Since Stephen King has positioned The Wind Through the Keyhole between Wizard and Glass and Wolves of the Calla (which he refers to as The Dark Tower 4.5); in what location between these Dark Tower novels (in your opinion) would The Little Sisters of Eluria properly reside?
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Chronologically, it would clearly be the first to read. It takes place just before Roland picks up the man in blacks trail.
Books are a uniquely portable magic. ~Stephen King
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For this most recent reading of the series, I read it in the following order:
- The Gunslinger
- The Drawing of the Three
- The Waste Lands
- Wizard & Glass
- The Wind Through the Keyhole
- "Little Sisters of Eluria"
- Wolves of the Calla
- Song of Susannah
- The Dark Tower
It made sense to me to read the flashback portions in chronological order. (Plus, it never occurred to me until now to include "Little Sisters of Eluria" in one of my many readthroughs. So this time around, I wanted to do it in the name of thoroughness lol.)
But Wizard And Glass and The Wind Through The Keyhole were both downtime novels where Roland told his backstory to his Ka-Tet. And there were many intermissions between these tales where Susannah/Jake/Eddie/Oy made cameo appearances.
The Little Sisters Of Eluria, however, had no intermissions. It made no mention of Susannah/Jake/Eddie/Oy as an audience of this story. This was an uninterrupted tale from start to finish, and Roland was not it's narrator.
Therefore, the Ka-Tet had not yet been introduced.
My mind keeps placing this story right after:
...The Man In Black Fled Across The Desert, And The Gunslinger Followed...
But Wizard And Glass and The Wind Through The Keyhole were both downtime novels where Roland told his backstory to his Ka-Tet. And there were many intermissions between these tales where Susannah/Jake/Eddie/Oy made cameo appearances.Oh yeah, I'm aware of that; maybe I wasn't clear enough. When I said I was reading the flashback portions chronologically, I was referring to where those particular flashbacks fall in Roland's personal timeline. As we know, in Wizard & Glass, Roland was in his early teens during his time in Mejis, and during the events of The Wind Through the Keyhole, he was in his mid-teens (about a year or so after the events of W&G, I think). But if I remember correctly, his experience in "Little Sisters of Eluria" occurred not long after the Battle of Jericho Hill, so that would be in his 20s.
The Little Sisters Of Eluria, however, had no intermissions. It made no mention of Susannah/Jake/Eddie/Oy as an audience of this story. This was an uninterrupted tale from start to finish, and Roland was not it's narrator.
Therefore, the Ka-Tet had not yet been introduced.
My mind keeps placing this story right after:It's been months since I've read "Little Sisters of Eluria," so I'd have to check again to be sure, but I want to say it was mentioned or suggested that this tale occurs pretty early on in his journey to the Dark Tower - after the Battle of Jericho Hill, but many years before the incident in Tull or the events of The Gunslinger. share
[...The Man In Black Fled Across The Desert, And The Gunslinger Followed...]
And just before he first met Jake at the Way-Station (passed out and unconscious).
I would wedge or insert this story between the pages of the very first novel. The Gunslinger