Monthly Archives: May 2023

Surviving the Cabin in the Woods

If, like me, you have read many novels and seen many movies in the “cabin in the woods” genre–including the extremely meta 2011 film Cabin the Woods–you may think that two days and nights alone in a cabin in the woods infallibly leads to a terrifying clash with a Bigfoot, a psycho killer, or a clan of inbred cannibal hill people. I’m here to report that I recently spent two days and nights alone in a tiny cabin in the woods and wasn’t assailed by so much as a single spider.

I rented this adorable cabin at Smith Creek Village, in the backcountry of Silver Falls State Park, about 90 minutes south of Portland. I’d hiked the park’s best-known trail, the 7-mile Trail of 10 Waterfalls, before, but I wanted to do it again and to hike a couple of the backcountry trails as well. The cabin was the perfect base of operations. Not only was it less tiny and more plushy on the inside than I expected, and very quiet and comfortable for sleeping, but it was just steps from several trailheads and less than half a mile by a pleasant trail to the Village’s restaurant. In addition to hiking, I did some reading, writing, and relaxing. I’d like to go back–maybe in the winter, when I the cabin would be extremely cozy. Until the Yetis show up.

A writing family to love

It’s no secret that I’m a Stephen King fan. The first book of his I read, more years ago than I care to remember, was Salem’s Lot, which I devoured like a vampire falling on a small town. Since then I’ve read most of what he’s published, and while I have my favorites–From a Buick 8, Revival, The Stand, the Dark Tower books, and a lot of the short stories and novellas–I greatly admire many of his other works. I also admire his willingness to genre-blend and to write different kinds of fiction. It was a great treat for me to write a critical YA bio of King a while back, part of a series of books for young people about writers’ lives and major works.

I’ve also read and enjoyed work by Tabitha King and Joe Hill (the elder son of Stephen and Tabitha). I especially love Hill’s novels NOS4A2 and Heart-Shaped Box. And then there’s Owen King, the younger son, whose most recent novel, The Curator, became an instant favorite.

A lot of people have called The Curator “Dickensian,” and they’re partly right. The novel’s sprawling cast of characters and the equally sprawling, endlessly weird and wonderful city in which it unfolds do recall Dickens, as does the novel’s keen eye and ear for issues of class and revolution. But a review in the NYTBR that mentioned The Curator’s affinity to Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast novels bumped the book to the top of my to-read list, and I’m glad it did. For those seeking an original, engrossing read with flavors of Peake and Mieville, Owen King has what you’re looking for.