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Page Chewing
Steve
Pet Sematary Read-Along #8 | Chapters 36–40: A Family's Worst Nightmare
OCT 19, 20269 MIN
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Description
Everything changes in Chapters 36–40 of Stephen King's Pet Sematary.
We've reached Part Two, and the story takes a devastating turn that I absolutely did not see coming. After the quiet, happy moments at the end of Part One, Stephen King delivers one of the most jarring developments of the novel so far.
In this episode, I discuss Gage's sudden death, the different ways Louis, Rachel, and Ellie process grief, and the enormous emotional pressure placed on Louis as everyone looks to him for strength when he needs support himself.
We also learn more about the disturbing history of the burial ground, including what happened when someone attempted to bring a human being back from the dead.
In this episode:
The shocking beginning of Part Two
How King uses sudden tragedy to unsettle the reader
Louis, Rachel, and Ellie's different responses to grief
Jud's guilt and the history of the burial ground
Whether the cemetery is evil, indifferent, or something else
My predictions about Louis, Church, and what happens next
I'm reading Pet Sematary for the first time and haven't seen the movies, so I'm experiencing the story completely blind.
Throughout October, we're using six recurring questions to build an evolving notebook of observations, theories, and predictions.
Next episode: Chapters 41–45.
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