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Thinner

by Richard Bachman

"Thinner" is a 1984 horror novel that Stephen King published under his pseudonym Richard Bachman. It follows Billy Halleck, a morbidly obese Connecticut lawyer who, while driving distracted, strikes and kills an elderly… more

First published 1984 · 309 pages · English

15 quotes ★ 3.78 (230,988) Fiction

Quotes from the Book

Some guys-- a lot of guys---don't believe what they are seeing, especially if it gets in the way of what they eat or drink or think or believe. Me, I don't believe in God. But if I saw him, I would. I wouldn't just go around saying 'Jesus, that was a great special effect.' The definition of an asshole is a guy who doesn't believe what he's seeing. And you can quote me.
In many ways the world is nothing but a pile of shit. But it can also be very beautiful.
But it's hard for a man to give up all his pleasures, even when they don't pleasure him no more.
The definition of an asshole is a guy who doesn't believe what he's seeing.
You were starting to sound a little like a Stephen King novel for a while there,
sure, we need the gypsies. we always have. because if you don't have someone to run out of town once in a while, how are you going to know you yourself belong there?
Things hurt more when you were alone, that was all.
Pues bien, existe otra cosa en la que creo, William. Creo en lo que veo. Y ésa es la razón de que sea un hombre relativamente rico. Y también es el motivo de que sea un hombre vivo. La mayoría de la gente no cree lo que ve. Yo no creo en Dios. Pero si le viese, creería. No iría por ahí diciendo: Jesús vaya un efecto especial más estupendo. La definición de imbécil es un tipo que no cree en lo que ve
You were starting to sound a little like a Stephen King novel
It just...it seems hard to say anything that isn't the wrong thing.
Sometimes the gods give you a break.
If you think someone is seriously on the prod for your ass, it keeps you awake.
I feel that if I’m going through this hellish decline, you should be going through one also . . . misery loves company, and I guess we’ve all got a streak of one hundred percent gold-plated bastard in our natures, tangled up so tightly with the good part of us that we can never get free of it.
A vida inteira ele viveu perambulando, mandado embora de um lugar, assim que a "gente fina" comprava toda a maconha ou haxixe que quisesse, assim que houvesse perdido na roda da fortuna todas as moedas que queria. A vida inteira ele se ouviu sendo chamado de cigano sujo. A "gente fina" cria raízes; ele não tem nenhuma. Esse sujeito, Halleck, viu tendas de lona serem incendiadas por brincadeira, nos anos 30 e 40, e talvez houvesse bebês e velhos incendiados em algumas daquelas tendas. Ele viu suas filhas ou as filhas dos amigos serem atacadas, talvez violentadas, porque toda aquela "gente fina" sabe que ciganos trepam como coelhos e que um pouco mais não fará diferença — mas mesmo que faça, quem se importa? Ele talvez tenha visto seus filhos ou os filhos dos amigos serem surrados até quase a morte... e por quê? Porque os pais dos garotos que os surraram perderam algum dinheiro nos jogos de azar. É sempre a mesma coisa: você chega na cidade, a "gente fina" fica com o que quer e depois o manda embora. Às vezes, essa "gente fina" o condena a uma semana de trabalho na fazenda local de ervilhas ou um mês entre os trabalhadores da estrada local, como medida de ensinamento. E então, Halleck, para o cúmulo das coisas, vem o estalo final do chicote. O importante advogado de três queixos e bochechas de buldogue atropela e mata sua esposa na rua. Ela tem 70, 75 anos, é meio cega, talvez apenas se aventure no meio da rua depressa demais por querer voltar para sua gente antes de se mijar nas roupas — e ossos velhos quebram fácil, ossos velhos são como vidro, e você fica por ali, pensando que desta vez, apenas desta vez, haverá um pouco de justiça... um instante de justiça, como indenização por toda uma vida de miséria e...
Because if you don't have someone to run out of town once in a while, how are you going to know you yourself belong there?

Did you know?

  • Thinner was the fifth and final novel Stephen King published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman before the pen name was revealed.
  • A bookstore clerk, Stephen P. Brown, uncovered that King and Bachman were the same person through copyright records.
  • King publicly revealed he was Bachman on February 9, 1985, in the Bangor Daily News under the headline 'Pseudonym Kept Five King Novels a Mystery'.
  • After the pseudonym was exposed, sales of Thinner increased roughly tenfold, from about 28,000 to 280,000 copies.
  • A film adaptation directed by Tom Holland was released in 1996, with Stephen King making a cameo as a pharmacist.

About Richard Bachman

Stephen King is an American author of horror, suspense, and fantasy fiction, one of the best-selling novelists of all time. During the late 1970s and 1980s he published several novels under the pseudonym Richard Bachman, of which Thinner was the last before the pen name was publicly exposed in 1985.

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About the book

"Thinner" is a 1984 horror novel that Stephen King published under his pseudonym Richard Bachman. It follows Billy Halleck, a morbidly obese Connecticut lawyer who, while driving distracted, strikes and kills an elderly Romani woman. Using his connections with a friendly judge and a local police officer, Halleck escapes any legal consequence. But the dead woman's aged father, Taduz Lemke, brushes Halleck's cheek and whispers a single word, "thinner," laying a curse that makes him lose weight uncontrollably no matter how much he eats.

At first Halleck welcomes the change, but the loss soon becomes terrifying and unstoppable, and he learns the same old man has cursed the judge and the policeman who helped him as well. As his body wastes away, Halleck grows desperate to reverse the curse, ultimately enlisting a mobster associate to hunt down the Romani family and force Lemke to confront him. The novel builds toward a bleak reckoning over a cursed strawberry pie meant to pass the affliction on to someone else.

Beneath its supernatural revenge plot, "Thinner" explores justice, privilege, and consequence, questioning whether wealth and connections can truly shield a person from the results of their actions. It became the best-known of King's Bachman books after a bookstore clerk uncovered the pseudonym through copyright records in 1985; once King's authorship was revealed, sales of the novel climbed roughly tenfold, and it was adapted into a feature film in 1996.

Key characters

  • Billy HalleckObese Connecticut lawyer who is cursed to waste away
  • Taduz LemkeElderly Romani man who curses Halleck to avenge his daughter
  • Heidi HalleckBilly's wife, whom he blames for the accident
  • Richie 'The Hammer' GinelliMobster friend who helps Billy pressure the Romani family

Book details

First published
1984
Length
309 pages
Reading time
4 hours
Genre
Fiction
Goodreads rating
3.78 (231k ratings)

Movie & TV adaptations

  • IMDb
    Thinner 1996

    Feature film directed by Tom Holland; Stephen King has a cameo.

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