I first read this book in early 2015 and did not care for it. By that point I'd read almost all of Tabitha King's catalogue and had grown to appreciate and enjoy her writing style. (No, she doesn't write like her husband at all, nor would I want her to.) Most of her books are set in the fictitious town of Nodd's Ridge, Maine, a small community where everyone knows each other and no local scandal goes unnoticed. The five Nodd's Ridge books — Caretakers, The Trap, Pearl, One on One, and The Book of Reuben — revolve around a set cast of characters with a few variables thrown in. King's books are very much character-oriented; she explores in depth the people of this town she's created. The reader gets up-close and personal looks at the happenings, both good and ugly.

When I read The Book of Reuben for the first time my life was pretty hectic. I was nearing the end of a stressful college semester and I was about to undergo surgery on my back. I simply was not in a positive or steady state of mind. I wasn't open to a book about ugly people with ugly problems, facing real life horrors like infidelity and the Vietnam War draft. Therefore, I had quite the adverse reaction to this one. I got 2/3 of the way in and couldn't take anymore. I gave up on it, and almost gave up on King's writing altogether. She paints pictures of struggle and fear so well . . . her novels are almost too much to take, sometimes.

Fast forward to the present. I am nearing the end of the initial stage of my college career, and plans for my future are much sturdier and clearer. I'm no longer making trips to Birmingham every other week for consultations with specialists. I've been in two serious relationships — one great, one horrible — and have put myself together after both. In short, I'm in a better place. So I decided to reread The Book of Reuben, and give it a fair shake. Am I glad I did; I enjoyed it much more this time around.

This book acts as the prequel to both Pearl and One On One, and takes place in roughly the same timeframe as Caretakers and The Trap. Reuben Styles, the protagonist of the story, wants nothing more than to find happiness, but he somehow always creates hurdles for himself. This is very much a coming-of-age story. Set against the backdrop of the tumultuous '60s and '70s and the reformation decade that is the '80s, the reader sees Reuben grow and work hard and fall in and out of love. He's an average, blue collar man in a small town where everyone knows him, for good or bad. I love this guy so much. I love him in every Tabitha King novel in which he appears, and I wish King would write again — if only to give us an update on how this man is doing after all these years.

This is a tough, raunchy, and real novel. It isn't for the faint of heart. It explores the joys and woes of sex, the pain of alcoholism, the dangers of fervent religiosity. There's divorce and physical altercations. There is heartbreak. There is financial ruin. It isn't pretty — these are rough, backwoods people who don't live easy lives — but it's a necessary and rewarding read. King's grasp of character is awe-inspiring, and her poetic prose is stunning. This is story worthy reading, and reading again. Highly recommended.

Before we begin, I've gotta say two things. 

1. Besides Stephen, Tabitha King is my favorite writer in the King family. Their sons are fantastic, as well as their daughter-in-law Kelly Braffet (seriously, the three of them haven't churned out a bad book yet) but my heart still belongs to Tabby. That's no shock, really -- all of her family members never hesitate to give her praise for her sense of story and characters, and she's perhaps more known for helping her husband and sons with their novels than she is for her own novels. Funny, isn't it? Still, the woman is very talented And SHOULD WRITE MORE ARGHHHH! 

I digress. 

2. This review is going to make me sound like I don't like Tabby's writing, and nothing could be farther from the truth. I simply have issues with this novel, THE BOOK OF REUBEN (yeah, I've switched from italicizing book titles to typing them in all caps because I'm a lazy bum) and they can't be overlooked. There's a lot to like about this book, but there are also mistakes present here that an author six books into her writing career shouldn't be making. 

So, on we go..... 

Actually, no. I just lied to you. There is one more thing I need to say-- a brief comment on the way Tabby's novels work. You see, King has published 8 novels over the years, and five of them are a series of sorts -- they're all about the inner workings of a small town in Maine called Nodd's Ridge, a small town not dissimilar to her husband's Castle Rock (in fact, Castle Rock is referenced in almost every Tabitha King novel, as well as a few of her husband's characters). Tabby tends to take an important event -- such as the murder of a small child in CARETAKERS -- and give a different twist on said event in laters books from witnesses or townsfolk who have heard about it. It's a way of deepening our relationship with the characters as well as furthering the feeling that we, the readers, are truly a part of this small town King has created. It's not too different from what her husband does -- he tends to throw in passing references to other works of his as a wink and nod to Constant Readers -- but it's also a little more involved. Again, these five books -- CARETAKERS, THE TRAP, PEARL, ONE ON ONE, and lastly, THE BOOK OF REUBEN -- are a series, or at least they detail the history and future of Nodd's Ridge and tend to focus on the same cast of characters, albeit at different stages in life -- for instance, Reuben is a grown man with a teenage son in ONE ON ONE, but THE BOOK OF REUBEN details his teenage years and eventual manhood against the back-drop of the '60s and '70s.

So, what did I think of the novel?

Well, for the first two hundred pages or so, I loved it. The story had me in its grip -- Reuben's father's suicide and purchase of a run-down garage in hopes of keeping himself and his mother afloat; his friendship to Sonny, a guy who knocks up his girlfriend, marries her, becomes a drunk, and goes off to 'Nam; his interactions with characters from previous King novels such as Joe Nevers and Torie Christopher....

Okay, so let me address an issue I had with the novel. Torie Christopher is a drunken middle-aged woman who tends to make at least a token appearance in every King novel. She's an alcoholic and sleeps with a lot of guys and isn't very well-liked on the Ridge. She's a summer resident, therefore she's from "away" as some of the folks in this town put it. Still, she's one of my favorite characters of King's simply because she's so . . . wild? Her biggest and best appearance is in CARETAKERS, and her full story will fully break ya heart.

Here, she's only used for soft (and hard) core porn. Early on in the book, Reuben is fixing this lady's Cadillac in his garage after hours. Everyone is gone except the two of them, and she says "Do you wanna screw me?"

Cue long sex scene. Like, reeeeeeally long. I'm no prude, but Reuben is only sixteen or so in this scene, and this lady is in her thirties. It's tolerable at first, but after a while it gets tiresome. Still, I didn't let it bother me too much -- anyone who reads works of any King family member has to expect a steamy sex scene or three. It comes with the territory.

A few chapters later, the two are at it again, and soon after they are looking for any place they can find to do it. They barely know each other, and King gives us no reason to root for these two. They are almost strangers -- Reuben doesn't even know her first name!

Meanwhile, Reuben is trying to catch the eye of Laura (i.e. The most annoying and lifeless female character I've ever read) all while still sleeping with Ms. Christopher. He and Laura hook up, and -- surprise surprise -- him juggling two women doesn't work well. Drama abounds.

Sigh. What was it about Tabitha King in the '90s? Why did she feel her books had to be filled with endless pages of sex, followed by the woman wondering why the man gets upset when she won't give him any? (Seriously, Laura eventually marries Reuben, complains every time they have sex, and then stops giving him any for, like, months.)

Thus, my biggest problem with this novel. Every woman turns into a frigid witch and every guy turns into a mindless sex-crazed lunatic. It's sad, because at least most of the characters in this novel started out so interesting and slowly devolved into cliches. I don't want to accuse Tabitha King of misandry, but THE BOOK OF REUBEN gives off that vibe, and how.

Still, King knows her way around a phrase. There is too much beautiful writing here to quote (read: I'm too lazy to get off my butt, grab my book, and find something to quote). The story kept me rapt for at least 2/3 of it, even if some of the sex made me roll my eyes. She obviously cares about these characters, even if she tries to infuse a lot of needless drama into their lives. It's neat to see Reuben grow up into the man we saw in PEARL and ONE ON ONE (even if King totally wasted the '60s setting -- seriously, Vietnam was mentioned like, twice, and there were maybe a couple of passing references to the counter-culture) and he's a strong guy -- a guy one can easily root for (when he's not being led around by his second brain, that is). His life isn't easy, and it's easy to cheer for him when he succeeds.

Overall, I think this book is a solid 3-star read. Like her husband, even on a bad day King is very readable, and it's easy to get lost in the world she's created. Her prose and dialogue are solid, as well as her sense of pace. It's only 350 pages long and doesn't feel bloated like ONE ON ONE did at times. Honestly, if the characters in this novel didn't hop in bed with any ole Joe from off the street (and this problem isn't limited to Reuben and Torie Christopher, trust me) this would get 4 stars, easy. Maybe 4 1/2. As it is, I'm giving this one 3 and hoping SURVIVOR is a better read.