Of all of King's novels, this one is the most raw and experimental. It has been accused of being a weak novel, like Cujo, in that events seem to happen by fate or accident, rather than by some sense of direction or will, either malevolent or logical. Thus, the political and social message seems to drive the novel, rather than the character's action. As a minor character comments, he believes that Jessie was not guilty of the murder of Gerald because if she was smart enough to see a way to kill him, she was also smart enough to see that she would also be trapped in handcuffs. Yet readers know, ironically, that Jessie's own unexamined impulses for freedom left her trapped.

The motif of the sacrificial children extends through many of King's early novels. These children include Carrie White of Carrie (1974), Danny Torrence in The...