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Review by Robin Fiorello
The Green Mile
Convicted murderer makes miracles on the Green Mile—death row, cellblock C—that transforms his jailers
Stephen King has once again taken a life experience that seems ordinary and made it extraordinary. Originally written in six installments, this series of stories is now available as a single volume. This is a supernatural tale of good versus evil, and one man’s attempt to cope with his inner demons.
The reader is taken back to the 1930’s by the narrator, Paul Edgecombe, who is now an old man. As a young man, he was a prison guard on death row in a Southern prison—Cold Mountain Penitentiary—in 1935. He oversaw cellblock "E" also known as "The Green Mile." During this period of the narrator’s life, he encounters a man named John Coffey "like the drink, only not spelled the same way." John Coffey has been sent to the Green Mile for the murder of two young girls. The narrator gains the trust of John Coffey when he experiences a miracle of healing. This single experience changes the narrator’s life forever, and the reader is soon lead to discover that John Coffey is not an ordinary man, but an extraordinary being.
During the visit to the Green Mile, the reader encounters many colorful characters that are surpassingly amicable. One of these characters is a mouse named Mr. Jingles. Mr. Jingles befriends one of the doomed death row inmates and becomes somehow involved in one of the many miracles performed by John Coffey on the Green Mile. Due to these miracles, Paul Edgecombe and Mr. Jingles form a bond that only they can understand. This bond is the centerpiece of Paul Edgecombe’s battle with his conscience.
Eventually, the miracles performed by John Coffey lead Paul Edgecombe to make a decision that could not only cost him his livelihood, but also could change his life and the lives of his fellow cell guards forever. The consequences of this decision pit good versus evil in a battle that none of the prison guard’s could ever forget.
Stephen King surprises the reader with unforgettable twists and turns through to the conclusion of the story. The Green Mile takes the reader on an unforgettable, supernatural journey via Paul Edgcombe’s personal moral journey. This six series "serial thriller" is now a major motion picture.
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