Product Description

At Cold Mountain Penitentiary, along the lonely stretch of cells known as the Green Mile, killers await death, whilst their guards watch over them. Good or evil, innocent or guilty, none of them have ever seen the likes of brutal new prisoner John Coffey, seemingly a devil in human form.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2540 in Books
• Published on: 1999-09-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 480 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
This novel (now complete in one volume) taps into what Stephen King does best: character-driven storytelling. The setting is the small "death house" of a Southern prison in 1932. The charming narrator is an old man looking back on the events, decades later. Maybe it's a little too cute, maybe the pathos is laid on a little thick, but it's hard to resist the colourful personalities and simple wonders of this supernatural tale. As Time magazine put it, "Like the best popular art, The Green Mile has the courage of its cornier convictions ... the palpable sense of King's sheer, unwavering belief in his tale is what makes the novel work as well as it finally does". And it's not a bad choice for giving to someone who doesn't understand the appeal of Stephen King because the one scene that is out-and-out gruesome can be easily skipped by the squeamish. The Green Mile was nominated for a 1997 Bram Stoker Award. --Amazon.com

Entertainment Weekly
‘King's best in years'

About the Author
Stephen King, the world's bestselling novelist, lives with his wife, the novelist Tabitha King, in Bangor, Maine.

Customer Reviews

compelling, thought-provoking tragedy.
I'm not really a big Stephen King fan, as I don't like horror and blood and guts. However, I thought I'd give this one a try,
and I'm so glad I did. It is a really good story, and even though the subject matter is death and execution, it isn't really gratuitous, but necessary to the story. I have read some of his books and thought they just dealt in sensation, and were out to shock, but this one is a 'proper' story, well-told,and very effective. I read the book really quickly as I couldn't put it down until I'd finished, and I have read it again since, and still think it's great. I also watched the film, and I thought it interpreted the book wonderfully. Usually, I am disappointed if I have read a book first, and then see the film, but this one stuck pretty much to the story, and of course, the acting was wonderful (Tom Hanks, need I say more?). I was very pleasantly surprised by this offerring from Stephen King, and he has definitely gone up in my estimation on the strength of this book. I really enjoyed it, and would recommend it to everyone.

The book that blew me away
I watched the film first and I thought it was breath-taking. I then decided to read the book and it was even better.
I had cried at the film and thought since I knew what would happen I wouldn't cry at the book but i cried even more than the film.
I am so glad a got the complete book in one volume because if I had had to wait for the next part for a month I don't know what I would have done.
One of the best 3 books I have ever read.

An excellent read!!
King has really proved once again that he can write in genres, other than horror, and do so wonderfully. Although there is still an element of horror within the book it is very much down to human nature. This of course means the good side of human nature is represented in abundance.
Once your walking the green mile with Paul Edgecomb, Brutus 'Brutal' Howell and John Coffey (like the drink but not spelt the same) its impossible to leave till the very bitter end.

When Coffey is brought to the Green Mile accused of the brutal murder of two young girls he is met with both fear and suspicion by the gaurds. It becomes clear over time though that he is far from ordinary. Built like a wrestler and afraid of the dark Coffey soon proves that he has some very magical gifts.

On the green mile King has given us hope, magic, wonder and even humour in a setting where you wouldn't think to look for any. Even die hard King fans would not be disappointed.