The Green Mile
by Stephen King
★ Top 5 book of 1996 · #2 on Best Books of 1996
Paul Edgecombe supervises a death row block and meets John Coffey, an inmate with strange powers to heal and to feel what others feel. First released as a six-part serial, it blends everyday prison life with magical realism.
Best for: Readers who like magical realism set against the world of death row
The Green Mile is #2 on BookWard's Best Books of 1996, out of 38 1996 books that cleared our data bar.
What The Green Mile is about
In 1996, an old man named Paul Edgecombe, living in the Georgia Pines nursing home, sets down the story of 1932, when he supervised death row at Cold Mountain Penitentiary. The prison's green linoleum floor gave the block its nickname, The Green Mile. Paul and his guards live alongside men waiting to die: Eduard Delacroix, who teaches tricks to a mouse named Mr. Jingles, and the dangerous William Wharton. Among the staff is Percy Wetmore, a cruel guard the others must put up with because of his connections to the Governor's wife.
Then comes John Coffey, a huge, gentle, simple-minded man convicted of killing two young girls. Paul comes to see that John has a remarkable gift for healing, and that he feels other people's thoughts and pain. First released in six volumes, this blend of magical realism and prison drama is suspenseful, sentimental and haunting. It looks hard at justice, cruelty and compassion, and will suit readers who like their stories moving as well as tense.
The Green Mile on the Best Books of 1996
The Green Mile came out in 1996. Of the 38 books first published in 1996 that met BookWard's data bar, it ranks #2 on our Best Books of 1996 list.
Why it made the list: 1,829 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.3 out of 5 (110 ratings); 80 are reading it right now. The list ranks each year’s books on how many readers have picked them up, how highly readers rate them, and how many are reading them right now.
It earns Reader favorite and being read right now.
Nearby on the 1996 list
- A Game of Thrones George R. R. Martin, #1
- Forbidden Knowledge Roger Shattuck, #3
- Push Sapphire, #4
See all Best Books of 1996 Best books by year
More years: Best Books of 1995 Best Books of 1997.
The numbers behind it
- Readers: 1,514 want to read it, 80 are reading it now and 235 have read it, according to Open Library.
- Ratings: 4.3 out of 5 from 110 Open Library ratings.
| Signal | This book (0 to 100) | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | 97 | 55% |
| Reader love | 95 | 25% |
| Being read right now | 97 | 20% |
Questions about The Green Mile
When was The Green Mile published?
The Green Mile by Stephen King was first published in 1996.
Was The Green Mile one of the best books of 1996?
The Green Mile is #2 on BookWard's Best Books of 1996, out of 38 1996 books that cleared our data bar. 1,829 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.3 out of 5 (110 ratings); 80 are reading it right now.
Why is The Green Mile on the Best Books of 1996 list?
1,829 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.3 out of 5 (110 ratings); 80 are reading it right now.
More of the best books of 1996
- A Game of Thrones George R. R. Martin, #1
- Forbidden Knowledge Roger Shattuck, #3
- Push Sapphire, #4
- Fight Club Chuck Palahniuk, #5
- Neverwhere Neil Gaiman, #6
- Infinite Jest David Foster Wallace, #7
See the full Best Books of 1996, the Top 100, or new books on Rising.
How we know
This page uses public data: Open Library reader counts and ratings, and Wikipedia page views for recent years. The description is paraphrased from real source text. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Lists update monthly.
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