The arena
The arena (orig .: Under the Dome , literally: Under the Dome ) is a novel by the American writer Stephen King , which was published in November 2009.
content
initial situation
One morning in October, a split-second dome-shaped force field descends along the parish line of the small town of Chester's Mill, Maine . This leads directly to numerous catastrophic accidents (such as a plane crash or a hand severed from the dome) and, in the long term, to a complete isolation of the approximately 2000 residents. The invisible barrier proves to be indestructible, but is permeable to the smallest particles of molecular size. As a result, there is a weak exchange of air and the water from the streams inside the dome also flows out, but with congestion on the dome walls.
Course of action
As the army, led by President Barack Obama, tries to penetrate the dome, two camps quickly form under the dome. On the one hand, there is the corrupt city councilor Big Jim Rennie, who sees his chance to rise to true greatness, and to whom every means is right. His psychopathic and sick son Junior is just as helpful to him as the incompetent police chief Peter Randolph.
On the other side is Iraq veteran Dale Barbara, who was about to leave the city when the dome came down on the city. Together with the local reporter Julia Shumway, he groups the resistance to Rennie's machinations. When he succeeds in indicting Barbara, personally appointed by Obama as the city's commander, of multiple murders and imprisoning the situation, the situation escalates: under the dome there is police arbitrariness and constant fear, all threats ricochet off Rennie, as no one can get to them from outside .
The End
After the catastrophic explosion of a drug laboratory that stores almost all of the city's propane gas supplies, a fire that got out of control devastated the small town and killed almost all of the residents with the roller of fire rolling inside the dome and the smoke that accumulated under the dome. 30 people can save themselves to the dome wall, on which the military has set up large industrial fans. The enormous external air pressure ensures that a light flow of air diffuses through the dome walls .
A handful of people, including Barbara and Julia Shumway, find out what the dome really is: it was created by indefinable beings beyond our dimensions and served them as amusement - the residents of Chester's Mill are to them what ants are to human children who torment other living beings in their morbid instinct to play. When Julia and Barbara understand this, they try to get in touch with these beings. Julia succeeds in conveying to them that they are thinking and feeling creatures. Thereupon the dome is removed again by the incomprehensible powers.
Political references
According to world editor Wieland Freund , “Under the Dome” is King's most political book to date. The city leaders are modeled on the political staff of the Bush years. First City Councilor Andy Sanders, for example, wears the features of George W. Bush . Besides, both would be inclined to the religious right. The description of the environmental damage and scarcity of resources, which are developing rapidly, takes up a lot of space. There is literally a shortage of air in the glass dome.
connections
Like almost every novel, Die Arena is again part of the ever-growing King universe. The following links to previous works are particularly worth mentioning:
- Chester's Mill is in close proximity to two towns that were previously the sites of King's works: Castle Rock and Tarker Mills.
- Like the monster from Es and the beings from the novel N. (from the Sunset collection ), the creators of the dome are outsiders; a symbol known to King fans can be found both at the entrance to the monster's building and on the box that creates the dome.
- Julia Shumway writes the article about the suicide of the Bonsaint siblings in the short story N.
- One internet user describes the dome as a failed army experiment and quotes the King film The Mist .
- There is a link to Lee Child's books on Jack Reacher as a military policeman.
criticism
In 2009, Der Spiegel wrote in its review of the book: King creates horror through regression, through the revival of childish fears - and through the relapse of some characters into an infantile, polymorphic-perverse joy in tormenting and degrading others. [...] “The Arena” is a monster of a book, not just because of its sheer size. Under the skin of this monster, however, there are no bones and muscles, but fears and fantasies that are thoroughly childlike, even if not child-friendly in the educational sense. And somewhere between the smoke, ruins and corpses, King always hangs a mirror with the inscription “Know yourself”, but set in a provincial frame.
Interesting facts about books
- A very similar situation was described as early as 1963 in the novel Die Wand by the Austrian writer Marlen Haushofer . The novel was also made into a film in 2012 ( Die Wand (film) ).
- In 2007, The Simpsons - The Film, a film in the cinemas in which a small town was cut off from the outside world by a gigantic glass dome. In contrast to King's novel, however, the film is about an action by President Arnold Schwarzenegger , who wants to contain the rampant environmental pollution in Springfield (largely caused by Homer Simpson ).
- With a length of 1,280 pages, the novel is King's third longest novel (after The Last Battle and E- flat).
- The 34-hour original audio book and the Italian translation were published a week before the novel was published .
- The novel is based on King's unfinished novel The Cannibals , which he tried to write in 1976 and broke off after two months of work and 75 pages.
- Immediately after the publication of the book bought Steven Spielberg's company Dreamworks SKG , the movie rights with the intention of it as a mini-series implement.
- Audible produced the unabridged German-language version of the audio book , which was published in June 2010 and, with a playing time of 41 hours, is one of the longest German-language audio book productions. The speaker for the audiobook is voice actor David Nathan , who also synchronizes numerous well-known actors.
- The paperback edition appeared on July 6, 2010; the German paperback edition followed on June 13, 2011 by Heyne Verlag.
Release history
Even in advance, Die Arena caused a lot of talk due to a special advertising campaign:
- The cover was gradually revealed over a week.
- King gave numerous interviews about the creation of the third longest work he wrote.
- In advance, King published both the first two chapters of the novel and excerpts from the unfinished manuscript The Cannibals , on which it is based.
Series adaptation
The screenplay for the television series produced for CBS and broadcast since 2013 (discontinued after 3 seasons with 39 episodes) was written by King with Brian K. Vaughan .
Expenses (selection)
- Under the Dome , Scribner, New York City 2009, ISBN 978-1-4391-4850-1 (original edition)
- Die Arena , Heyne, Munich 2009, ISBN 978-3-453-26628-5 (German hardcover)
- Die Arena , Heyne, Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-45343-523-0 (German paperback edition)
literature
- Sven Eric Wehmeyer: Die Arena , in: The Science Fiction Year 2010 , edited by Sascha Mamczak and Wolfgang Jeschke , Heyne, Munich 2010, pp. 925–931. ISBN 978-3-453-52681-5
Web links
- Detailed information including a complete table of contents in KingWiki .
- Stephen King's official website .
- Comprehensive coverage with many links on Lilja's Library .
- Fictional website of Chester's Mill
Individual evidence
- ↑ Political novel "The Arena" - Stephen King exposes Bush as a puller , Die Welt , November 26, 2009
- ↑ Stephen King: The Arena - A Gang of Malicious Children , Süddeutsche Zeitung , March 10, 2010
- ↑ Stephen King's "The Arena": The Enemy in My Village . In: Der Spiegel , November 24, 2009. Retrieved October 2, 2010.
- ↑ So the representation of King in the "Notes of the author" in the appendix of "The Arena"
- ↑ Data on the unabridged audio book version
- ^ Publication history of Die Arena
- ↑ WonderCon: CBS ` ` Under the Dome '' to Explore Faith, Fear, Fascism
- ^ New Under the Dome Teaser Conveys a State of Emergency