The Green Mile

I've been reading this book on and off for the last few days (in the little mini book form) It's certainly a very powerful book with lots of rich characterisation and deep attention to detail. There's a sense of resigned finality about the guards as they process their prisoners. The rituals of their duties comes across as interesting and it all leads up to the finale when they both break their little ways and stick to them as tightly as possible at the same time. The prisoners are all shown realistically, both have their good sides as well as their bad sides, except William Wharton (aka Billy the Kid) who either has no redeeming features or he goes out of his way to not let it show through. The Pres and The Chief are minor characters just there to show life before John Coffey arrived on the Green Mile. The three main prisoners are Delacroix, Coffey and Wharton and their lives and deaths feature the most heavily in the events of the books. There's a few minor sub plots that seem there just for added depth of character but slowly they become part of the main plot which is just genius writing. The story is one of sadness, despair, lonliness and isolation which suits a death row facility perfectly, and yet there's an innocence about the characters too because none of them are quite prepared for the whirlwind of destruction that is Billy the Kid even the seasoned guards are taken back by him a couple of times. It's one helluva book go and read it for yourselves...