BOOKCLUB NOTES: Pet Sematary by Stephen King

THE BOOK: Most of us hadn’t read Stephen King before and we were excited to get into this. Many of us wouldn’t usually read horror but we were pleasantly surprised! We scored it an average of 3.7 stars.

This is known to be one of King’s most horrifying novels (as said himself and hidden away in a draw for years). We discussed the beautiful writing which ultimately showed us that our fear of death is the scariest part of the book – the characters do terrifying things in their grief, more horrifying than the supernatural elements of the story. The book didn’t necessarily make us jump – we knew where it would end, but King created a looming sense of dread as the character’s fears inevitably came true. It was an interesting chat on both nights!

THE WINE: For our Halloween special we matched wines to Church - alive and dead!

Picrochole 2023 is Church before his tragic run-in with the truck. Before he died Church was a clean, easy going, conventional house pet. This wine is clean and precise expression of Cab Franc. Sitting at just 2 on the wild scale, it’s full to medium bodied with soft tannins. What you would perhaps expect from a Cab Franc from Loire.

When he returns from the dead, Church is wild, lively and full of character – some might argue too much so?! Lo Sfuso Di Collina 2023 is a Cab Franc blend from Veneto and is a representation of Church post Pet Sematary. A wilder wine, with a lively hint of spritz and a touch of earthiness. Sometimes, dead is better.