It's very strange seeing the blurb on the back of these paperbacks that try to paint this as a horror story. I know, it's Stephen King, so people jump to that conclusion, but it just doesn't fit here.
Even in this section, where we get something of a genre shift courtesy of the reveal of John Coffey's supernatural powers, it doesn't play out like a spine tingling horror story. Of course, it's not supposed to, but that just makes you wonder why they bothered with that kind of blurb in the first place.
On the contrary, Coffey's ability to heal others by laying on hands seems to have the opposite effect in universe. Sure, what Coffey can do is bizarre and defies explanation, but at no point does Edgecomb recoil or feel haunted by seeing his infection instantly cured. Instead, it actually makes him question the man's guilt.
You can't blame him. From what they gather, Coffey had no prior offenses, his demeanor is unlike the other inmates, and now with this ability, it just raises questions about what happened.
It's not enough to prove Coffey's innocence, but now the situation doesn't seem so cut and dry. One of Paul's friends does provide an interesting counter-point, telling him about their dog who was largely friendly, but bit their child, forcing them to put him down.
It was nice to see Coffey take center stage. Though, even here, he's discussed more than he is present. Considering he's largely a silent character, it's hard to give him things to do, but he does play a more prominent role here than he has in the two other parts.
Sadly, this forces Mr. Jingles to the background. It is unreasonable to expect a mouse to carry the whole novel, though. There's enough going on and the characters are fleshed out enough to this point that he isn't as necessary as he was. This is especially indicated by what happens to him at the end, but we'll get to that.
With only 80 or so pages, there isn't a lot of room for progression on other fronts. I was actually surprised that the first chunk of this section focuses more on Edgecomb's life in the old folks' home. It's OK. It helps cement that we're reading his memoirs, but it seems like the space could have been used for something else.
I think part of it was to hold off on the resolution to the cliffhanger, where a crazed inmate had taken a guard hostage. It's a frequently used narrative tactic, so I can't really begrudge that.
Speaking of, the resolution was kind of weak. One of the other guards just comes up behind said inmate and whacks him with his nightstick. With more page time, the stand off could have felt more tense, but alas, it ends rather abruptly.
While this section doesn't end with a "cliffhanger" in the traditional sense, it does end on something of a wham moment as Percy stomps on Mr. Jingles, killing him.
You'd think that this would fall flat. Even if I hadn't seen the movie, I know that a healer is within arm's reach. Then again, even that could have its limits. Either way, it's a pretty gruesome affair. The fact that the critter had been nothing but charming and adorable (though Edgecomb does note that the mouse's welcome was starting to wear thin even with him) just adds to the cringe factor.
This was another fairly strong outing. It was eventful and things moved along smoothly. I'm glad to hit the halfway point. I expect that things will pick up and make the already fast reads that much faster.
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