Okay, I was going to post this in GQ, but since this says literature, I’ll stick it here.
DO NOT SPOIL ANYTHING!!! I HAVEN’T FINISHED IT YET!!!
I’m about halfway through “Bag of Bones” and have a sort of technical question.
He keeps referring to “TR-90” (I think it’s 90; of course now I can’t find an exact reference).
At first I took it to mean “Town Road” as in a very rural road with no name. But he refers to the father-in-law (Devore) as being “back on the TR” and the last summer he and his wife “being on the TR.”
What the heck is a TR?
Thanks!
I’m glad you didn’t post this in GQ, because I can’t give you a GQ answer, but I can tell you that I read in some article about Stephen King that this TR thing refers to a large tract of land in Maine that is too sparsely populated to be incorporated into a township. On a map, the big chuck of land would simply be labeled “TR-whatever.” Thus, TR-90 is the middle of nowheresville.
Could it be a USFS trail number? As I recall it was a trail that went around the lake.
It looks like this might be a US Forest Service nomenclature. If you look at this page, you can find this trail description:
“Trail layout: The trail begins on FR 21, traveling 2.8 miles south to its junction with FR 9879B (4WD only). At this point it is possible to return to TR #10 trailhead by taking FR 9879B east about 2 miles to its junction with TR #22, then take TR #22 northwest about 2.2 miles to the junction with TR #10, returning along the upper third of TR #10 to FR 21.”
That’s one theory. However, further googling turned up a complete text of King’s The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (I won’t link to it, since it probably isn’t a legal copy):
“She was in Sanford, not in TR-90. She was in the town park, not at an entry-point to the Appalachian Trail. She was with Tom Gordon, Number 36, and he was offering to buy her a hotdog in exhange for directions to North Berwick.”
in TR-90 indicates it is an area and not a trail. The next sentence indicates it is an area near the entrance to the Appalachian trail. If it is a real place, I can’t find it with Google.
Okay, thanks.
I figured it meant the area as a whole, but a couple of his references made me think “TR” meant “Town Road.”
I just wanted confirmation.
So he uses this again in “The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon”? Wow, King referencing one book in another book? Who would have guessed? I wonder if he’s ever done that before?
If I re-read the book, I can pull a quote out of there that precisely defines it, but Delphica’s basically got it right on the nose – it’s an unincorporated township area. (He refers to some others in the book too – TR-100 being one of them.)
If you’re interested, I’ll give the book another readthrough – it’s well worth it, anyway. Lemme know.
Thanks, Lionors, but that’s okay.
I’m satisfied with the answers I got here. I’ve never heard that phrase (TR) before and was just wondering.
Thanks for the offer.
(I just finished it last night, BTW. I was up till 2:00…way past my bedtime, but I couldn’t stop. Very good book!)
I have it, and have read the first one (“Low Men in Yellow Coats”). I sort of didn’t like it (or get it). I haven’t read the rest if it yet. Does it get better?
I also have “The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon”, but I haven’t read it yet.
I got very disillusioned with SK a while back and took a loooong break from him, but then I read “The Green Mile” and was hooked again. I loved “The Green Mile” and the movie adaptation.
I hated “Insomnia” with a passion.
I haven’t read the Dark Tower series. Is it any good?
What about “Desperation” and “The Regulators.” Aren’t they related? One’s a King book and one’s a Bachman, right?
I loved “The Dark Half”, “The Stand” and “Dolores Claiborne.”
I need to re-read “The Talisman”, so I can read the sequel coming soon.
If you haven’t read the Dark Tower series then that would explain much of why you didn’t get the first part of Hearts in Atlantis. Many would say that Dark Tower is King’s best.
The second book in Hearts in Atlantis is the best (but there is nothing horror or supernatural in it). What is amusing about the movie coming out is that it has nothing to do with the title. The movie only covers the first story in the book, and does not include the story that gives the collection its name.
Just to put an exclamation point on the TR-90 question, this review of Bag of Bones at the Denver Post explains it:
Oh yes, do read the Dark Tower books. If you liked The Stand then I am guessing you might also like DT. Some people I know were a little turned off by the first DT book, The Gunslinger because it is written a little differently from King’s usual style. Of course, some people also love it. However, if you don’t care for it, at least try to finish it so you can give Drawing of the Three a shot, which is much more similar to other King books.
I confess that I like Insomnia, if only because there is a teeny tiny DT tie-in. I agree that Hearts In Atlantis might not seem particularly meaningful unless you have read DT, but it’s hard for me to distance myself from it because I am such a DT fanatic.
We just saw the trailer for the Hearts In Atlantis movie, and I cannot for the life of me imagine how this film is going to work. The story gains quite a bit when seen in connection with the other novellas in the book. Plus, I’m not sure, but * I think* the men in the yellow raincoats were changed to men in black raincoats, to which I give a hearty thumbs down.
<minor hijack>
You know, I loved this book when I first read it. However, I don’t know if I could ever read it again. You know what happens to his wife in the beginning? That happened last summer to someone I liked very much, except she was further along. Since then I’ve wondered if being pregnant increases one’s risks of that happening significantly…<shakes head sadly>
</minor hijack>
Kinsey, did the same thing. Read all his early stuff, then got disenchanted on Insomnia, loved The Green Mile and picked him back up again. As far as Hearts goes, I’ll put my vote in with the second story as the best, although all of the remaining stories in Hearts have ties with the first story, character-wise (Hope that’s not too much of a spoiler.)
BTW, Delphica, I wanted to like Insomnia…I really really tried. Don’t know why I couldn’t get into it. I really didn’t care for Dreamcatcher, either. And black raincoats instead of yellow coats!? Why not just let 'em drive a tasteful Rolls Royce while they’re at it instead of something obnoxious? <mutter>
Hearts got me to go back and try the DT series again; I had only read the first, but remembered just enough that I figured the references were to the DT series. I liked DT a lot better on the second go-round.
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon isn’t bad. Not one of his best, but not bad. Not sure about Desperation and The Regulators. I should get by the library in the next couple of days, so I’ll try to remember to look unless encroaching senility really takes a bite out of my memory.
The Stand remains my all time favorite of King’s, though. And a sequel to the Talisman?! Whoohoo! When is it due out??
I could be wrong about the raincoats, the trailer was moving so fast … let’s hope I was wrong.
I liked the beginning of Dreamcatcher, but I think King shot himself in the foot in the usual King way … the story seemed to snowball until it was completely unmanageable. What did you think of the IT reference? (I’m trying to be vague, so this thread remains spoiler-free, so the part at the Derry Standpipe.) Mr. Del thought it was clever, but I thought it was too obvious, for lack of a better word. I like it when he sneaks those crossovers into the books, not hits you over the head with them.
I’m also looking forward to the Talisman sequel, but what I really want is the next DT. We need to get these people moving to the Tower! I also wonder if there will be any DT stuff in the Talisman book, because I feel like he’s doing that more frequently these days.
Since several people have mentioned ** Insomnia** I’m going to ask: what do you people have against the book? It’s not one of favorite SK books, but it’s not my least favorite either. I thought it was pretty good, actually, so I’m confused why so many people here hate it.
Hm…Elfkin, I didn’t really hate the book, I just couldn’t get into it. Same for Dreamcatcher,'Salem’s Lot, the Tommyknockers and the novella Langoliers. They just didn’t ‘click’. And thank both you and Kinsey for the tip on the Talisman sequel – I haven’t decided if I’ll camp out at the library to grab it first when it hits the shelf or break down and buy it.
Delphica – oo. I am so glad you brought that cross-reference up because I had a question about that. But…since it’s kind of a spoiler for both, I’ll start a new thread so I don’t mess anything up for anyone.
Okay, the thread is here. I’d appreciate someone answering this question for me, because it nagged the heck out of me the first time and now that I’ve been reminded, it’s bugging me again…<mutter>
Don’t tune in unless you’ve read both Dreamcatcher and IT or unless you don’t mind knowing in advance what happens at the end of IT.
Lemme know.