This is an Online Internet Book Club on Blaze: A Novel by Richard Bachman. Discuss this book, share your thoughts, make comments, ask questions, offer responses...
Description
The last of the Richard Bachman novels, recently recovered and published for the first time. Stephen King's "dark half" may have saved the best for last.A fellow named Richard Bachman wrote Blaze in 1973 on an Olivetti typewriter, then turned the machine over to Stephen King, who used it to write Carrie. Bachman died in 1985 ("cancer of the pseudonym"), but in late 2006 King found the original typescript of Blaze among his papers at the University of Maine's Fogler Library ("How did this get here?!"), and decided that with a little revision it ought to be published.
Blaze is the story of Clayton Blaisdell, Jr. -- of the crimes committed against him and the crimes he commits, including his last, the kidnapping of a baby heir worth millions. Blaze has been a slow thinker since childhood, when his father threw him down the stairs -- and then threw him down again. After escaping an abusive institution for boys when he was a teenager, Blaze hooks up with George, a seasoned criminal who thinks he has all the answers. But then George is killed, and Blaze, though haunted by his partner, is on his own.
He becomes one of the most sympathetic criminals in all of literature. This is a crime story of surprising strength and sadness, with a suspenseful current sustained by the classic workings of fate and character -- as taut and riveting as Stephen King's The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon.
Book Club Questions for Blaze (Fiction)
Suggested Book Club Questions for Blaze: A Novel (Fiction)
The following book club questions provide a starting point for creating a reading group discussion on Blaze:
- Did Richard Bachman emphasize any specific themes throughout Blaze? What do you think Richard Bachman is trying to explain with this theme?
- What was unique about the setting of Blaze and how did it affect the storyline?
- Could you relate to any of the characters? If so, which ones and why?
- How do characters change or learn throughout Blaze? What events caused these changes? Have you or someone you know experienced the same thing?
- How does Blaze reveal Richard Bachman's own perspectives about people and the world? For a lively discussion, describe why you think Richard Bachman is liberal or conservative.
- Did certain parts of Blaze affect you emotionally? Why did it evoke those emotions?
- Did Richard Bachman's point of view on things lend new perspective to your own view of the world?
Book Club Questions for Blaze (for Non-Fiction)
Suggested Book Club Questions for Blaze: A Novel (Non-fiction)
The following book club questions provide a starting point for creating a reading group discussion on Blaze:
- Did Richard Bachman make persuasive arguments in Blaze? Did Blaze change or reinforce your opinion on the subject?
- What did you learn from Blaze?
- How does Richard Bachman present the information and did you enjoy it?
- How is Richard Bachman biased within Blaze? Is there a political slant to what is being discussed and how does it impact the book?
- What, if anything, does Blaze make you want to read next? Why?
Please feel free to:
No signup needed