I wish I had read this book before seeing the movie. Even though I've seen it only once, a lot of the drama and complications were deadened because I knew that (view spoiler)[Coffey was a good guy all along (hide spoiler)]. This book relies on an element of surprise or suspense to make it work perfectly, and I ruined that by peeking (seeing the movie first), so to speak. That doesn't mean it isn't a great book, though. I'm giving it a solid four stars. 
 This was published serially, and you can tell if you pay attention. King was on a deadline to get the installments out on time, and you can see a few instances where just one more round of editing after all six parts were done would've made the novel as a whole fit together better. Such is an occupational hazard of publishing in that manner, but I think he pulls it off with flying colors. I didn't see any instances of where he wrote himself into a corner he couldn't get out of in a later installment due to something that happened in a previous one. 
 This book makes one think about capital punishment, the good things about it, the bad things about it, etc. I'm for it, myself. After all, some people are rotten to the core and just need killing. This sometimes ends up saving other lives, but that's something that can be argued ad nauseam. 
 Most importantly, this book reminded me of a scene in Serial Mom where Father Stone is preaching a sermon entitled "Capital Punishment and You." Here's an excerpt: 
 ...Jesus said nothing to condemn capital punishment as he hung on the cross, did he? If ever there was a time to go on record against the death penalty, wasn't it that night? Capital punishment is already the law in state of Maryland. So what are we waiting for, fellow Christians? Let's just do it! 
 To which the congregation gives an enthusiastic "Amen!" 
 I guess that settles that matter. 
 There's a heavy focus on urination in this book which made Tom Hanks a perfect casting choice for Paul Edgecomb. (Seriously. The Money Pit, Castaway, Apollo 13, A League of Their Own,... He pisses in all of his movies, and this one is the piece de resistance.) I have just one more Stephen King book to read and I'll have read all of his novels that he wrote under his own name that wasn't a collaboration. That one is Dreamcatcher, and I understand there's a heavy focus on shitting in that one, so I'll be ending a phase of this project with a bunch of piss and shit. How's that for irony? Actually, I'm not sure if that counts as ironic. I'll have to ask my friend who knows about these kinds of things. I didn't intend for The Green Mile and Dreamcatcher to be the last two books; it just worked out that way by chance. I think that makes it ironic. Or is it coincidence? I'll never learn the difference between those. Oh well. 
 The writing is good. I hold king to high standards because I know what he's capable of, but there weren't any great zingers in this one. Nothing that I recall made me pause and go "Wow, look at that flow!" 
 As for the story itself, it was also good. There wasn't a lot of action, but it's not an action book. In fact, I had a hard time classifying this one. It's not horror though some horrible things happen in it. It's not fantasy though there are fantastic elements. It's not a mystery, though there is a mystery that needs figuring out. It's not really a drama, though there are dramatic bits. There's crime in it, but it's not about the crimes. I guess there's social commentary woven into it, and most masterfully, I might add; there's absolutely no preaching on the capital punishment theme. The commentary is just a natural element in a well-told story, but I don't know what you call those kinds of books. I guess there's racial injustice? Lots of fun stuff, but I don't know where to have this, so I just rolled with drama and called it a prison book as well, but I don't know if that's even a thing. Regardless, all these things blend together well, and the read was most enjoyable. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys decent prose, a good story, and can handle heavy subject matter.