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Thinner
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Thinner (1984) (edit title/settings)

by Stephen King (Author), Richard Bachman (Author) (edit contributors)

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Description edit see section history

When an old Gypsy man curses Billy Halleck for sideswiping his daughter, six weeks later he's 93 pounds lighter. Now Billy is terrified. And desperate enough for one last gamble...that will lead him to a nightmare showdown with the forces of evil melting his flesh away.

Summary edit see section history

Set in 1980s New England, the novel focuses on an arrogant, obese lawyer named Billy Halleck, who has recently fought an agonizing court case in which he was charged with vehicular manslaughter after receiving a hand job from his wife Heidi while driving, causing him to run over an old woman... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

Set in 1980s New England, the novel focuses on an arrogant, obese lawyer named Billy Halleck, who has recently fought an agonizing court case in which he was charged with vehicular manslaughter after receiving a hand job from his wife Heidi while driving, causing him to run over an old woman who was part of a group of traveling Gypsies. (Although the book contains passages supposedly in the Romani language, they are actually in Swedish, and are more or less gibberish.) Billy is acquitted thanks to the judge, who is a close friend of his. As Billy leaves the courthouse in his affluent Connecticut town, the old woman's ancient father, Taduz Lemke, strokes Billy's cheeks and whispers one word to him: "Thinner." The word, and the old man's behavior, startle Billy.

From this point on, Billy quickly and inexplicably loses weight (about two pounds a day); the loss becomes more and more rapid and he realizes that Lemke has cursed him. He also learns that the judge who heard his case and gave the unfair verdict was also cursed by the old man—scales start growing on his skin. The town police chief who helped soft-pedal the charges against Billy is cursed with a horrifyingly extreme case of acne.

With the help of his friend Richie "The Hammer" Ginelli, a former client who is a Mafia figure (mentioned in King's The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three), an emaciated and desperate Billy tracks the Gypsy band north along the seacoast of New England to Maine, where the stage is set for a confrontation between himself and Lemke, resolving the issue of the curse and the blood-debt owed by Billy.

After Richie terrorizes the Gypsy camp, Lemke agrees to meet with Billy. Lemke has brought a pie with him and cuts Billy's hand to add some of his blood to it, saying that the curse can be transferred to someone else but not destroyed. If Billy can get someone else to eat the pie, that person will be struck with the curse and Billy will regain his health but warns that the curse will enact faster. Lemke begs Billy to eat it himself and die with dignity, but Billy instead takes it home, discovering along the way that Richie has been murdered by the Gypsies. He intends to give the pie to Heidi, whom he has come to blame for his predicament; the next morning, though, he finds that both she and his daughter Linda have eaten from the pie. Realizing that both of them are now doomed, he cuts a slice for himself so that he can join them in death.

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First Sentence edit see section history

"Thinner," the old Gypsy man with the rotting nose whispers to William Halleck as Halleck and his wife, Heidi, come out of the court-house.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Stephen King (Author)
  2. Richard Bachman (Author) - Richard Bachman is the Pseudonym name that Stephen King wrote under.

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: New American Library
Country: United States
Publication Date: 1984
ISBN: 0453004687
Page Count: 309

Classification edit see section history

  • Library of Congress: PS3561.I483 T45 1984
  • Dewey: 813.54

Movie Connections edit see section history

  • Thinner (1996) (IMDb): Staring Joe Mantegna, Michael Constantine, Kari Wuhrer, and Bethany Joy Galeotti

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