonists as vulnerable, but ultimately strong. The children in the novel are young, away from their families and are treated in the most brutal way. But they also manage to realise that together, as a collective, they are far more resourceful than the adults. This is a theme that we see in other books by Stephen King – most notably Stand by Me, It, The Talisman, Carrie, The Shining, Firestarter to name a few. In his novels, King will often be more inclined to tell the story of the underdog, rather than the ‘winner’. Although, sometimes in horror there are no winners.
I recommend this novel, particularly if you are keen to revisit the voice of the old Stephen King that we know so well. I enjoyed it AND it has inspired to go back and read all those Stephen King novels that I have been missing out on!!
Photo Source: https://www.wallpaperflare.com/hallway-hospital-alley-aisle-rooms-wards-corridor-passageway-wallpaper-wttuc
Comments