| Insomnia | |
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First edition cover |
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| Author(s) | Stephen King |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Horror, Fantasy novel |
| Publisher | Viking |
| Publication date | October 1994 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Pages | 832 |
| ISBN | 978-0670855032 |
| Preceded by | Dolores Claiborne |
| Followed by | Rose Madder |
Insomnia is a novel written by Stephen King and first published in 1994. Like It and Dreamcatcher, its setting is the fictional town of Derry, Maine. The original hardcover edition was issued with dust jackets in two complementary designs. The first is pictured on the right; the second has the white and red colors reversed.
Contents |
The novel deals with Ralph Roberts, a retired widower who begins to suffer from insomnia. As the condition worsens, he begins to see things that are invisible and intangible to others: colorful manifestations of life-force surrounding people (auras), and diminutive white-coated beings he calls "little bald doctors", based on their appearance. Roberts perceives other planes of reality and their influence upon the "real" world. He finds that his sweetheart, (later his second wife) Lois Chasse, is also a sufferer. They eventually discover that their insomnia has in fact been induced by the two little bald doctors to enable them to defeat the agents of the Crimson King.
Lois and Ralph name the doctors Clotho and Lachesis (the good guys) and Atropos (the rogue doctor), after the Moirae of mythology. Ralph overcomes Atropos and forces him to promise to stay out of their business, the doctors all being bound by their word, but Atropos has his revenge by showing Ralph a glimpse of the not too distant future in which he claims the life of the innocent Natalie Deepneau. Ralph is able to counterbalance this however, by striking a deal with Clotho and Lachesis whereby he trades his own life for Natalie's.
The story climaxes when Ed Deepneau, a deranged maniac and former neighbor of Roberts and Chasse, under control of an entity called the Crimson King attempts to crash a light plane containing explosives into the Derry Civic Center during a heavily-attended rally. At first Ralph and Lois think Ed's intention is to kill thousands of people in the immediate area; they discover however, that Ed has been possessed by the Random and brainwashed into becoming a kamikaze to help fulfill the Crimson King's true motive. The Crimson King wishes to kill a boy named Patrick Danville. Danville is the focus of a prophecy concerning the salvation of The Dark Tower (and indeed returns with a key role in the seventh book in The Dark Tower series). Danville cannot, for undisclosed reasons, be killed directly by anyone born under either the Random or the Purpose.
However, from time to time a being is born who is "undesignated". An undesignated person is described as being like a blank card, and is up for grabs by either side. Deepneau is one such person, in fact the only person on earth at that time of undesignated status. Ralph defeats the King and forces the light plane to crash into the parking lot; killing Deepneau and sparing Danville's life, allowing him to fulfill his destiny and setting the path for the Dark Tower series.
The story ends on a tragic note as Ralph, to uphold his bargain with Clotho and Lachesis, is hit and killed by a car to prevent Natalie Deepneau from being killed in his place. The story closes on the remark that Ralph is finally able to rest.
Of interest to those following King's body of work is the fact that this tale goes some way in explaining the mystical nature of Derry (see, for example, It). Also, some of the metaphysical concepts underlying the Dark Tower series, and background story of Patrick Danville are discussed.
Insomnia was nominated for a Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel in 1994.[1]
According to interviews with Director Rob Schmidt (Wrong Turn), he stated that "I'm doing the film mainly because King was such a big fan of Wrong Turn!"[2] IMDb has not confirmed the beginning of production as yet.
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