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adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I think this is one of King’s stronger collections. Like any anthology, you’re bound to enjoy some stories more than others, but even the stories that weren’t necessarily my favourites were still well written and had interesting plots/themes. My top 3 are “The gingerbread girl”, “N.” and “A very tight place”.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Terminal illness
Minor: Racial slurs
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit
Moderate: Animal death, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Vomit, Murder, Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Animal death, Cancer, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It is a short story collection so, for me, some worked more than others. That will not be helpful for most. All of the stories are unsettling, be it because of the topics or because they feature paranormal stuff.
Small spoilers from here on:
Willa - is a strong start. It gave a creepy, paranormal vibe. You do not get any hard stone explanation of why it's going on. But that fits the story perfectly. Really liked it.
The gingerbread girl - features a hard topic. After the loss of a child, a marriage falls apart. We follow the woman, she becomes obsessed with running. Thanks to this she gets tangled in a situation. It was so-so.
Harvey's dream - a man wakes up after a nightmare. Reality sucks. It was ok.
Rest stop - Also features a hard topic. An author comes across an event of domestic abuse when he stops to use the restroom. It was a good one.
The stationary bike- was one of my favorites. A man is forced to stop working out.
The things they left behind - This starts with a man with a huge survivor's guilt- (Possible trigger 9/11) but we discover there might be something else.
Graduation afternoon- A day of celebration ended with a big surprise. This was meh.
N. - It starts with a woman writing to someone she used to be her late brother's childhood friend. After her brother's suicide, she finds something that could explain it and a can of worms are freed. I really like this one.
The cat from hell - starts with an old man hiring a hitman to kill a cat. It's better than what it sounds, it is definitely creepy. It was pretty good.
The New York Times at special bargain rates - It starts in a scene of a funeral a man died and his late wife is struggling through the funeral. Not scary but it did something. This is one of my favorites in this collection.
Mute - A man comes into confession and shares a pretty particular story. It's weird in a good way and kind of funny too. I loved the last sentence about adding an extra Hail Mary for penance.
Ayana - An old man starts telling a story the rest of his family had insisted that it should not be told. Years before a miracle happened and it had something to do with the little girl Ayana. It was so-so.
A very tight place - Another one of my favorites in the collection. Two neighbors who do not see eye to eye and they take it to a crazy level.
Small spoilers from here on:
Willa - is a strong start. It gave a creepy, paranormal vibe. You do not get any hard stone explanation of why it's going on. But that fits the story perfectly. Really liked it.
The gingerbread girl - features a hard topic. After the loss of a child, a marriage falls apart. We follow the woman, she becomes obsessed with running. Thanks to this she gets tangled in a situation. It was so-so.
Harvey's dream - a man wakes up after a nightmare. Reality sucks. It was ok.
Rest stop - Also features a hard topic. An author comes across an event of domestic abuse when he stops to use the restroom. It was a good one.
The stationary bike- was one of my favorites. A man is forced to stop working out.
The things they left behind - This starts with a man with a huge survivor's guilt- (Possible trigger 9/11) but we discover there might be something else.
Graduation afternoon- A day of celebration ended with a big surprise. This was meh.
N. - It starts with a woman writing to someone she used to be her late brother's childhood friend. After her brother's suicide, she finds something that could explain it and a can of worms are freed. I really like this one.
The cat from hell - starts with an old man hiring a hitman to kill a cat. It's better than what it sounds, it is definitely creepy. It was pretty good.
The New York Times at special bargain rates - It starts in a scene of a funeral a man died and his late wife is struggling through the funeral. Not scary but it did something. This is one of my favorites in this collection.
Mute - A man comes into confession and shares a pretty particular story. It's weird in a good way and kind of funny too. I loved the last sentence about adding an extra Hail Mary for penance.
Ayana - An old man starts telling a story the rest of his family had insisted that it should not be told. Years before a miracle happened and it had something to do with the little girl Ayana. It was so-so.
A very tight place - Another one of my favorites in the collection. Two neighbors who do not see eye to eye and they take it to a crazy level.
Content Warnings
Minor: Homophobia, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship