Pet Sematary by Stephen King

Louis, with his wife and children, is moving into a big white house in Ludlow from Chicago after he was offered a job at the University of Maine. The story's beginning seems to suggest that Louis has a hysterical family that keeps testing his patience. On that tiresome afternoon, Louis met Judson Crandall, a local who lives across his house with his wife.

Nearby Louis's house, a path trail into the woods leads to the pet cemetery. The main road in front of Louis's house, Route 15, is a heavy-traffic road that has run down many animals. Louis's daughter Ellie has a cat named Churchill. Judson suggests Louis get Churchill to be neutered so that it doesn't tend to wander a lot.

One day, Jud brings the family to the woods to see the pet sematary. It's a cemetery for the pets and is well-taken care by the kids. The trip has upset Ellie, who had just started kindergarten. Ellie is worried about Churchill's passing and refuses to accept the inevitable cycle of life when Jud tries to talk sense to her. Unfortunately, Ellie's upset leads to an argument between Louis and his wife, Rachel. Rachel would not allow Ellie to venture to the pet sematary by herself, and she hates any discussions about death. Rachel's loss of her younger sister has made her deny the unavoidable.

Meanwhile, Louis experiences a strange incident on the first day of his work. A young man who is dying soon has been sent to the infirmary. Louis never expects the young man to know his name. Before the young man Victor Pascow dies, he tells Louis that the pet sematary is not a real sematary. Later that night, Victor visits Louis while he is sleeping. Louis can't differentiate between reality and dream. Victor brings him to the pet sematary and Louis sees a pile of moving bones and grinning skulls of humans and animals. The last thing Victor says to Louis is a warning not to go beyond the barrier, and destruction will soon fall on him and his family. Louis feels relieved after waking up to the real world the next day. But when he sees his foot is littered with pine needles, he realised what happened the night before is not a dream.

The story continues with how various characters deal with present or past death. When Churchill also experiences the inevitable, Jud guides Louis to the Micmac burial ground beyond the Pet Sematary. Louis thought this would be the end of everything. He never expects that something miraculous or supernatural will happen after that, which leads Louis to do the unthinkable when death visits one of his loved ones.

It isn't easy to get myself interested in the story. I was anticipating that something would happen that would change my mind, but it ended up I was getting into a deeper hole. I realised many readers don't like Stephen King's writing style. Sometimes, I admit it's too long-winded or filled with many superfluous details to the story. However, the main plot is usually unforgettable, and sometimes the ideas are really brilliantly interesting. As for this story, it only reached the main point after finishing almost half of the book. I really can't make myself to like it. I felt something is missing, something more that can elevate the story to a higher level.