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Lisey's Story: A Novel Audiobook
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*Now an Apple TV+ limited series starring Julianne Moore and Clive Owen*
The “haunting…tender, intimate book that makes an epic interior journey” (The New York Times), Lisey’s Story is a literary masterpiece—an extraordinarily moving and haunting portrait of a marriage and its aftermath.
Lisey lost her husband Scott two years ago, after a twenty-five year marriage of profound and sometimes frightening intimacy. Scott was an award-winning, bestselling novelist and a very complicated man. Early in their relationship, before they married, Lisey knew there was a place Scott went—a place that both terrified and healed him, could eat him alive or give him the ideas he needed in order to live. Now it’s Lisey’s turn to face Scott’s demons, to go to that terrifying place known as Boo’ya Moon. What begins as a widow’s effort to sort through the papers of her celebrated husband becomes a nearly fatal journey into the darkness he inhabited.
“Intricate...exhilarating” (The New Yorker), perhaps Stephen King’s most personal and powerful novel ever, Lisey’s Story is about the wellsprings of creativity, the temptations of madness, and the secret language of love. It is a beautiful, “rich portrait of a marriage, and the complicated affection that outlives death” (The Washington Post).
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"My dad gave me this book this summer and said he couldn't get into it. The first 50 pages were slow-moving but after that I was hooked. Not gory and horrible, but lots of suspense and a real love story underneath it all. I have asked my dad to give it another go and I would recommend it."
— Lizanne (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“Lisey’s Story is a wondrous novel of marriage, a love story steeped in strength and tenderness, and cast with the most vivid, touching, and believable characters in recent literature...This is Stephen King at his finest and most generous, a dazzling novel that you’ll thank yourself for reading long after the final page is turned.”
— Nicholas Sparks, #1 New York Times bestselling author of At First Sight and The Notebook -
“Lisey’s Story is bright and brilliant. It’s dark and desperate. It’s a treasure box heaped with dazzling gems.”
— Nora Roberts, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Angels Fall and Tribute -
“In Lisey’s Story, Stephen King makes bold, brilliant use of his satanic storytelling gift, his angelic ear for language, and, above all, his incomparable ability to find the epic in the ordinary, to present us with the bloody and fabulous tale of an ordinary marriage. In his hands, the long, passionate union of Scott and Lisey Landon—of any long-lived marriage, by implication—becomes a fantastic kingdom, with its own geography and language, its dark and stirring chronicle of heroes and monsters, its tragedies, griefs, and glories. King has been getting me to look at the world with terror and wonder since I was fifteen years old, and I have never been more persuaded than by this book of his greatness.”
— Michael Chabon, New York Times bestselling author of The Final Solution: A Story of Detection and The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay -
“Haunting...A tender, intimate book that makes an epic interior journey.”
— New York Times -
“[An] intricate novel.”
— New Yorker -
“First and last, this is a powerful love story...One of King’s finest works.”
— Kirkus Reviews -
Stephen King at his finest . . . a dazzling novel.
— Nicholas Sparks -
In Lisey's Story, Stephen King makes bold, brilliant use of his satanic storytelling gift, his angelic ear for language, and above all his incomparable ability to find the epic in the ordinary. . . .
— Michael Chabon
Awards
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A #1 New York Times bestseller
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A #1 USA Today bestseller
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Winner of the 2006 Bram Stoker Award
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A 2007 World Fantasy Award Nominee for Best Novel
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One of the 2007 New York Times Book Review 100 Notable Books for Fiction
Lisey's Story Listener Reviews
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" This book was exhausting to get through. If Stephen King actually wrote it, rumors are his wife did, then he was heavily into estrogen therapy. What could have been a B+ short story was insufferably drawn out with needless rabbit holes to nowhere. If it weren’t for Mare Winningham’s superb voice work, I would’ve quit this book after the first few chapters because by then I’d already guessed the ending. Numerous plot holes a mile wide, even for a fantasy novel. "
— PG, 12/31/2022 -
" Lisey's Story isn't even really about Lisey. It's a love letter to Stephen King, from Stephen King, using his wife's voice. So basically, a love letter to himself. I knew going in that this book wasn't horror/thriller and was fine with that. Dolores Claiborne is actually one of my fave King novels, but Lisey's story is just a self-adulating, narcissistic snooze fest. Nothing original or captivating in the 500+ pages. King is so famous that his editor won't touch a word of his work. This book needs a few hundred pages of trimming down to make it more palatable. "
— Vera Paws, 6/21/2021 -
" My favorite book- ever. "
— Leigh, 2/16/2014 -
" Great story without the horror... "
— Joan, 1/27/2014 -
" A nice reminder of why I still read King: excellent main character, compelling story that manages to be both magical and creepy as hell, and a pace that never lets up. Up there with some of King's best. "
— Peggy, 1/24/2014 -
" Disappointingly slow to start, and the secret language got old fast. I did like Lisey and Amanda. When they began to work together the story really took off. "
— Pat, 1/20/2014 -
" I struggled through this book. There were times that it seemed like it would hold my interested only to be dragged down. I would put this book with Rose Madder, Gerald's Game and Dolores Claiborne as the Stephen King books I liked the least. I just couldn't get into this book. I skimmed alot of it. It was confusing to understand what was really going on and once you find out at the end, I didn't care at that point. Way to long of a story. "
— Lew, 1/12/2014 -
" I really liked it even though it was very weird at times. It was kind of like a love letter to his wife - about all the crazy things he must have put her through over the years. It had a slow start, as all of his books usually do, but once it was all set up it was really interesting. "
— Kara, 1/10/2014 -
" I loved it. In this opera King is able to express a sort of infinite love between Lisey and Scott. I can't remember the story, to tell the truth. I just remember that feeling, and I think it's enough. "
— Manu82, 1/1/2014 -
" a decent read for a King novel "
— Mandy, 12/28/2013 -
" This is the only Stephen King book I have ever read. I am easily frightened!! I enjoyed it and still think about it sometimes, though I read it long ago. How wonderful that books can do that for us. "
— Rachel, 12/14/2013 -
" I really enjoyed this, so very clever, my sister got it too and she didn't "get it", so gave up. Stephen's books really take you to the edge of reality and make you wonder, great escapism for me :-) "
— Karen, 11/22/2013 -
" "And her heart turned sick with the thought of the years ahead and she wondered what good love was if it came to this, to even ten seconds of this feeling." "
— Randee, 11/19/2013 -
" Too long but still good "
— Varma, 10/20/2013 -
" This one was torture to get through. One of the very few King books I really disliked. It was way too all over the place for me. "
— Gabby, 10/8/2013 -
" Nice setup at the beginning.... but where did it go? Memory and grief seemed to be the center of this writing... Sad enough though, the characters became artificial because it was all under one character's central bias. Too stretched out! This could have been a 200 page novella. "
— Ryan, 10/2/2013 -
" I read 1/4 of the book and could not get interested in it at all. Very different from most of King's books and a departure too far. "
— Rachael, 8/17/2013 -
" Wow! Stephen King and all his characters are crazy. Okay, I'm crazy, we're all crazy. The man has a way with words. Creepy way with words; but boy am I hooked and reeled in. "
— Tamela, 9/10/2012 -
" Of course, I love everything Stephen King writes but I'm biased. This book was hard to follow, hard to get into at first. His detailed descriptions seemed to drone on and some of the dialogue was difficult to relate to. But the story dragged me in & I can look back on it now and enjoy it. "
— Tracy, 8/28/2012 -
" Not one of S.K.'s best books. "
— Cris, 5/7/2012 -
" Oy I "smucking" couldn't take it. I swear Stephen King sometimes uses 48 words when 12 would do. I think I made it to page 80 before throwing up my hands in surrender. "
— Lisa, 9/15/2011 -
" i liked this one a lot. Very quick and easy read per typical King. More than the usual in this story, though, to make you chew for a good long while. "
— Barry, 8/31/2011 -
" Bit of a hard go. Got really sick of 'booya'... "
— Louise, 6/30/2011 -
" This was okay, with some parts that were gripping. Overall, too similar to Rose Madder, but not nearly as good a read as Rose Madder was. Not a complete waste of time, but not King's best work. "
— Cory, 6/16/2011 -
" This is one of my favourite King books and it is about old people. - Yes Old people. And a horror writer who was scared of his own imagination. And when you read the book you would be scared too. "
— Claire, 5/5/2011 -
" It's the first SK book I love after a long time of thirst in this respect.<br/><br/>Note to self: I need to read it in original, not the Romanian (otherwise quite delightful) translation. "
— Jules, 5/3/2011 -
" Brilliant. The story is compelling, the language is beautiful, the emotional engagement is strong, and the storytelling is ingenious. A must read. "
— Steff, 4/28/2011 -
" This is not a typical Stephen King, not as macabe, but still a good read. This story transports you into the mind of a widow as she reflects back on her marrage at the same time she is on a life changing quest set and encouraged by her late husband. "
— Rich, 4/26/2011 -
" The best I've read by Stephen King so far. Feels close to the skin. Presents a suggestion of intimacy and an intriguing look at the creative process. "
— Roberto, 4/26/2011 -
" As a Stephen King fan I am disappointed in this book. Stephen King is suppose to write horror not romance. As Comic Book Guy on the Simpsons would say, Worst book ever! "
— Krys, 4/24/2011 -
" This one is one of my least favorite King books...still liked it, however, once I got into it. "
— Amber, 4/14/2011 -
" This book didn't seem to have any new ideas in it. It was just a rehash of Rose Madder and Bag of Bones. Not on the top of my "King's must reads" list. "
— Jennifer, 4/11/2011 -
" I read this about the same time as Bridge of Sighs, and as wonderful a writer as Richard Russo is, Stephen King had me from "Hello", as he always does, even when he's on his long windy and questionable road to the Dark Tower. So I haven't finished Bridge of Sighs yet. "
— Sonia, 4/11/2011 -
" This was a really good read. Only Stephen King can take a well-written story about grief and loss, and be both touching and morbid :) It was long, but a neat journey. "
— Crystal, 4/9/2011 -
" I liked this book. I read it, and have listened to it on audiobook as well. The relationship of the main character with her husband was so tender that it drew me into the story. "
— Lindsey, 4/6/2011 -
" My least favorite Stephen King book. "
— Stacie, 3/31/2011 -
" I actually didn't finish this book. I got about 60 - 70 pages in and gave up. "
— Amanda, 3/30/2011
About Stephen King
Stephen King has written more than sixty books, many hitting the #1 spot on the New York Times bestsellers list. He has won the World Fantasy Award, several Bram Stoker Awards, and the O. Henry Award for his story “The Man in the Black Suit.” He is the 2003 recipient of the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, and in 2007 he received the Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America. His epic works The Dark Tower and It are the basis for major motion pictures.