Pet Sematary was kind of my first time exploring the horror genre. I had tried reading Carrie few years back. But never got past the first few pages. Somehow the book didn’t appeal to me. When Pet Sematary was picked for the buddy read this spooky season, I was excited to finally have a go at King.
Dr. Louis Creed moves with his wife, Rachel, and children, Ellie and Gage, to the town of Ludlow in Maine when he is offered a position at the University of Maine as the director of campus health services. Louis finds a father figure in their neighbour Jud. Their perfect home is surrounded by a large field adjacent to the woods. A path in the woods lead to a burial ground where the local children bury their pets. It’s named Pet Sematary. When Louis’ daughter’s cat dies in an accident, Jud takes him to another ancient burial ground beyond the Pet Sematary to bury the cat. The cat comes back alive the next day reeking of death. When another tragedy strikes the family, Louis is gripped with a horrible temptation. Will he give in to this temptation or see sense?
In one word, the book was amazing. This was the first book of King that I managed to finish. Now I understand why so many love his writing. I read it in 2-3 days even though it was an eBook. The book just drew me in completely. King lets us know in advance what is going to happen and we can figure out the rest. I was dreading how things will turn out but I still couldn’t stop myself from reading. The advance warnings did not make me feel better or ready for what was to happen.
My favourite character is Ellie. She is such a smart kid. Kids grasp and understand a situation faster than we think they do. She is curious and so full of life. Rachel is still recovering from her traumatic experiences of her childhood when she lost her sister. She is almost incapable of handling death but she is the one who turns out to be strong at the end. Louis on the other hand thought he had everything under control. But a tragedy in the family can upset anyone. Most of the time it’s the ones we thought who were strong that are the most affected and distressed. This is so true in real life too!
Even though the book was not slow, I was eagerly waiting for something to happen throughout the book. All of the action is at the end. To be honest, the book was not scary to me at all. I expected to have a good scare but the book did not deliver in this aspect. I was more heartbroken about what happened rather than scared. It was disturbing but not scary. This is the only reason I’m not rating this book 5.
My Rating: 4.5⭐/5.
