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Encyclopedia > Thinner (novel)
Thinner
Image:Thinnerbookcover.jpg
Author Richard Bachman
Country United States
Language English
Genre(s) Horror novel
Publisher Putnam
Publication date 1984
Pages 309 pp
ISBN ISBN 0453004687

Thinner is a 1984 novel by Stephen King, published under his pseudonym, Richard Bachman. Set in 1980s New England, the novel focusses on an obese lawyer named William "Billy" Halleck, who has recently fought an agonizing court case in which he was charged with vehicular manslaughter after receiving a handjob from his wife Heidi while driving, causing him to run over an old woman who was part of a group of traveling gypsy. Halleck is acquitted thanks to the judge, who just happens to be a close friend of Billy's. As Halleck leaves the courthouse in his affluent Connecticut town, the old woman's ancient father strokes his cheeks and whispers one word to him: "Thinner." The word, and the old man's behavior, startle Halleck. Richard Bachmans author photo. ... For other uses, see Country (disambiguation). ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... “Horror story” redirects here. ... This article is about the literary concept. ... A publisher is a person or entity which engages in the act of publishing. ... G. P. Putnams Sons was a major United States book publisher based in New York City, New York. ... “ISBN” redirects here. ... This article is about the year. ... Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of over 200 stories including over 50 bestselling horror novels. ... Richard Bachmans author photo. ... This article is about the region in the United States of America. ... Obesity is an excess storage of fat and can affect any mammal, such as the mouse on the left. ... For the fish called lawyer, see Burbot. ... Manslaughter, sometimes called criminally negligent homicide, is a kind of homicide wherein a person causes the death of another through negligence or recklessness (not recognized in Australia) or where a person intentionally kills another but is not liable for murder because he is able to avail himself of a defense... Johann Nepomuk Geiger, watercolor, 1840. ... Languages Romani, languages of native region Religions Christianity, Islam Related ethnic groups South Asians (Desi) The Romani people (as a noun, singular Rom, plural Roma; sometimes Rrom, Rroma) or Romanies are an ethnic group living in many communities all over the world. ... Official language(s) English Capital Hartford Largest city Bridgeport[3] Largest metro area Hartford Metro Area[2] Area  Ranked 48th  - Total 5,543[4] sq mi (14,356 km²)  - Width 70 miles (113 km)  - Length 110 miles (177 km)  - % water 12. ...


From this point on, Halleck slowly loses weight (about two pounds a day); the loss becomes more and more rapid as he realizes the Gypsy man has cursed him. He also learns that the judge who heard his case and gave the unfair verdict was given another curse by the old man—scales eventually grow on his skin. A town police chief who also helped soft-pedal the charges against Halleck is similarly cursed with a horrifyingly extreme case of acne. Look up Curse in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In this SEM image of a butterfly wing the scales are clearly visible, and the tiny platelets on each individual scale are just barely visible in the striping. ...


With the help of a friend, a former client who is a Mafia figure, an emaciated and desperate Halleck tracks the Gypsy band north along the seacoast of New England to Maine, where the stage is set for a confrontation between him and the aged Gypsy leader, resolving the issue of the curse and the blood-debt owed by Halleck. This article is about the criminal society. ... Official language(s) None (English and French de facto) Capital Augusta Largest city Portland Area  Ranked 39th  - Total 33,414 sq mi (86,542 km²)  - Width 210 miles (338 km)  - Length 320 miles (515 km)  - % water 13. ...


Themes

The novel deals with social issues such as materialism and how people gain and express power within their daily life. Additionally, the Gypsy curse provides ample opportunity for numerous musings on the nature of guilt. Justice is also a heavy theme throughout, including the chapter titled "The Scales of Justice." In philosophy, materialism is that form of physicalism which holds that the only thing that can truly be said to exist is matter; that fundamentally, all things are composed of material and all phenomena are the result of material interactions; that matter is the only substance. ... “Guilty” redirects here. ... This article is about the concept of justice. ...


Trivia

  • Thinner was, for a time, the last novel which King released under the Richard Bachman pseudonym until the release of The Regulators in 1996; the initial hardcover release of Thinner included a fake jacket photo of "Dicky".
  • The passages in the book meant to be in the Romani language are actually in Swedish, and are more or less gibberish.
  • Characters in the story actually have a discussion about how the plot is similar to that of a Stephen King novel.
  • As Halleck is thinking, he thinks the phrase: "God knows that word had bobbed up in his own mind more than once. It had bobbed up like some evil clown's dirty balloon, and he had turned away from it." This may be a reference to another King novel, It, which would be published two years after Thinner.

Richard Bachmans author photo. ... The Regulators is a novel by Stephen King under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... Thinner is a 1996 horror film directed by Tom Holland and written by Stephen King (novel), Michael McDowell and Tom Holland (screenplay). ... This article is about the language spoken by Roma people. ... It is a horror novel by Stephen King, published in 1986. ...

See also

v • d • e
Stephen King bibliography
Novels Carrie (1974) • ’Salem's Lot (1975) • The Shining (1977) • The Stand (1978) • The Dead Zone (1979) • Firestarter (1980) • Cujo (1981) • Christine (1983) • Pet Sematary (1983) • Cycle of the Werewolf (1983) • The Talisman (1984; with Peter Straub) • It (1986) • The Eyes of the Dragon (1987) • Misery (1987) • The Tommyknockers (1987) • The Dark Half (1989) • Needful Things (1991) • Gerald's Game (1992) • Dolores Claiborne (1993) • Insomnia (1994) • Rose Madder (1995) • The Green Mile (1996) • Desperation (1996) • Bag of Bones (1998) • The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (1999) • Dreamcatcher (2001) • Black House (2001; with Peter Straub) • From a Buick 8 (2002) • The Colorado Kid (2005) • Cell (2006) • Lisey's Story (2006) • Duma Key (2008)
The Dark Tower
series		 I: The Gunslinger (1982) • II: The Drawing of the Three (1987) • III: The Waste Lands (1991) • IV: Wizard and Glass (1997) • V: Wolves of the Calla (2003) • VI: Song of Susannah (2004) • VII: The Dark Tower (2004)
The Bachman Books Rage (1977) • The Long Walk (1979) • Roadwork (1981) • The Running Man (1982) • Thinner (1984) • The Regulators (1996) • Blaze (2007)
Short fiction
collections		 Night Shift (1978) • Different Seasons (1982) • Skeleton Crew (1985) • Four Past Midnight (1990) • Nightmares & Dreamscapes (1993) • Hearts in Atlantis (1999) • Everything's Eventual: 14 Dark Tales (2002)
Non-fiction Danse Macabre (1981) • Nightmares in the Sky (1988) • On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft (2000) • Secret Windows (2000) • Faithful: Two Diehard Boston Red Sox Fans Chronicle the Historic 2004 Season (2005; with Stewart O'Nan)
e-books Riding the Bullet (1999) • The Plant (2000; unfinished)
Screenplays Creepshow (1982) • Cat's Eye (1985) • Silver Bullet (1985) • Maximum Overdrive (1986; also director) • Pet Sematary (1989) • Sleepwalkers (1992) • The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer (2003)
Teleplays Sorry, Right Number (1988) • Golden Years (1991) • The Stand (1994) • The Shining (1997) • Storm of the Century (1999) • Rose Red (2002) • Desperation (2006)
Stage play Ghost Brothers of Darkland County (2007; with John Mellencamp)
Miscellaneous Kingdom Hospital (2004) • The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born‎ (2007)
Related articles Richard Bachman • Tabitha King • Joe Hill • Owen King • Bryan Smith • Peter Straub • Rock Bottom Remainders • Cultural references to King • Dollar Baby • Media based on Stephen King works • Books with introduction by King • Castle Rock, Maine • Derry, Maine


 

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