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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
I really enjoyed it up until about the halfway point, when it splintered into four or five different stories about different characters . They were all intertwined but I guess I was waiting for some sort of big payoff or convergence at the end, and I didn't get it. Everything seemed left unfinished. Meh. Guess I'll torture myself and go watch the movie now.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Gratitude
Thank you to Montgomery County Public Libraries for making Stephen King’s Hearts in Atlantis readily available to the public.
Description
Hearts in Atlantis is a book of linked short stories which share some characters and most relate to the Vietnam War.
In the opening story of Hearts in Atlantis, a promising new neighbor moves into Bobby’s apartment building—and as much as Bobby likes him, his mother dislikes him.
Bobby has a complicated life. His mother is a stressed-out single mom. She speaks ill of his dead father, works long hours, and withholds her love. Bobby wants to challenge her but also knows the passive aggressive punishments that reward any battle of wills.
He has two very good friends—Carol and Sully-John. His upstairs neighbor makes three.
Soon it becomes clear that things are even more complicated than they seem, especially his neighbor.
One story in particular, the title story, seemed targeted at me—and all the other procrastinators out there. A group of boys in a dorm becomes obsessed with playing Hearts. They can do little else and soon these working class scholarship boys are all in academic trouble. And still they cannot help playing Hearts.
Believe me, the characters’ obsession with playing Hearts reminded me of my own obsessions: of every time I had to finish one more chapter, one more episode, win one more game of Spider Solitaire before I could get started on my work. And yes, it felt like an obsession. Over the years, the just one more has changed, and the feeling of desperation about having to finish just one more has diminished, but the anxiety of it is quite real. Perhaps it was a belief that if I could get a small amount of satisfaction before I started, it would be easier to complete my work. Or perhaps I needed a small amount of accomplishment before I started. Maybe it was just a combination of anxiety, obsession, and fear of failure. Maybe I just really didn’t want to do my work. Who knows. Over the years I have worked hard to come to an understanding with my procrastination and significantly beat it back into the darkness.
A few of the stories had the flavor of Firestarter—so much of the story being flashbacks, the foreboding, the pace being slow for most of the story and then quite fast.
Overall, a decent read, and easy to keep up with. I had several reading interruptions and I didn’t feel as though I lost the thread.
The stories are not short—some novella length—and perhaps they could have been edited down. A pleasure to read, all the same.
Would I Teach This Book?
Would I teach this book? As much as it was a decent read, there are better Stephen King books of short stories—Nightmares and Dreamscapes being one of them.
Still, for the doubters who have never read King and think it’s all gory horror, this would not be a bad introduction.
I put this book down for a while, but I’m so glad I picked it up again. It’s not a novel, but rather two novellas and three short stories that connect to each other, all centered around and dealing with the legacy of the Vietnam war. Definitely has some of the supernatural elements King is famous for, and a connection to The Dark Tower, but feels far more grounded than a lot of his other works. Highly recommend.
I read it this when I was teenager and loved it. I need to read it again but there are so many books to read…
Didn't finish, might go back at some point. First SK I haven't enjoyed - it felt boring
Wonderful, moving stories, great character depth and scene setting. Really built up the good emotional triggers and gave them some jolts. Really a fantastic book.
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a mix between a novel and a short story collection. I really loved the first novella, but the other stories fell a little short for me.