As I mentioned in the Reading Introductory post, the book that got me into reading was the novel Thinner by Richard Bachman. I was given the book decades ago and read through it pretty quickly (it’s a short 318 pages and back in those days, I read even faster than I do now.)
This is the edition I was given:
And after years and years and countless moves since, this is the condition of the book now.
I promise, the book had a front cover on it. I tried on numerous occasions to reattach it with Scotch tape but we can see how well that worked.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book and it opened the door to my journey into severe Stephen King fandom.
Synopsis
Thinner tells the story of a morbidly obese lawyer who accidentally hits and kills a gypsy while driving. Due to his social status and prominence in the community, he is cleared of any wrongdoing. After he’s found not guilty, a curse is placed on the man when an old gypsy caresses his face, whispering, “Thinner.”
The man starts losing weight rapidly and uncontrollably, no matter how much he eats. We follow him as he goes on a journey to track down the old gypsy and get them to reverse the curse, or at least exact his own revenge.
The end takes a Grimm turn
[Hey!]
and is probably one of my favorite Stephen King endings he’s written.
The movie version though…
Adaptation
Thinner (1996). Ah, what is there to say about this movie?
Well, it is a movie, that’s one thing…
As of this writing, the movie has 19% positive feedback on ol’ Rotten Tomatoes.
That’s generous.
From the awful fat suit the lead, Robert John Burke, wore to his over-the-top Batman-esque performance, to the changed up ending, there wasn’t a lot working for this movie. Kari Wuhrer is one thing that did work…
Joe Mantegna is always a good time too, regardless of what he’s in, so that was a plus, even if his screen time was limited.
As devoted as I was to the book, seeing the adaptation was disappointing to say the least, but it was a Stephen King adaptation so I will stand by it at least a little bit.
And that’s all I have about Thinner.
Next week, I will talk about the most recent book I finished, Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia.
Until then!
-Phil