Gerald's Game

I can see this as one of those zany Billy Crystal movies--were it not for the fact that Billy as Gerald would croak in the first scene. Reality check--time out! It this story, Gerald and Jessie go to their cabin out in the wilderness, where Gerald decides to "enhance" their lovemaking with a mild bondage trick. He binds her wrists and ankles to the bedposts--and breaks his fool neck! Literally. The rest of the story puts Jessie in the position of a woodchuck caught in a trap. She's got a husband dead on the floor nearby, but not another soul within miles to help. It might have made a so-so short story in one of King's anthologies. Then again, his editors might have tried to talk him out of it. Whatever the case, it ain't no novel. And it ain't much of a story.

I have been a fan of Stephen King for as long as I remember. Even if not always scary, his novels are very entertaining. Gerald's Game did frighten me a bit the first time I read it. I kept thinking, "Oh my! This could actually happen!" This type of book is my favorite...one that keeps me up at night worrying that something like that could happen to me. It won't, of course...bondage does not seem fun to me at all. :)

This book was incredible. I have read books that I have gotten emotionally involved with before, but this one takes the cake thus far. If I had been sitting down, I would have been on the edge of my seat. The reader suffers through everything that Jessie goes through, and when she feels pain, the reader feels it as well. At one point, which I won't get into because I don't want to ruin the story, I had to put the book down because I thought I might throw up from the absolutely vivid descriptions. If you've read it, you know what I mean. This book is an excellent choice if you want to be scared out of your mind. It also is good for suspense. It makes me afraid to even look at another pair of handcuffs... Read the book to find out why! You won't be disappointed...

Did anyone else notice how many other reviews suggest that this book is somewhat out of the ordinary for SK? The book follows too few of the SK signatures. It is too short. It gets to the action far too soon, without enough of the requsite character development. Also, as the story proceeds, an experienced SK reader can feel when he is in a passage written by the master. I can almost hear the real writer calling down the hall, "Stephen, its time for you to come in and spice this up for me." If you haven't guessed, I think the book was written by his wife, Tabitha, so they could give the world a big "I told you so" when it got great reviews - somewhat of a reverse of what he did with Richard Bachman.

This is undoubtedly King's most unpleasant and disturbing book is to King what The Final Cut is to Pink Floyd; the fans either love it or hate it. I happen to really like reading this strange book.

Although it has been told before, the plot concerns a middle-aged woman, Jessie, and her husband, Gerald.

The book starts off with a bizzare sex game in which Jessie is handcuffed to the bed posts in a cabin in the woods. Before intercourse, Gerald dies of a heart attack and falls of the bed. The author provides details of Jessie's life and eventually we come back to Jessie laying there becoming more and more uneasy and worried. Jessie begins to remember events which took place in an eclipse of 1963. These memories are vivid, distorted, and overall mystifying to Jessie. Eventually, as Jessie remembers more and more and becomes haunted by here past, we find that her father seduced her in a confusing moment of inarticulate effect from the eclipse.

Meanwhile in the bed, Jessie is terrorized by a chainsaw grinding away in the night outside. The chainsaw stops, Jessie wonders if the man with the saw might be coming closer and she scares herself half to death. Soon after, a wild dog comes in and begins feeding upon poor old Gerald's body. Jessie, upset and disoriented starts to think of her past again. Eventually Jessie wakes up and sees a man standing in the corner of the room. A man with lanky arms and a strange, ape like posture. She seems to see his puffy, deranged face in the shadows, staring at her. Eventually this thing dissapears after Jessie, panicking, works herself into a faint. When she wakes up, she glances in the corner of the room, and there is nothing there. She is just sure there had been a man there earlier though. As the second day wears on, Jessie suffers from dehydration, and tries painfully to get a glass of water on a shelf over head the bed. As the day wears on Jessie, becomes more and more sure that what she saw last night will come back again to get her for good this time. She becomes more and more desperated to find a way to escape. Night draws ever closer...

Anyway, I wont spoil the ending, but I really dont suggest this book to fans of King's that like the Shining, It, or The stand, because Geralds Game is very different. For the hard-core Stephen King fans with an open mind, enter this book with caution, some of you may be taken to an interesting place, while some may simply turn their nose up to it.

Jessie is married to Gerald, an overbearing slob who enjoys handcuffing her to the bed during sex. This is his "game". They are vacationing at a remote cabin when he suddenly drops dead from a heart attack, leaving Jessie cuffed and naked to the headboard. Panic strikes first, and then fear. Who knows they went to the cabin? Will anyone look for them? The unlatched front screen door is banging in the wind, and she can hear a dog howling and the faint sound of a chainsaw. And night is near. She's feeling stupid and foolish, wondering why she ever went along with this charade. How can she possibly recover from the embarrassment and humiliation when she's finally discovered? And she is so very vulnerable right now, which makes her even more angry and scared. She wonders how she could be so stupid, but it's not the first time she's felt that self-hatred. And then there's Gerald, laying there on the floor like a piece of furless roadkill. How could he do this to her? These emotions are intertwined with hauntings of her childhood, and Jessie is forced to face them all head on to survive this ordeal. I loved this book because Jessie experiences true human fears. Everyone can relate to the "if only" syndrome: If only she had kept the key next to the bed... If only she had told people where they were going... If only he had latched the screen door... If only he took better care of himself, he wouldn't have had a heart attack... If only she had stood up to him and said no... If only she had stood up to her father years ago, and told him no... We feel for Jessie as she encounters thirst and hunger, the need to urinate, and the physical pain of her arms stretched out over her head, the metal cuffs cutting into her wrists. She struggles even more with her emotions: fear, humiliation, embarrassment, anger, frustration, and her pathetic history of being a victim. Her recently deceased husband quickly becomes the least of her worries. This is a great exploration of human emotions and endurance; a must-read.

A strange thing happened as I was reading Gerald's Game: You know how when a movie gets just too gross, you close your eyes or put your hands in front of your face? Well, I would be reading along, and it would get so graphic that I would snap my eyes shut, of course realizing that the strategy doesn't work the same when one is reading. At one point, when she finally figures out how to get out of the handcuffs, I actually skipped 2 pages because it was just too graphic. There is no way I would go back and read that part--I still have a vivid image of that scene. Would I recommend the book? I was glued to it until I was done, but you have to be ready for it.

Stephen King unravels the salacious tale of a lawyer's wife handcuffed to her bed as part of a kinky sex game devised by her pudgy and repulsive husband. Gerald is a pudgy lawyer while wife Jessie is a retired school teacher.

What happens in their remote Maine lakeside cabin will send chills down your spine and keep you up all night!

The ending is weak but the detailed descriptions of Jessie's

plight is well done.

King has done a fine job of writing one of his most engrossing novels. Good reading although some readers will be turned off by the explicit sexual dialogue. Not for the faint of heart!

STEPHEN KING IS A TEASE. He's like a fly fisherman-constantly tossing out a line, luring the fish (in this case, readers), and then cruelly jerking back on the line only to toss it back out in the same spot. (Thus not only unnerving us, but simultaneously outwitting us...for as soon as you believe all is well and that the characters are going to be fine, whoops, another element we weren't anticipating jumps in and skews everything.) With "Gerald's Game", King yet again proves that he is the master of horror. I hope to be living in the same Nursing Home that he is one day...I'm curious to see where his dementia is going to take him in his old age.

How many of us, when reading a book, place faces to the characters whilst reading? This is something I did when reading "Gerald's Game." I placed Blondie lead-singer Deborah Harry as Jessie, the wife who reluctantly goes along with her husband's sometimes strange sexual requests.
What follows is a harrowing tale of how when left alone to wander, the mind can make the most indepensible things seem horrifying and make your worst nightmares come true.
From childhood repressions come back, to necrophilia, it's all covered in this terrifying novel that is by far and wide, one of the hardest things I've had putting down.

I remember reading this, I think I was maybe 13 and I loved Stephen King. I reread this recently, having come across it again. I can say, for sure, that I shouldn't have been reading this at that age. But it is a fantastic book. He will always be my go-to writer.

I'm pretty much used to Stephen King's writing style, and really sometimes he gives too much information, but while Gerald's Game was suspenseful enough, I just wasn't able to get into the main character Jessie. For some reason I was better able to identify with the dog and to feel sorry for its demise at the end. I guess that's because all though the story itself was a good psychological thriller, Jessie was boring, boring, boring. As for that mysterious stranger in her bedroom, come on, that guy was a little too weird and surreal to be believed. I almost think he was added as an afterthought to try and bolster a flagging storyline. If you want great Stephen King try instead Rose Madder, Cujo, Pet Sematary, Christine, Insomnia and Langoliers from Four Past Midnight. I promise you will be deliciously terrified.

Loved it! Stephen King is the master at painting just enough of a picture with details and then forces your mind to run wild with it. Some parts were hard to get through, I literally had my stomach turning while reading. But to make that makes it a phenomenal book!

i have to admit that this is not one of king's best, and that, in fact, it is not all that great a book. but it's pretty entertaining, even if it doesn't make you think too much. i read it on a lazy summer day. this book and a comfortably boring day are a wonderful combination. i'd really suggest borrowing it from the library, tho, before you decide to buy it. it's the kind of book some people just love, and some hate. even tho i liked it alright, i kind of feel like king wrote it for pure entertainment purposes, anyway. it was a fun book to read, but some parts (the guy watching her, for instance) didn't make much sense. but, once more, fun reading if you don't go in with too terribly high expectations.

Upon finishing "Gerald's Game", I found myself making a mental list of it's pros and cons, perhaps for this very task I now find at hand. I came up with a pro for just about every con, and was having difficulty deciding just what my opinion was of the work as a whole, when I realized that pros for every con were not what I was coming up with. I was making excuses for them, and ones that didn't hold much water at that. While the book does, at times, succeed in evoking both terror and suspense, those times are few and far between, and hardly effective enough at breaking up the tedium that results from the author's trying to spread the story of a woman handcuffed to a bed for a day and a half over most of a 445-page novel and not being able to pull it off. King just wasn't the right man for that particular job, in my opinion. In "It" and "The Stand", thousand-page epics with a handful of protagonists apiece, he's at his best, deftly juggling, and developing, those principal characters in a way that few living writers can, but one has to wonder if he can do the same with just one lead, because Jessie Burlingame is either overdeveloped, boring, or both. Her logic is also a tad askew, and though she's straddling the edge of sanity for the better part of the story, making that she was written that way on purpose a possibility, that doesn't make it any less maddening to the reader. Perhaps that, too, is what Mr. King had in mind, but I'm making excuses again and, in the end, there wasn't one to come up with for "Gerald's Game" just not being that good. So, even if you're someone who's found enjoyment in a few of Stephen King's other works, as I, myself, have, skip it. Reread your favorite instead, and if you're looking to get your first taste of him, there are better options, "It" and "The Stand", both of which I made reference to above, being a couple.

While I won't dispute Stephen King's gifts as a writer, I don't always find his books to be the stay-up-all-night, can't-put-it-down reading experience so many of the jacket blurbs promise. I found "Gerald's Game" to be a downright dull, which is pretty astonishing given the book begins with a kinky sex game gone horribly awry. After her husband keels over dead just before some naughty fun, the novel's heroine, Jessie, is left handcuffed to the bed with no one around for miles to help. An intriguing premise. The problem is, not much happens beyond that, and certainly not enough to justify the novel's length. It's as if King was trying to meet a specific page count, and in stretching this 200-page story to 445 pages (paperback edition) he's smothered the novel's momentum. That's not to say "Gerald's Game" isn't without its stomach-churning moments, but expect to slog through a lot of extra padding to get to them. In the end, "Gerald's Game" is more likely to cure insomnia than cause it.

I'm not a violent person. Mild mannered. Kind to animals. This book...was one of those I thought...several times..."he's kidding, right?" Then I got to the end of the book and threw it on the floor saying "I wasted all my nights for THIS?". I rarely throw things. It was late. I was tired.

The concept was an intriguing one, but the execution of it a bit much. I found myself thinking there's got to be more to this story for it to get such good reviews...and hung onto the end even though I wanted to stop reading it several times...thinking...ok..there's GOT to be some huge twist or something to this. I never got my surprise, but hey, maybe I missed the point.

I just add this review not to be a crab, but just to add my opposing viewpoint. Thanks for reading.

In Gerald's Game Stephen King paints a vivid picture of a married woman's bedroom games gone horribly wrong. Now, still handcuffed to the bed and her husband dead on the floor while the keys to the cuffs are across the room...what can she do to escape? What won't she do?

Terrorized by her past memories as much as her current reality- this woman is in for the most frightening experience of her life- if she can survive. And like any King book, anything CAN happen WILL happen to prevent that. As suspenseful as climbing a flight of stairs when you don't know what's at the landing above to push you back down, this novel has your heart racing. It only took me 2 days to complete, I was that engrossed.

This is now near the top of my favorite King's book list!

I was a bit disappointed with the recent works prior to this one. After all, King has written so much over the past 23 years...how much more can he write, and still remain convincing?? Anyway, here is Gerald's Game. It is back to the old King, the one which always was a guarantee of a good read. It is the battle of Jessie Burlingame, left shackled to her bed as a result of a kinky sex game gone horribly wrong. Basically, depicting 48 hours with Jessie attempting her escape....it is King in the old style, therefore, fortunately, a solid, good read. Watch out for the gross part towards the end!

I have read most of Stephen King's books, this by far is my least favorite. Yes, it is sick, but dreadfully boring at the same time. I could not even finish the book. I really have nothing "good" to say about it, except that maybe it was an interesting idea initially but somewhere the plot just went no where. (And of course the main character goes "no where" because she's handcuffed to a bed post, and you are left with her just thinking and thinking about nothing much at all) In speaking to another King fan, he was unable to finish this book as well, and was severely disappointed. Well, I guess I need to find somebody I don't care for to give them my hardcover edition of this book, because I certainly wouldn't give it to a friend.

I went into this book with several people telling that they could not finish it. The first few chapters are interesting and suspenseful. The logical battle in both characters between sex and rape and the fine line separating the two is quite interesting. Some of the chapters lead your mind to absolutely grotesque thoughts. However, some of the plot is harder to believe, such as someone fainting from hunger and being unable to move his or her limbs after only one day. The story also tends to drag somewhat, as almost the entire book is played out in one room with only one person. Nevertheless it was a fun and intriguing read and definitely not as bad as many people seem to feel. Not one of King's best.

I really enjoy King and have read many of his books. I almost gave up on this one (which I never do) around page 200. I started thinking, man King could write 300 pages about a dime sitting on a shelf if he really wanted to (or a girl cuffed to a bed).

This story really gets going around page 225 or so, and seems to me this first part of the book could have been edited down to around 50 pages. In the end King did not let me down... Stick with it, I think you'll enjoy it. If you're looking for "top shelf" King, invest your time in the Dark Tower series - you will not regret it.

I have been reading most of the bad reviews of this book, and even though I have only read a handful of King's novels so far, I actually enjoyed this one. I don't see why so many people hate it. Maybe once I read more of his books I'll be able to have more of a comparison. I found Gerald's Game to be very entertaining; I wanted to find out what happened next. I enjoyed the indepth character sketch of Jessie and all of her "voices." While the ending was strange, I did find myself thinking, "interesting..." I wasn't disappointed when I closed the book, and I will certainly pick up another King novel today. I would recommend this one...it wasn't bad at all.

I read this book about 20 years ago, and vowed never to read another Steven King book ever. I have never had a book grab me and feel real bad things along with this poor woman. The scariest thing being what Steven King could do to my mind with reading one book. If you like that kind of stuff, read it. I gave it 5 stars because the effect of reading this book lasted me 20 years.

I am actually a fan of Steven King, but for a time he just really seemed to run out of good ideas and was trying to get a bit too clever. This travesty is the result. He tries to do a "stream of consciousness" type of book, trying to take us into this woman's mind, and what she is thinking about and it just doesn't work, it's terribly boring and annoying. This is one of the few books I really had to strain to finish, as it was so unpleasant to read. Not sure why I did bother to finish it, other than just determination to not leave a book unread, but the ending certainly didn't leave me feeling any more satisfied than the rest of the book.

There are only 2 things about this book that keeps me from giving it a ten. First, That whole part about the eclipse was BOring! I don't know why I did this because it was a complete waste of time. I sat on the couch for 1 hour trying to force myself to actually read the part about the eclipse. I finally got it. After the Eclipse part the rest of the book was very good(especially the places about the "Space Cowboy"). The book got bad again at the end when she started writing on the mac. To save time I skipped that piece of junk part. All in all good book.

Gerald's Game was, by far, one of the best Stephen King stories I have ever read! It isn't your typical monster-in-the-closet King novel. Gerald's Game was a look at the real monster that plagues so many... one's own imagination. This novel is a definate thriller. Intense and suspenseful... King takes strong, intelligent Jessie Burlingame to the darkest depths of the human psyche (and brings his readers along for the ride). It's lack of boogeymen and aliens makes this novel easy to get drawn into. King will have you on the edge of your seat from page 1.

After finishing Gerald's Game, I feel like I have just fallen out of the visionary world Stephen King has written, and anybody can journey to it by picking up this book. From start to finish, this is psychological terror at its best, and if a person was entranced as I was they could finish this book in about 2 days if they felt the need to, because the reader just has to know the outcome to the story or he would go insane waiting to see what happens. Although Gerald's Game deals with some very controversial subject matter, such as child abuse and sex, this book is not overshadowed by the mature subject matter. This was once in fact supposed to be a movie, but the producers had no idea how to show somebody topless for the entire movie without recieving an NC-17 rating, so they just dropped the whole movie idea. Here below is a quick overview of the story and the writing:
Story: As the novel opens, we meet timid Housewife Jessie Burlingame, who is still haunted by an accident from the past, and her husband, Gerald Burlingame, the curious husband who has a slight heart problem. Both of them are vacationing at their Lake House when Gerald decides to pull out his handcuffs and test them out on Jessie. Jessie is then handcuffed to both of the bedposts, with only 6 inches of armroom allowed. With Jessie still locked up and the keys all the way across the room, Gerald suffers a fatal heart attack, leaving Jessie hopelessly handcuffed with no way to get out of the bed. As time passes, Gerald's body starts looking pretty scrumptious to a hungry stray, who ventures into the house and starts turning Gerald into Dogfood. All the while Jessie valiantly tries to get a water glass full of water off the shelf that is just barely out of her reach, but she has to try or else she fears she may just go insane. As her hunger and thirst deepens, Jessie begins having recurring dreams about her disturbing childhood that is tarnished by the memory of her father abusing her as a child. As she learns to deal with her inner demons, she soon notices demons aren't only in her dreams, but in the corner of her bedroom. A gaunt shadow stands there watching her throughout the night, and she realizes to her dismay the shadow is real. The only way Jessie can get out of her predicament is to overcome her inner demons and and try not to go mad, while at the same time she must figure out a way to get out of her impenetrable stronghold with all of her options gone except for an empty glass on the bedstand. Jessie learns to overcome fear and herself in the ultimate battle for survival.
Writing: Stephen King constantly amazes me at his always changing and everdevoloping writing styles, and with Gerald's Game, he once again he has done it. Although not as descriptive as say Cujo or The Shining, Gerald's Game describes things beautifully through similes and metaphors that are well-crafted and thought-out. What really amazes me about the writing is the relentlessness of the plot and how he sounds like the Camp Counselor telling ghost stories around the fire, increasing the tension and making you gasp once or twice for good measure. Stephen King is definitely writing in his "I Want to Tell You A Story" mode, never letting the plot lag and the story get muddled with needless subplots that have no basis. GREAT!

Wow! The comment curve is huge but I think I'll stick with five stars. A true accomplishment. A pyschological thriller. I could not put down the book. Even the "unscary stuff" was interesting and realistic. This is the only book other than 'Salem's Lot that scared me virtually to death. The detail and the simplicity(not the word I'm looking for, but who's counting?) make for a terrifying novel. Lastly, to address the ending, i loved it. It was exactly (well, not exactly) what i was looking for... an explanation and a conclusion. A must read!

This book wasn't very terrifying, but it had some scary moments, (one, to be exact). That isn't where the appeal of the book lies. The appeal lies in Jessie's struggles with the voices in her head, and her own damaging past. The voices all seem to take on a certain character of their own, and they become like real people not just to Jessie, but to the reader as well. The memories of her childhood that Jessie has become real for you as well, as she unveils them piece by piece. The highlight of this book for me, though, was when she finally devised a method to get her handcuffs off. I actually became so sick to my stomach and light-headed that I had to rush to the toilet bowl then lie down on the couch for 15 minutes before I could continue reading. I've never had to do anything like that before in my life, and I had read many a gross scene before. King's descriptions are so vivid and realistic, you can feel things as if they are happening to you, and not Jessie. Just another example of what a superb writer King is, and what a master of his genre he is, also. Although, there were some drawbacks. Many of the occurances in the book were seen a mile away. (the dog, for instance.) There was also a considerable amount of fluff at the end about how things went after she was free, and at times the plot seemed repetitive and slow, but all in all, it was good. I suggest this one to someone who would like to see just what King is capable of.

I found this book to be geniunely scary and a page turner! I read almost all of it in one day. It was a study in pyschological terror. For those that did not like it, I think they were expecting a more traditional King book. The books I have enjoyed the most are the pyschological ones like this one, Delores Claiborne and The Girl that Loved Tom Gordon (though I also loved It and the Shining.) Strongly recommended!

I have read quite a few Stephen King books. I think this takes the cake for graphic descriptions. It really isn't necessary for me to hear step by step about bleeding wounds or other such things. Putting that aside, I was able to just skim the gory parts. The majority of the book was quite suspenseful. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough to find out how Jesse was doing. Overall, good story, if you don't mind graphic and gory.

After her husband dies during their wild sex night, Jessie finds herself handcuffed to a bed in a cabin in the middle of no where. From this point on she deals with a lot of things - Voices in her head, Hallucinations, Reflecting on her life - all the while trying to escape from the handcuffs. Let me save you some time by saying it's not worth reading. Yeah it's a pretty quick read but it's boring, Nothing outside the norm really happens. It goes exactly how you expect it to and it doesn't really captivate you nor make you wanna keep going and finish it.

I read this book a long time ago, but I lost my copy.This book very well written by the Master of Horror. I did not want to put it down. I cannot wait until I am done reading my other Stephen King book, so I can pick this one and read again. I enjoy reading Stephen King novels, so I am rather biased about his books. But, if you are a new Stephen King reader, this is a great book.

I really enjoyed Gerald's Game and was amazed at Stephen King's ability to write 400 pages about a woman handcuffed to the bed - I mean, how much is there to say about that? Quite a bit! I found the main character not very likeable for some reason but the story kept me glued to the book.

This is perhaps King's best work.

The story told in this book is largely limited to events occurring to one person in one room. Often that person is totally alone in the room caught in a situation from which she is trying to free herself. She has the room, her thoughts and little else.

One would think that an author would have a hard time maintaining interest in such a setting. Instead, you find that you can't put the book down. This is just quality writing at its best.

I envy King's ability with prose.

Basically 90% of this book deals with a woman (Jessie) handcuffed to a bed in a cabin while her husband (Gerald) lies dead on the floor. My problem w/ the book was that it just goes on & on & on & after 200+ pages it gets a bit boring. The ending has a good plot twist, but it's just getting to the end that made me not like this book. Plus, I never really liked Jessie's character & I was more concerned about the dog than the her. I think this would have made a better short story.... Not one of King's best.

For many years, I have been eluded by the "mastermind" that is Stephen King. Try as I might, I just didn't get it (granted, I never actually FINISHED one of his books.) And then, a few years back, I began passionate love affair with the craft of writing, and in my educational adventures of the art, I learned to read "actively", which is to say, I began reading books from a different perspective...one which opens your mind and shows you how to LEARN from the writer. After reading several books usung this simple technique, I finally decided that there must be SOMETHING to be learned from Stephen King. He is, after all, the most successful writer of our time. I deliberately chose one of his books that seemed particularly difficult. "Gerald's Game" is basically an entire novel about a woman who is tied up to a bedpost, by herself, in the middle of nowhere. How much could there possibly be to say about that, right? I figured that if King could pull it off, I would at least gain a moderate amount of appreciation for his work. Needless to say, not only did he pull it off...he blew my mind! I am not kidding, here. I am amazed! This book kept me up at night, for fear of the notorious looming "Space Cowboy"... which is really saying something...I am a 30 year old man who is not easily frightened. This book creeped me out in a way no other book ever has. Something about the way Stephen King describes his images makes my head spin. It's all too real. And I love it. I have since read several other Stephen King books and have enjoyed them considerably, but "Gerald's Game" still tops the list. Wow.

yeap...King is on top of his game with GERALD'S GAME!!this book was definitely a page-turner for me,and caused me to have a few sleepless nights!!

BASIC PLOT SUMMARY:Jessie Burlingame and her husband,Gerald Burlingame,decide to head on out to their isolated summer home by the lake.Gerald handcuffs Jessie to the bed so that they can have a little bit of kinky sex.right before the sex starts though,Jessie is having second thoughts and decides that she wants out of the cuffs.Gerald pretends that he thinks his wife is faking her displeasure for the sake of the game,and in the heat of the moment Jessie kicks him in the groin and he falls to the floor having a heart attack.here begins the real game: the game of how Jessie manages to get out of the cuffs.....

King did a great job of describing her thought processes while Jessie was handcuffed to the bed for nearly 2 days....basically she was reliving some bad moments from her past,and trying to think up some creative ways of getting out of the cuffs in the process!!

...and the way King introduced her "stalker" into the story was just epic...it made me have goosebumps!!he didn't just go right out and say "...and Jessie saw a man in the corner".no.he mentioned that the dog which was feasting on Gerald's body heard and smelled something horrid and ran from the house pretty quickly FIRST.that just goes to show you how much of a bottomless pit of talent King really is...

...and the ending was shocking to say the least!!!all in all though,this book is a great read and I'd strongly recommend it :))

I've read so many scathing reviews of this book, I felt I had to write my own in defense of the book and King's "taste," which has been called into question.

King has taken a limited-scope situation - a woman handcuffed to a bed, alone in the middle of nowhere, unable to escape - and turned it into a novel...a page-turner, at that. Just how many writers out there could pull something like that off? Not many, I think.

I've read the book twice, once after it was first published, and then again very recently. I liked it even more the second time. King's in-depth study of the main character, Jessie Burlingame, was nothing short of brilliant. I put the book back on my bookshelf after finishing it the second time, and I was struck by the sadness I felt -- I knew I would miss Jessie; she felt like a real person to me, a flesh-and-bone friend I'd come to know.

There was nothing tasteless at all in King's writing about a young girl being molested by her otherwise wonderful father. It happens every day, folks. What's tasteless about exposing the very real damage caused by these predators to the light of day? I find it more tasteless that people don't want to talk about it...want to pretend it doesn't exist. It exists on a scale most people would rather not believe. As a survivor, I commend King for being unafraid of telling the tale, and being honest to the subject matter.

On top of dealing with the heavy subject matter, King manages to scare the bejesus out of the reader with the shadowy "Space Cowboy." I had a hard time driving at night for months after reading this book!

For what it's worth, and as an avid reader and fan of King's work since I read "The Shining" as a 10-year-old, I think it's one of his best books (other than my favorite, "Bag of Bones").

I have read several reviews of this book and the one negative statement that keeps popping up is the fact that a good portion of the story takes place with Jessie alone and handcuffed to the bed. In my opinion this is what makes the novel so brilliant. The fact that King can produce a fascinating story from the goings on inside an individuals head is brilliant.
One of the strongest themes was the fact that dealing with mental pain/anguish was more trying than the cramps and physical pain Jessie dealt with as a result of the hand cuffs. There is a scene where she slams the back of her head against the mahogany headboard to stop the voices discussion of her childhood abuse.
My favourite line comes from Ruth as she responds to Jessie's fear of crossing the bed to get to the telephone (Jessie is afraid of the glass on the bed) and says, "What if I cut myself??"

"That brought Ruth Neary out and she was raving 'You've already taken most of the skin off your right arm. Do you think a few more lacerations will make a difference? Jesus, Tootsie! What if they find you here with nothing but a C*nt diaper on your arm and a big stupid grin on your face?!?! How's that for a what if?!? Get movin' B*tch!!!'"

Love his humour.

This could have been more compelling as a short story - in the tradition of Edgar Allan Poe - but sad horror with multiple seeds of psychological roots comes off more as an exercise. I'm not a devoted reader of S. King. Perhaps he has built upon this endeavor and deepened the possibilities here in later novels. King is usually fun to read and there's no harm in including this for comparison's sake.

This is one of the easier Stephen King novels to understand. But that doesn't make a story any better or worse. Those who are now beginning to read Stephen King novels should read "Gerald's Game" first. This gives a broader understanding of his style, therefore making it easier to read his other novels. He has his unique twist with mystery and drama. One must love how the woman who's handcuffed to a bed has flashbacks about painful childhood trauma. The author chooses the best words to connect one another to create one smooth story. He proves on this book that he is the best mystery author today.

The abusive man handcuffs his wife to the bed post. Gosh, I hated that. That is so cruel and abusive. He then has a heart attack and dies. Here she is, handcuffed to the bed, in a remote cabin and no one is there to get her out. How will she get out, or will she even get out? Needless to say, the whole situation is psychologically disturbing.

The book was really good, and I especially loved the ending. But it did have a long, boring middle; that's why I gave it 4 stars. The middle could have been condensed into a third as many pages, and then I would have given it 5 stars.

Once again, Stephen King takes an otherwise delicious plot idea and bores the hell out of his readers. He makes the same mistake as the creators of the movie _Falling_Down_, insisting that only insane people perform even slightly deviant acts. His continuing failure to understand WHEN to end a novel is quickly destroying the enthusiasm of at least one fan. Maybe he understood this when he started writing under a pen name. Maybe he's just realized that his loyal fans will buy whatever crap he puts out. Oh, and for all you rabid King fans who flamed me for my last review: Yes, I've actually read this one, too.

There is only one way 'Gerold's Game' could be made more boring: Making it longer. The plot: A woman gets tied up at a cabin and then has to face a hungry dog and her own past. So what. The dog is hardly an interesting antagonist and the woman's character is as paper thin as a Chinese lantern. It seems she was sexually abused; but not with any depth, I've heard much worse from female friends. King pulls every punch in this watered down would-be Horror novel. Pap for the masses who don't know what a real horror novel is.

It starts interestingly enough and that's where the fun ends. Gerald wants to play a game. He handcuffs his wife to the bed and then dies of a heart attack. Sounds good right? I thought so too, then i kept reading and the story kept dragging, then it dragged some more. Her character gets developed and then overdeveloped while nothing is happening except her being shackled to a bed that she can't leave. Then theres a revelation. It didn't really make sense to me though because i couldn't grasp the concept of why and how the book unfolded the way it did, especially the final chapters. One of his few forgettable novels.

It is not shocking because of its plot, which is hair-raising itself, but because of how utterly hard it must have been to write. I am conviced that King gave himself this monumental writing task just to amuse himself. "What is the absolute most difficult novel I can write?" he seems to ask, and then he sets about answering it masterfully. The entire novel takes place in a single room, with a single character that can only move six inches in any direction...and yet King manages to keep the action moving and the plot taunt.
I am a King fan, I have read all of his fiction, and for me the quality of his novels varies greatly. Some are fantastic, some I can barely get through. It is because of Gerald's Game that I will never miss reading a new King novel, and it is because of Gerald's Game that I forgive him his flops.

After browsing the local library ebook site for Stephen King books, I came across this one I've never heard of. It is so creepy, but so good, I couldn't go to sleep until I read the entire book. Well I made it through 90%, then finished the rest today, and wow, it's just so creepy! It was wonderful.

The story begins and continues, and continues, and continues in Jessie and Gerald Burlingame's lake cabin bedroom where a sex game ends tragically. I give King credit for his excellent writing, but this excellent writing gives him the ability to write page after page after page about almost nothing. I read the first third of the book hoping desperately that the pace would pick up. At that point I finally did something I never do, read snatches and bits in the rest of the book, and, of course, the ending.
King's protagonist is Jessie Burlingame, and he does a good job of getting inside the mind of a woman. I just didn't care particularly for that woman.
The other two King books I read are "Salem's Lot" and "The Green Mile," both superb. Those two books are so good that it is hard to believe the same person authored "Gerald's Game". I'll probably read more King books, as "two out of three ain't bad!"

This book floored me when I read it years back... This book got me back into reading again. After hearing a girlfriend of mine talking about it I went and picked it up. Boy am I glad I did! The majority of the books takes place in one locale, with one character, with some cool tie overs to Dolores Claiborne. It's interesting to see how King can fill a whole book with one character with no one to talk to but herself, but King pulls it off brilliantly. Don't underestimate this book

As a Stephen King fan, I picked up this book based on the belief that
if it came from Stepehn King, it was a good book. What i didn't
know was that it wasn't a good book, it is a GREAT book. The
way it grabs your mind a make you feel the reality portrayed
in its pages is scary. This has been the only Stephen King
book that i have to stop myself from reading too much of it
at night because I was getting scared.
I recommend it to anyone.

I have to say that I really got into this book right up until after the escape from the handcuffs. As far as I'm concerned, it could have ended there and I would have been more inclined to call it a good read. But it didn't end there, and what followed was some of the most boring, nonsensical wordiness that I've ever been subjected to. When it comes to King, I'm a big fan, but Gerald's Game was almost like reading two different books: one pretty decent, and one quite not.
I'm still reeling from the disappointment.

Wow...As someone who loves a good Thriller...This one is very different. I Was Impressed By King's ability to capture the mind of a Horrified Woman. I finished this Book in one Night! I just had to know what was coming next! Kings Description of This poor womans struggle to survive is amazing..It made me feel like I was the one Stuck on that bed! DIFFERENT than any other King book I have read...what scared me the most was .."This could actually happen" Altho not true king style...It is a must read!

I really shouldn�t be reviewing Gerald�s Game because I couldn�t quite finish it (and there have been VERY few books I never finished). It was BORING. King took the passive approach in terror this time and terror is anything but passive. Basically, a woman gets left chained to a bed when her husband dies of a heart attack in the middle of his sex game (there�s a little more to it than that but that�s the jest). Of course, she�s chained up at their little vacation home where no one is around for miles. And she�s traumatized by the whole experience. She basically reflects on other horrible experiences she has�then a dog comes�more horrible memories. I just couldn�t take it. If you want something a little more fast paced but scary try Bag or Bones or The Shining. If you want a lot of character development, try the Stand. If you want something that�s not so scary, but an emotional thriller, the Dead Zone is the best. In sum, this was not one of King�s best. I admit he can be long winded at times, but this was his worst case yet.

I love how Steven King was really able to play the role of a woman in this novel. What horrified me the most was how such a terrible thing could actually happen to anyone. The way Jessie's room in her vacation home ends up gradually turning into a real life torture chamber is amazing. The way King describes with such detail how Jessie suffered every second made me feel as though I were in those cuffs with her. As a reader I became so engaged that during the intervals when I wasn't reading I was actually spending my workdays wondering how I would manage to escape from such an authentically horrendous situation.

This was by far one of my favorite novels from King.

King sets himself a difficult task here. He must sustain our interest in a single character who is alone, chained to a bed, and likely to die.
While admiring his resourcefulness, his narrative skills, and many other of his books, I must report that I soon lost interest in his character Jessie and her predicament. I don't object to identifying with a character and sharing her long drawn-out agony if the experience is, paradoxically, a liberating one. One hour with Jessie, however, made me feel callous, heartless and dispirited. I neither cared whether she lived or died.

Gilded the lilly

This is a really suspenseful story for the first hree-quarters. If Stephen King had ended of there, it would have been one of his classics. Unfortunately, he appended a follow-on which dissipated much of the mystery of the first part.

Stephen King does a beautiful job of operating in a closed setting. What don't you get? All you notice is the stuff that doesn't matter unless you're debating symbolism (and you're not)! So what if she's almost naked! You're obviously not getting this. If you haven't read this, I'm just spewing at some of the previous reviewers. You should really read this. (But if you're suspicious, check it out from the library first and then buy it.)

Is King recycling himself?? This novel was written like a compilation of some of his other novels. Although the realistic issues of abuse were interesting. The story didn't seem to have focus. it did seem to have elements of other stories King has written.
1. Confinment to a bed? (Misery)
2. rapid Dog attack ? (Cujo)
And What about the links to Deloris Claiborne? Was the movie based on this book? or Was this book a complete copy of that book? I'm confused?
Plus I didn't understand at all His need to throw a little supernatural component in the story's end.

I finally took this book off the shelf this summer after owning it since it was first published, and I literally couldn't put it down. It makes you feel that you are there, that this incredibly horrible experience is happening to you. When a couple spends a day at their summer home in Maine and decide to have some bondage sex, a freak accident occurs which leaves the wife handcuffed to the bedposts in nothing but panties with a dead husband on the floor. The screendoor bangs regularly, she hears a dog barking and the distant sound of a chainsaw. But, she knows nightfall is on its way, and by the way, she is haunted inside her head by various voices which try to advise her, and nearly succeed in driving her over the edge. The suspense is breathtaking. The inner story that plays in her head is of the summer of the solar eclipse in 1963, the day her father did a very bad thing to her, hence the voices ever since. But she is a survivor. Good ending too. Also, there is a vague connection to King's "Dolores Claiborne. This is a terrifying book for a woman alone.

Gerald's game is not typical Stephen King . . . at least not what I am used to reading from Mr. King. The book's main character is a woman named Jessie, who finds herself in quite a predicament after a rather unfortunate event involving her husband. I liked Jessie's character, although I must admit it took me some time to identify with her situation. The book dives into the deep waters of child sexual abuse and the damage it can cause. Jessie is constantly facing her "day when the sun went out." I found myself turning pages quickly at times to find out what was going to happen next, but slowly at other times just trudging along to finish a chapter. The final 50-70 pages were the most difficult for me to read simply because I had grown tired of the story. I wanted to finish the book and I wanted to see how everything turned out for Jessie, but it seemed to drag along too long. I love King's work, and I"m not usually one to suggest he cut down on anything. This time he should have created a short story instead of the entire novel. I can't suggest NOT reading a King book, but this isn't one I would read first.

As a Stephen King fan of many years, Gerald's game was too non-King to make an impact. If it had been written by anybody other than King, I would have been less critical, but one expects better from The Master. A wishy-washy story of one woman tied to a bed, with page after page of how she struggles to reach a glass of water...
It's not King at his best and, frankly, it's not even King in average form. It won't put me off buying more of his books, though, because even God has bad book days!

WARNING: TINY "SPOILER" COMING UP. NOT MUCH OF ONE BUT I WANTED TO WARN FOR THOSE STICKLER'S OUT THERE.

At first I almost didn't read this book. It just didn't seem like the King that I like. Except I like ALL his books so I decided to go for it. It was a heart stopper and I loved it. I couldn't put it down in some parts.

One thing: and this gives a TINY bit of the story away so if you haven't read it yet you might not want to read this part:

Why didn't Joubert kill her? This was never explained. It seems totally weird that he would just lurk in the shadows and then just go away. Plot flaw!

Gerald and Jessie Burlingame take a little time off from their hectic lifestyles to visit their lakeside property in Dark Score, Maine. Gerald had an idea for a little fun, he brought handcuffs along with him to attach Jessie to the bedposts. Harmless enough, until Gerald has a fatal heart attack with Jessie still in cuffs. Now, she has to struggle countless hours to no avail. With hunger setting in and thirst scratching at her throat, she has to find some way to escape from the cuffs.

Gerald's game is one of the top Stephen King books I've ever read. It deals with the struggles to stay alive while at the same time, goes back into the past to explore Jessie Burlingame's haunting childhood that never seems to leave her alone. She begins to see things in the middle of the night. The question is, are they really there, or are they her imagination?

Very good book. How King can keep the suspense of Ms. Burlinggame all through the book is amazing. Very interesting plot; something along these lines could happen to you.... The psychological aspect of the whole thing was very good. King paints the voices inside her [Burlingame] head very well. I was a little off'd by the ending, I expected something a little better, I give it 5 anyways because it was a fantastic read.

I'm a long time King fan, but this book didn't do too much for me. Great premise, but went on-an-on for too long. Really should have been a Novella. Stephen King unravels the salacious tale of a lawyer's wife handcuffed to her bed as part of a kinky sex game devised by her pudgy and repulsive husband. He dies of a heart attack and she is trapped, struggling for her life to free herself from the cuffs. Okay read if you don't have anything else. Otherwise, try King's better books, The Stand, It, Misery, Salem's Lot, etc.

First off, I'm not one easily frightened...and I've read all of King's work (including the vastly overrated THE STAND). GERALD'S GAME scared the bejabbers out of me! I'm deeply puzzled at all the criticism leveled at this exercise in sheer horror. The most common complaint, oddly enough, is that the book is BORING, of all things...but GERALD'S GAME is anything but dull. It is the story of Jessie, a woman handcuffed to the bedposts by her husband who, in the excitement of their kinky little sex game, literally drops dead, leaving her shackled miles away from any other human being. "Lucky to be alive," Jessie thinks at first. Then she becomes doubtful. Her doubt quickly turns to terror when the brutal hours swell into agonizing days and she begins to suffer...to grow weak...to die. I won't ruin the suspense by divulging any more of the gory, creepy details--you'll just have to go to your closest bookseller and buy the darned novel--but let me say two more things: Read the book after dark at your own risk...and if you do not want a truly terrifying, chilling experience, then do not read GERALD'S GAME.

This book has the making of a very creepy situation. Who else would of thought of this sort of scenerio? I found myself alone one evening right before bed reading the chapter where the evil thing made of bones has his first appearance and I have to admit, I shot a quick glance toward the corner of my room, just in case. King can do this, and maybe it isn't his Nobel Peace Prize winner, but it sure is worth the ride!!

Imagine being trapped on your bed while handcuffed to the bedposts. In the Stephen King's thriller novel, Gerald's Game, Jessie Burlingame is about to find herself in this situation. During a little sex game, Jessie's husband Gerald is dead on the floor after a freak accident which occurred during a sexual interlude in their summer home. Now Jessie is handcuffed to the bed, with her husband dead and now she is alone in a house out in the woods of Maine. Or is she? With a hungry dog outside of the house, a stranger hiding in the shadows, and the voices in Jessie's head, maybe she isn't alone. Triggered by her ordeal, Jessie has to deal with her troubling secrets she doesn't want people to know about.
I found this book to be very interesting. From the death of her husband, to Jessie's gruesome attempt to escape out of the handcuffs, Gerald's Game is a great book. Although the pace of the story slowed down in some parts throughout the book, it picked up quickly and made the book hard to put down. This is the first Stephen King book I've read, and with stories like Gerald's Game, I would like to enjoy more of King's novels. If you like psychological thriller/horror books, then Gerald's Game by Stephen King is the book for you.

Like Salem's Lot and Cujo, Gerald's Game is a fine thriller. S.K. not only takes you into his world of "scare ...you" story-telling, he also takes you into your own mind and haunts on your inner feelings and deep fears. S.K. is one of the few who can turn a simple story about a girl who's trapped on a bed into an adrenalin pumping novel. At the end of this book you feel like you want to walk up to Jessie, put your arms around her, and let her know that "we made it". The Delores Claiborne tie-in also adds to the flavor, for those who read it first.

This is one of the most interesting and original novels that i have read. This book is a real page-turner, you just have to know what happens next. You can actually feel this woman's pain. Some of the other reviews say that this book is boring, but they could not be more wrong, this book is great. The only gripe i have is that i was a little disappointed how the book ended, but overall this is one of the best books i have ever read.

I picked this book up glad to find something of Stephen King's that I hadn't read but was thoroughly disappointed. The story goes nowhere. The one and only character is developed through flashbacks that are meaningless and extremely distasteful. In the end you're left unsatisfied, wishing that the book was a short story rather than a novel. My recommendation is to skip this one and reread one of your Stephen King favorites.

As I started reading this book, I figured it was just one more of Stephen King's great works. I was not prepared for the terror which took hold of me as I read each night drawing closer to the end. I felt as if I was chained to the bed posts and could not put the book down till I was finally free and safe. This book just demonstrates how wonderfully diverse and exciting his writting is. This is one of his best.

The premise behind the novel reminds me a bit of CUJO, since all of the events leading up to the dilemma are wound tightly and believably together, but, unfortunately, the final work isn't pulled off quite as well. Overall, the book seems too long and drawn out, but at the same time, if I wanted to play editor, I wouldn't know what to take out. In true King style, all of the information is necessary to the overall pull of the novel, but the feel is that it just goes on and on. I can't help but think that if the book had been drawn down to the bare bones (pun intended for those who've already read the book), it would have been as taut and dramatic as "Survivor Type".

This took a very slow pace at getting started, in my opinion, and I had trouble WANTING to read it, always finding an excuse not to read it. After some months of it sitting on my bookshelf i gave it another go. Trudging on, the book opens up into an amazing read with a twist. the slow parts are SLOW, but the good parts are more than worth it.

Gerald's Game is the second Stephen King book that I have read. I started to read novels by Stephen King because a friend recommended it to me. He said that since I liked books and movies with suspense and horror, then I should read Stephen King books. I took his advice and Stephen King became one of my favorite authors. I was so attached to reading Gerald's Game that I didn't realize how fast time flew by. I just thought that the book was too interesting to let go.
The story takes place in the bedroom of Jessie and Gerald Burlingame's cabin, with a twenty-eight hour time period. There, the married couple play an intimate sex game called "Gerald's Game," which involves the use of handcuffs. They have played this game a couple of times before and enjoyed it. However, Jessie decided that she didn't want to play the game anymore. By the time she made this decision, she was already handcuffed to the bedposts. She repeatedly asked Gerald to release her, but he wouldn't listen. Out of fright, Jessie kicked him and he fell off the bed, head first, causing him to die instantly.
Jessie is now alone and handcuffed to the bedposts. But, she's no completely alone. She begins to hear voices in her head, which later on bring up painful memories of Jessie's past. She realizes that the voices in her head belonged to people she once knew.
Then Jessie started to get visitors. She was first visited by a stray dog, who took an interest in Gerald's dead body. At night, she is visited by a strange looking creature that stood at the corner of her room starring at her. At first she thinks the strange creature is her dead father, but it's not. It's the strange figure who exists in our imagination.
Gerald's Game is a book that will make those who are already scared of the dark even more afraid. It will also make a person appreciate how lucky he/she is to be able to move around freely, and not be lying helplessly on a bed handcuffed to the bedposts.

I heard a movie is in production for this book. Really??? When the movie comes out I expect it to be soft porn.
Geez! Stephen King got a little pervy..... (I swear he wrote this book on a bet)
Anyhoo.....My main complaint is the story. Terrible- boring plot. Little action. Little gore. Too few characters to keep it interesting.
Next to zero "page turning excitement". I really struggled to finish it.

This book happens to be the first I have ever read of Mr. King's vast library, and most certainly won't be my last. Of course I've seen the movie renditions of his past works but not being able to put a book down for a second hasn't been one of my most habitual tendencies. It's an amazing read and really does play with your own thoughts (reading this novel in the privacies of my own dark bedroom late at night didn't help one bit, I couldn't even get up to go to the bathroom at some of the mind twisting moments). Very intreguing seeing what Jessie does in her situation and how she thinks and experiences all of our darkest fears, confronting them face to face. I'll cut this short, simple and straight to the point, if you ever have a chance to read this book, do it, you won't be disapointed (You'll probably never take life or freedom for granted ever again either).
-Bryan Johnston, Stephen King's newest fan

I must admit, I was one of many who were skeptical about King's "newer" books, but Gerald's Game was an incredible read. Thrilling and suspense-filled, you'll have trouble sleeping for weeks afterward. You wouldn't want to trade places with the heroin Jesse for anything in the world once the sun sets. Bound fast to a bed, no one around to hear her screams for help, save one person... the wrong person. This is King at his best.

This is the best King book I have read yet. I was totally captured by this story...lots of parts were hard to read because of the gore but I couldn't put this book down even then. I finished the book in less than a day because I was so hooked. And then I couldn't sleep that night. The way Jessie Burlingame's mind keeps twisting the past and present, dreams and reality, will make you start to question your own mind. It's a great psychological thriller but it's also deeper than that...it makes you think about how much we take forgranted and that it's so important to face the shadows that scare us before they get too big to control. Read this book if you want a story that will pull you in and not let go until the ride's over, and maybe not even then because you'll find that you can't stop thinking about it.

Stephen King needed to take his own advice from "On Writing" and trim this book by 75 pages or so. There's very little dialogue in the story, and the internalizations become redundant and tiresome at times. Even so, the story soars in the last 100 pages with some of King's best writing. Truly scary, with King's brilliance frequently shining through.

Although this book had its interesting moments, it was certainly too long and drawn out to keep my interest. The events of the novel seemed somewhat dragged out. It was easy to lose interest with the book because King went into agonizing detail about everything. The entire plot is soooo repetitive. I would not recomend this book at all to ANYONE!!!!

I have probably read about 15-20 of Stephen King's book and this is one of the worst by far. I haven't read much of his work since because it was very disappointing.
If you want an example of good writing by Stephen King try some of the following books: Misery, The Stand, The Talisman, Four past midnight, and anything in the gunslinger series.

This is a scary what if this happened to me kind of story. Well written with believable characters and plot. Very intense and intriguing as you try to figure out how she can make it out alive. One of his best books.

I'm an avid reader and Stephen King fan. I normally read a book and it sits with me for a couple days as I like thinking and dissecting certain passages or even the entire story itself. This book didn't just sit with me for days, it sat with me for weeks. This book made me genuinely scared. I'd go to sleep at night and constantly look over in a dark corner because this book kept coming to mind. It took me a couple of years to read as I kept passing it up for more "interesting" King material. Don't make the same mistake I did, don't pass it up!

Since I am wanting to read all of Stephen King's books, I decided that I would read Gerald's Game. I finished this book in a week, due to being in school and having to read other things for English, and I loved it! The story is about a woman, Jesse Burlingame, being tied up to a bed post. Well, she realizes that she doesn't want to play this game that Gerald wants, and does something tragic. While she is on the bed, she goes through hearing voices trying to give her advice on what to do, flashbacks of her childhood, and a couple other things that I cannot say because I wouldn't want to ruin the story, but if you are a King fan, I would read this book. I know not every fan will like this book, but to some, you will be glad that you read it!

I love suspense and this book was full of twists and turns. Unlike some super natural happenings in some books, this could have happened.Kept me wanting to read more! Also a great ending; not leaving you hanging!

In order to understand where King is coming from in GERALD'S GAME, you need to read Dolores Claiborne first. True, this is not the old King, but it's very good! Jessie puts up a hell of a fight to get free. I like all of King's books except THE STAND and THE TOMMYKNOCKERS. If you like this book try: ROSE MADDER, THE REGULATORS, and DOLORES CLAIBORNE.

That other review was terrible, this book is great. If you dont have it in you to handle a little vulgarity then you're way out of your league. This book is definitely for those who prefer a darker story.

This book was a complete thriller, just not your normal horror of King. I don't know that this book would have gotten published without his name on it. I mean, it deals with a woman chained to a bed for 95% of the ENTIRE book! (although the plot twist at the end is at least one saving grace...good job Stevie, and thats what saved it from a 2 star.

I stopped reading King back in '89 because I thought he was repetitive. Anyway, that was a long time ago so I though I'ld give him another chance (I used to really like him). I picked up a King novel at random- it was Gerald's Game. I had no idea what the book was about. After reading the first chapter, I prayed that the entire book was not just about this woman cuffed to a bed with handcuffs. Sure enough, it was. Hundreds of pages of the woman laying there tied to the bed in handcuffs. O sure, she starts to get delerious and has weird visions of stuff, and a dog comes in the house to break up the monotonous story, but overall this is a book about a woman tied to a bed with no chance of help. It was painfully boring for me. If you like King, my recommendation is to read Salem's Lot.

How can I describe my utter dissappoinment frustration and ultimate boredom to this travesty. There is just not enough material here to justify a mammoth novel. If you are into character studies you probably would like this. However if you are looking for a plot, entertainment, horror, suspense or anything vaguely Kingish look elsewhere. The pits.

I normally enjoy Stephen King's books and recently purchased Gerald's Game and found it to be extremely frustrating. An example... for almost 18 excruciating pages we read the heroine's quest to reach a glass of water, and that is after several chapters where she ruminates over this elusive glass of water. I can handle the half-a-dozen voices that haunt this woman, but King seems more intent on seeing how long he can draw out each silly inane aspect of the sub-plots. Like the glass of water, it quickly reached a point where I wanted to jump ahead ten pages ahead to see if she did or didn't get the water. When we finally find that she did get the glass successfully without spilling it, we find (of course) that she can't reach her mouth with it to take a drink so I assume we will have to wait another 18 excruciating pages to see if she can finally figure out how to get a sip of this elusive water. I for one will never know for I have tossed the book into the box I donate to a local charitable Thrift Shop. It was tempting to toss it in the garbage but with great restrain I refrained.

This is not a typical King "monster" book, unless you see Jessie's "ghosts" as ones... Also, unlike other King charcters, that are usually totally devestated in many ways at the end of the book, Jessie is actually trying to brcome a better person, and it seems she will make it!

Plot...woman handcuffed to bed, may die from it. Okay, that's it. You need a seriously overactive adrenal gland to find this book frightening. Either that or read this book with one hand cuffed to a bedpost for effect. Maybe if you're the type to get grossed out easily (and if that's the case, why are you reading a Steven King novel). Only worth buying if you need to polish off a complete Steven King library, and even then I wouldn't suggest actually reading it.

[...]
Please people with the money, if you buy a new book, include a used one in your shopping cart. That will help the store enormously in their storage, and it can help you too. At some places the price can’t lower to lesser a penny. Take a used book for a 0.01$ anywhere.
It has many usage including, “Cash4Books.net”
Recycle or Burn it for survival heat. Use two books as spacers to raise your monitor because it’s always better to view at eye leveled to the center of your screen. Even better, send it to donation, any library would take it, or the third world too.
Do not fear a book because it has no teeth!!
When you open your used book, wear gloves if you have to, then you’ll realize, “This book ain’t that back after all.”
Good read and peace!!
- Ricky

If nothing else, just the idea of this story deserves great credit. When i first heard of this novel i didn't think much of it but after reading it you have to wonder where king comes up with this stuff. Stephen King digs deep into the human psyche and delivers a tale about the fine line between reality and insanity. I believe that this book is a perfect example of how much more talented King is compared to the rest. No other author could have pulled this story off!

This is for the Audio cd version.
Lindsay Crouse is outstanding reading this book, the narrator can make or break an audio book sometimes, and this is one of the best read SKing books.
Again, the volume is too low for these new editions and I am noticing the cds are quite cheap and skip more often then other cds.
I am happy this was rereleased on audio cd.
Linsay Crouse really brings you into the story.
Defintely worth the buy if you think you might like the story or haven't listened to it.

The story takes a sickening twist as the frightened femme remains handcuffed to the bed after her husband tragically dies during a fetish game. The long, deep dive into this woman's psychological tendencies is truly where King does his best, unlike the traditional storytelling, he manages to display his prowess as a writer. Superbly done and for the feeble minded who choose not to recognize King's attempt to display the art of true writing in this un-Kingly novel, read some Regan Ashbaugh...you have no true idea of what thriller is. All in all, superb.

Gerald's Game is a real ride into horror that could so easily happen. The reader will anticipate and sweat the outcome. Stephen King creates an all new and all too realistic terror from a woman's point of veiw. There's no chance of giving up or letting go of Gerald's Game!

With this book, King shows us that he also knows how to write excellent "mental horror" stories. Not just monsters' stories. Showing us just how a person can feel when being trapped and not being able to do anything. It's also incredible how he can write a whole book about two days and one night on the life of a woman. At first I tought this book would be boring, but it's incredible how it isn't. This is not the traditional King's style, but I tell you: try this one and nobody will regret.

I've read almost every book Stephen King has written and, with a few exceptions, I loved them all and still occasionally re-read my favorites. I bought this book several years ago and was so excited when it came out. A new Stephen King book! Who wouldn't love that? However, I just could not get into this book. I didn't care about the characters, the thin plot, or anything else and as a result I did something I've never done before. I threw it in the trash. Other's may see more in this book than I did but I thought it was vulgar and way too wordy.

King gets better with age. This is one of the best horror books I have ever read. Everything it describes is so powerfully real that I was looking over my shoulder and breaking in goosebumps by midbook. The ending is incredible. The mind can be the darkest place of all.

Painful all the way to the completely unrelated ending. How much backtracking has to go on in this story? As a few other reviewers pointed out, there are only about 4 or 5 events in this story...the rest of the book basically restates the ideas in these events. *YAWN*

I have read all of King's books, and this one was my least favorite. Overall, I love it when he changes his style a bit (Eye of the Dragon, two of the books from the Dark Tower series, etc. were great)...but I just couldn't get into this one. The plot was somewhat interesting, but the story DRAGGED. I kept reading, thinking the ending would make the story worth reading. This couldn't be FURTHER from the truth! I think the ending actually ruined the book. It was totally unrelated, just didn't fit in at all. Of all of King's books, I wouldn't recommend this one.

Now, this was a well-written book that I couldn't wait to put down! It was just too torturous to read, but of course I always finish every King novel, and I was just laughing to myself because I guess I've read more of this writer's works than anyone else's, except maybe Faulkner and Dickens.

The man is nothing short of amazing. Yet another different writing style is employed in Gerald's Game and pays off brilliantly. This book isn't just okay, it is outstanding. Who else could pull of and entire book with one (hehe, almost one....shhhh) character and thrill the hell out of you. You MUST read this book.

Usually I don't read reviews before I read novels other than those that are published in the books themselves because I am afraid I might read something that will take away from any suprises the book may contain. But I think in the case of Gerald's Game there is really nothing of any note that occurs in the book that could spoil any illumination to be garnered from the book. So what is there to fear from any review I might read to spoil it? Nothing really.
The book involves Gerald and his wife Jessie Burlingame. They've been married for over 20 years. They are well to do and have a Summer cabin by a lake where thay have come in the off season it being Autumn now. The book opens with Jessie lying in bed. And she's on the bed for 95% of the story and on her back at that.
She's handcuffed to the headboard because her husband found that bondage was a way of bringing a little excitement back into the bedroom. She was always only ho-hum about the fantasy play as she was about everything else in the marriage. During this particular episode after making a half-hearted attempt of saying she had a headache and didn't want to play anymore, she kicks Gerald twice resulting in his having a heart attack and falling out of bed to the floor dead leaving her with both arms handcuffed to the heavy bed and the keys out of reach. Oops she's in a bind.
Now she starts to have various voices from her past having conversations with her in her head . One her ex-psychiatrist and another a girlfriend from her college years. Both of these women she pushed out of her life when they tried to get her to talk about a traunatic experience when she was a child. Why this particular dichotomy of hers occurs at this time is never explained. To me it is meaningless at this time uuncalled for here and well there but why???? It's not that she can't tell anyone about this traumatizing experience. Gerald makes it clear from the start that she has told him about it. It gives the novel substance is all I can figure.
So yes the book is bloated. It's virtually a first person anrrarive and isn't really that either. Because as King does so well we get into the head of a hungry dog who eats her dead husband.
To give one last example of the bloatedness of this novel consider that it takes King nearly five pages to describe Jessie getting a drink of water. And the conuppance of these five pages is that she wasn't able to get that drink after all. Gerald's Game was just a little too much for me.

A physchological thriller that enters the realm of molestation as a child, bondage, and self-esteem. Throughout the days Jessie is hand-cuffed to her bed and her husband lay dead on the floor, she is revisted with past emotions that make each hour she is chained to the bed a living. Through hearing voices, and seeing figures, she allows her self to release her emotions in a frightful, yet melodramatic way, creating an intense, frightful novel that keeps the reader reading just wondering how much more she will sink into the depths of emotional hell.

This book is extremely F*d up, but in a great literary way lol. Would not recommend if you get queasy easily. The novel is sexually explicit and definitely has inappropriate themes. However, another great novel by King.

Let's be HONEST: Some Stephen King books are just, well, WAY OUT THERE. Some I've enjoyed, some I've hated. This book I absolutely loved & could NOT put it down! To me, the scariest stories are the ones that could really happen. You are gripped at the very first page & are on the edge of your seat through the whole ride! I DARE you to try putting this one down! Intense, scary...wonderful! ENJOY!

I never read Stephen King but when I read this book I wondered why I never have. Although I thought the setting could've been in more than palce, I couldn't forget the story. I believe that I will read more books by King in the future.

From the mind that gave us 'IT' and 'Pet Sematary' comes Gerald's Game. I'm sorry, but this was just awful. SK's gas tank of horror must have been on fumes around this time. It seems he switched from frightening nightmares to battered women. It started with Gerald's Game and continued with Delores Claybourne and Rose Madder.
This story was just dumb. Wolves in the kitchen is one thing, but slitting your wrists to use the blood as lubricant to escape handcuffs? Uh...no.

What a story! Stephen King has the ability to amaze you from book to book and page to page. Who could have guessed the ending to this story? We have all been in a situation close to the main story line of this novel. From what was in the mind of our heroine to what was real was intermeshed to the point that everything was real. Then we come to the end. I had to set for ten minutes and relate to what I had just read in the past few days to thoughly understand my feelings. If you read another book be sure this is the one. Outstanding to say the least.

King once again proves he is a genius at uncovering the human psyche. From a woman's point of view (almost as good as Rose Madder), Gerald's Game is a fascinating peek inside one woman's mind/soul.
Bravo again to King.

Stephen King is a brilliant talent, but some of his novels are painfully tedious to read. I've heard a lot of bad things about GERALD'S GAME, and I'm here to tell you that all the bad reviews are on the mark.

GERALD'S GAME has a lot of problems, not the least of which is the lack of a plot. Most of this novel consists of the thought processes of a woman handcuffed to a bed, while her husband is lying dead on the floor. Unfortunately, this woman is an unhappy, neurotic person who is not particularly likable or interesting. I therefore found most of her endless ruminations to be quite grating and tiresome.

The pacing of GERALD'S GAME is plodding at best. There are definitely some gory moments in this novel, but little genuine suspense. King fills the book with so many flashbacks and digressions that he deprives the storyline of any real momentum. Some of King's books tend to go on and on, and this is definitely one of them.

GERALD'S GAME also features one of the strangest, most anti-climactic endings I've ever read in a King book. The last fifty pages of this story almost seem to be from a different book altogether. Needless to say, I was both confused and disappointed by the clumsy manner in which King chose to conclude this story.

In short, GERALD'S GAME is definitely on my "bad King" list, along with lesser novels like LISEY'S STORY and FROM A BUICK 8. My advice is to skip this book unless you're a King completist.

Let me save you some time.A lady ends up handcuffed to a bed when her husband dies during kinky sex games. She's stuck there for a while, and some weirdo's watching her. Then she gets rescued.Mr.King, did your son write this one as part of his first grade entrance exam?

This is one of those books that makes you feel kind of 'dirty' after reading some portions of it. Overall the story is expertly laid out, and is easy to follow. I was genuinely afraid at times,and genuinely repulsed at others and thus, I believe Mr. King has achieved another of his goals as a writer. A great read, perhaps a little "slow" at the end, but I highly recommend this "bedtime" story.

This is one of the best books I've ever read. You can say it's boring cause it stays in the same place the whole time but I like that because she goes different places with her mind. It keeps you intrested the whole time.

I think this is a boring story ... 400+ pages about a lady tight up in a bed? I think he could have written the same story in 40 pages max ... I guess you could say that the author does an amazing job writing a whole novel about one lady in one room ... But why should the author and the reader be handicapped like that? ... What is it some kind of writing excerise? ... Anybody else writes this book and it never gets published

I am a huge fan of Stephen King books, but was very dissapointed by this book. The story goes on for too long in the same surrounding. Jessie is virtually tied to the bed for the whole book. This made my mind drift, whereas usually King is able to take and hold my concentration for ages. I have just started the book 'IT' and already have read 200 pages in 5 days, whereas it took me over 3 weeks to finish the 300 pages of Geralds Game.

First of all, Stephen King did a great job writing this novel as well as putting it in the market. Its a story that anybody in the world can actually "fall" into. Its horrifying. Frightening novel! Jessie and her husband Gerald are not a typical couple. Their relationship involves fear and abuse. Although the novel is full of suspense at the beginning, the story drags on as it moves towards the end. Overall, I recommend this book for readers who liked King's previous suspense novels!

The plot concerns a woman who is tied to her bed by her huband and then her husband dies leaving her to get out of the handcuffs alone. It's not much plot, but at the end I would say it kind of picks up.

This book is just downright unpleasant. The main character's main attribute is that she's crazy, and the villain, who seems pretty scary, is underused. If he'd been taken out of the book entirely, you wouldn't even notice.
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This is definetely one of my favorite King novels. Because it could be true. And it could be you! That's is if you fancy getting handcuffed to a bed and have a gorgeous woman give you the time of your live. But be carefull not to kick her.....

Could be anbodies game I suppose. Wow, you should read it.

I have this in hardcover as I read it when it was first released. I pulled it off of my bookshelf as I was simply in need of something to read and then it all came back to me as to how much I hated this book. Women ends up in a situation where she is trapped and then the rest of the book is nothing but pure rubbish as she has flashbacks of her life. Hmm...does Cujo come to mind here? Bottom line.....BORING!

This is the worst Stephan King book I've read. It's slow and lacks plot; it's a concept rather than a story. A woman finds herself trapped in her house- with only her "voices" to keep her company. Not much plot can develope with one character. Bits of this book show traces of the much better novel "CUJO." If King had done this as a short story it might have worked.

This book was definitly the most awful, dull book I've ever read. I got though the first few pages where she getts handcuffed to bed etc etc, and the dog comes in but then I had to put it down. I don't know how Stephen King manages to strangle all of the life out of a potentally good story, but he accomplishes that well with this book. Is it all words and no action with you Stephen? How could the author of It, and The Stand drop this low?

I don't understand why this book is considered a "departure" by some. I define it as one of the few books I literally couldn't put down, and by far the most frightening book I've read (and therefore, classic King!). I enjoyed getting into the psyche of the trapped woman, and felt empowered by her strenghth. I consider the Dark Tower series King's departure from his norm, and would like to see more like this one!

I never thought it'd be this good. In fact, this was one of the King books I've put on my "not to read till later" list, but then my friend bought it and told me to read it. She thought it was pretty "okay", but I thought it was far more than okay; it was great! This novel reminds me strongly of Clive Barker's, so full of EXTREMEs (in terms of gore). A very interesting, and over all fascinating piece of work.

I am a die-hard King fan through and through, but this book brought me to tears. The book's plot was nonexistent at best. This has to be the first and hopefully the only book of his that was absolutely disappointing.

Just getting started-but loving it! My only complaint is the amount of typo's! I can not help but wonder why the E version has so many mistakes? I can not believe the paper book would be allowed to print with this many mistakes. Small complaint, but I do find them distracting. Oh well, I will try to ignore them and continue with this great story!

King's descriptions are so vivid I could almost feel the pain Jesse was having in her muscles from bieng hand-cuffed to the bed for two days. The errie chill of realization, that Jesse's situation isn't so far fetched. Tied to a bed in a summer cabin with no one else knowing, and knowing the only escape is either death or excrusiating pain. This book is powerfully stunning.

I have been a die-hard Stephen King fan for 16 years. Two of my favorite books in the world are written by him. I've got nothing but love for the guy. But seriously... Geralds Game was boring and just plain bad. I gave it a shot. I tried so hard to get into this book, but I gave up 3/4 of the way through. Normally, King books start off slow and pick up nicely, but this one started off great and ended up boring me to tears. If you want one to keep you up all night reading, buy "Insomnia" (no pun intended) .

the most thrilling stephen king I've ever raed. for the first time in my life I was so scared by written words that I had to check my door because I was afraid of it being not locked. the dark strange visitor at jessies bedroom represents my greatest childhood fears that something dangerous is hidden in the darkness. king brings our deepest anxieties, so well forgotten, back to our mind

I have been reading King's stories for years, but this was a waste of my time and money. It dragged on and on. I know King is capable of much better writing than this. This book was boring, predictable and a waste of the paper upon which it was printed. This story has no redeeming qualities. I would have given it minus 10 stars if possible.

My first King Book was Gerald's Game and I've been hooked ever since. Once you start, you can't stop. By book's end you're aren't sure about what was real and what wasn't; a great mind-f*#@ I really liked that I had to think about this book long after I put it down. A quick easy read!

I was cautious subsequent to reading the reviews within the store. However I was pleasantly surprised to find that the book and the writing totally lived up to my expectations of what a great Stephen King book should be like. I just can't fathom why it had received such lackluster reviews from some of the readers.

I have read this book a few times, and each time I can't put it down until I finish it. This is definitely not a book for the squeamish! I think it is superbly written, you feel every agonizing moment Jessie goes through to achieve her freedom and come to terms with her past. Not your "average" Stephen King novel, but still with his great talent for storytelling. A scary, gripping read!

This was a very well written book. I have written so many bad reviews I think I should write them on my all time favorites. COME ON PEOPLE at least this could happen, unlike King's other books. If you can image it happening to you THAT is what is scary. As for the reviewer who said things about "old Fat people having kinky sex...etc" You will be that way soon.

This is to me one of SK's more average novels. It was dry but as I said had some strong moments, but not enought to say it would be a must read. The pacing was at an average pace, almost slow, but that's for most SK books. The character Gerald was sick, but that's all you knew about him because the characters in the book weren't fully developed because the story kicked off right before Gerald's game. All in all, an average book with suspenceful parts but nothing special and could probably pass and read other SK novels.

The dog part was kinda interesting but the eclipse flashback(s) was disgusting and the rest of the book was really boring. It also could have easily ended about 50 or 60 pages before it did. But at least its short for a King book (445 pages) and I was able to force myself through it in a few days. Out of the 17 or so King books I've read this was definitely the worst, and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone unless you want to read every Stephen King book there is. - - 3/10

All right, it IS a bit too long. But it's far more interesting than many other novels by King, and surely less silly. It may seem boring at the beginning but if you get past the first chapters you won't be able to put it down 'til the end. Wonderfully written and very, very beautiful. Definitely one of his best.

This one I bought on my Kindle. It was a nice price and all but a lot of typos in the book! It really irks me when there is a misspelled word in a book! Great story though. Stephen King is awesome and I am a faithful reader!

This is classic King, at his best...The characters are so real you won't believe it! The space cowboy was a very tricky character, because you didn't know if he existed or not...No one could tell this story better than King.

How many chapters can you write about a woman cuffed to a bedpost? Chapter after chapter I plodded through this book, through such excitement as (1) cuffed woman wants glass of water on bedside table (2) cuffed woman needs to pee (3) dog comes in the room and cuffed woman is afraid. Save yourself and find a better book to read.

I am a die hard Stephen King fan and well this big does have some good high tension parts to it most of it is just really long and drawn out to the point where I was actually bored and wanted to just quit reading the book but I managed to get through it and it was so much less than what I expected.

i compare most of SK's early works to recent work, i find that his novel's getting worse. he should really seriously think about that too...for this book, it start great in the beginning but soon it gets boring as the pages go on and the ending's acceptable.

PLOT: The stupidest woman in the world kicks her husband in the nuts- and kills him. She is then stuck handcuffed to her bed for 400 pages, all while having flashbacks about her perverted father and talking to herself.
PLOT TWIST: This woman puts off the inevitable until the very last possible second.
RESOLUTION: The woman escapes (obviously) and writes a letter to someone that itself is like forty pages long.
VERDICT: I think S.K. wrote this while he was drunk.

It frightens me more than reading Pet Sematary by candlelight on a stormy night with the power out that there are actually people out there in the great wide world that view Gerald's Game as a "Taut Psycological Thriller." Scatological would be closer to the truth. Now...before you go on, you need to understand a few things. One, I've been reading Stephen King since I was 13 years old and that was 24 years ago. And two, I've read it all...everything Mr. King has published and all that hooflaw. So settle down when I compare Gerald's Game to a steaming pile of... Well, you get the point.

Gerald's Game takes a perfectly simple thing like kinky sex between old married folk and with one simple heart attack, turns it into a nightmare in handcuffs. Let me break it down in layman's terms: Gross fat dude (Gerald) can't perform with his wifey unless they get a little weird, so he locks her to the headboard with a really hardcore pair of handcuffs. She gets tense and he gets weirder and she decides she's had enough so she kicks him where the sun don't shine and the fat degenerate has a friggin' heart attack and croaks. Bummer. Wifey's chained to the bed and husband's dead. What follows is not "taut psychological drama" but a weird drug daze of childhood memories (sitting on the lap of a groping father on the day of a solar eclipse) and trauma-induced hallucinations. Not the breakfast of champions.

Gerald's Game is tripe. Crap. Vomit. Slop. This is the Anti-Misery. Like I said, I've read (and re-read) every Stephen King novel and short story and essay and blah-blah-blah ever to hit publication, and I can say, without a trace of guilt, that Gerlad's Game is Stephen King's worst novel ever. Even the bilge that was The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon and the abortion that was Rose Madder are far superior to this. Written in a two week period and slightly linked to Delores Claiborne (a vastly superior novel) Gerald's Game is precisely what happens when the most popular author in the world can't find an editor with enough cajones to tell him that what he has written sucks. Bummer.

Deal with it and move on, there are many, many more interesting Stephen King novels out there to occupy your time. Leave Gerald's Game to the vultures.

I used to be a huge King fan. Salem's Lot, Tommyknockers, IT, and lots and lots of other greats. But after reading this piece of garbage I actually stopped reading King cold turkey... yea, it's that bad!

The whole book is basically just a lady lying in bed, having hallucinations. Only King could write an epic-length novel about that!

I bought this book from a couple sisters called "twosistersbooks" and they were the friendliest and most helpful people I have met in the book industry yet. The book was in near perfect condition and is a great addition to my collection that is "near" complete! Check into them, they are a great seller!

Thanks so much Publishers Weekly for your review at the top of the page!

You gave away the ending - she escapes from the handcuffs. Well done!

I was going to buy the book but thanks to you now I don't have to do I?