Come on Baby, Don't Light That Fire: Book Review of Firestarter

 

Firestarter by Stephen King

Gratitude

Thank you to Montgomery County Public Libraries for making Firestarter by Stephen King readily available to the public absolutely free. 

Description

In the Stephen King classic Firestarter, Andy is on the run with his young daughter, trying to escape the clutches of the Shop, a government agency created to investigate psychic abilities. Both Andy and his daughter Charlie are able to do things with their minds that sound impossible—Andy can manipulate people’s thoughts and Charlie can start fires. While Andy’s abilities are small, Charlie’s are tremendous, so great that the Shop will stop at nothing to capture her.

And Andy will stop at nothing to save her.

Firestarter focuses mostly on Andy’s point of view and goes into an extended flashback to explain the government tests that forever altered Andy and Vicky, the woman he would later marry and who would also become Charlie’s mother. The experience is wild and somehow more difficult to accept than Charlie’s abilities to start fires--perhaps because the government is a known entity and that kind of cover up would be difficult to imagine.

A Product of Its Time

The plot relies heavily on the existence of the Shop, an organization within the government which seems to be simultaneously above the law and beholden to government budgets and restrictions. The belief that the government would experiment unethically on its citizens is one that has at least some support in history. It is interesting how we, as a country, trust and distrust the machinations of our government. We pride ourselves on our liberty and also assume the government is up to no good, often acting contrary to the interests of the people. Firestarter was first published in 1980, long before Q-Anon and all the fears of how the Covid pandemic was handled, but not that distant from the Vietnam War and the unsettling reticence to accept the changes demanded during the Civil Rights Movement. How would Firestarter be received during the current political climate, I wonder?

As the only character noted for his ethnicity, it is disturbing that John Rainbird is the villain of the book. Rainbird is a Native American who was scarred during the Vietnam War, including having lost an eye. He's also a hired assassin who is especially interested in helping with Charlie’s capture. No other character’s ethnicity is noted in the entirety of the book, and the edition I read is close to 500 pages. This is not the first time, nor the last time, that King has used ethnic or racial identity in a questionable way.

Would I Teach This Book?

Would I teach this book? I could make a case for teaching Firestarter in a class on science fiction or a themed class on super powers or the Stephen King course I am building in my brain, waiting for the opportunity to teach it. Firestarter is entertaining and has some adrenaline to it, so it is certainly a good choice for a leisure read. And again, I am also curious about the commentary on the secret and ominous workings of the government, which can only be imagined by the common folk who will never know the truth. 

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