My 12-year-old decided she really wanted to read Pet Sematary by Stephen King. After having read part of It and actually having to put it down because of childhood behaviors written about that made me incredibly uncomfortable, I wasn’t positive Pet Sematary would be appropriate. I have read other Stephen King books that I don’t remember as being particularly inappropriate, like Carrie, but it’s been awhile. I decided I should read Pet Sematary first before giving her the okay. My takeaway is that it’s a great, scary horror story. It is not 12-year-old appropriate. Sorry child, you got a few more years. There was a little sex in the book, but mostly I thought she’d have nightmares for years. Being a big horror buff myself, I can tolerate a lot of scary books. But I did find this story just generally scary.
Side note: I’m watching the 2019 movie version of this book right now. I’ve heard it’s shitty, but I like watching movies of books I’ve read.
Rated 3.97 stars on goodreads on the date I made this entry, I rated the book 5 stars. The Creed family moves into a small rural town in Ludlow, Maine. When Dr. Louis Creed meets his neighbor Jud, he is also introduced to the neighborhood pet cemetery on his property. Though very much a horror story, this book is a huge introspection into death and into how people cope with death in different ways. Like a lot of King’s works, there is a huge supernatural element, in this one, a haunted Indian burial ground.
Food in this book included:
- Rat cheese and crackers
- Deep dish apple pie
- Beef stroganoff
- Iced tea
- Eggs
- Doughnuts and coffee
- Tuna fish sandwich and coke
- Pot roast
- Apple and snickers
- Turkey and the trimmings
- Deep dish pizza
- Meatloaf sandwich with onion and ketchup
- Homemade bread
- Beef stew
- Submarine sandwiches
- South side chili
- Turkey sandwiches
- Oatmeal
- Cheeseburger
- Eggnog
- Grapefruit and cereal
- Sandwich and a bowl of soup
- Chicken pot pie
- Oatmeal cookies
- Hot dogs and beans
- Hamburger and noodle casserole
- Quiche
- Baked ham
- Cold cuts and cheeses
- Key lime pie
- Canapes
- Pepperoni and mushroom pizza
- Baked potato, green beans, apple pie with ice cream
- Fried egg sandwich
“He would go out into the kitchen, he decided, and make himself breakfast just as if it were any ordinary day. A bachelor breakfast, full of comforting cholesterol. A couple of fried-egg sandwiches with mayo and a slice of Bermuda onion on each one . . .
He went into the kitchen, rattled out a frying pan, put it on the stove, got eggs from the fridge. The kitchen was bright and crisp and clear. He tried to whistle – a whistle would bring the morning into its proper focus – but he could not. Things looked right, but they weren’t right.”
There were a lot of food references in this book, but I wouldn’t say food was in anyway integral to this story. The reason I chose to make the egg sandwich was because it did play more of a part of the story line without giving the story away, than some of the other options. Though, I did make an apple pie last weekend and almost used it for this book’s recipe – but I decided the pie that we took to my fiance’s grandma’s 90th birthday party shouldn’t be a horror pie.
The cholesterol loaded egg sandwich was easy and delicious.
Comforting Cholesterol Egg Sandwich
Ingredients
1/2 avocado
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 tbsp onion, chopped
1 egg
1 1/2 tbsp butter, softened
Mayonnaise, to taste
1 oz sliced deli ham
1 slice provolone cheese
3 slices tomato
2 slices sourdough bread
Directions
- In a small bowl combine the avocado, salt, pepper, and onion. Mash together to make guacamole.
- In a small skillet heat 1/2 tbsp butter. Crack an egg into the skillet. Break the yolk and cook for 3 minutes. Flip the egg and cook for another 2 or 3 minutes.
- Spread the remaining butter on one side of the bread slices.
- On the other side of the bread slices, make your sandwich. Spread one of the bread slices with the avocado. Spread the other with mayonnaise.
- Layer the egg, cheese, deli meat, tomato, and avocado onto the bread and push together to make a sandwich.
- Heat the skillet. Cook the sandwich for 3 minutes per side, until golden brown and toasted and the cheese is melted.
- Makes 1 sandwich.
Shared with Foodies Read & Weekend Cooking
Thanks for the review. I’m not sure that I wouldn’t have nightmares if I read it!
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It is the lingering kind of nightmare book. Super scary after the fact!
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It appears that book has a lot of mentions of comfort food which it probably needs! :–) This recipe sounds great, actually!
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Good review, I tend more to the “cozy” type mystery, rather than horror. But that egg sandwich is to ha ha die for!
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I have a funny story about the book pet Semetary. When I read this book a loooong time ago, probably at least a decade, I had to wake my husband up to walk me to the bathroom. I kidd you not! That one flipped me out.
Nice looking sandwich!
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Haha! That’s hilarious! It definitely is scary though!
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No I don’t think I would let my 12 year old read King either. I think mine were closer to 14 when they started reading him.
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This looks like an interesting recipe to accompany a reading session.
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