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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
I loved the second story of the book the most, it kinda broke my heart.
I do not need to mention how great a writer [a:Stephen King|3389|Stephen King|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1362814142p2/3389.jpg] is, but hey, I will anyway. Stephen King is a great writer. He's an incredible writer. That's one reason I loved [b:Hearts in Atlantis|11602|Hearts in Atlantis|Stephen King|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1374048926l/11602._SY75_.jpg|3166850]. King knows how to evoke all the senses to bring scenes to life in ways that draw us in, and resistance is futile.
Hearts in Atlantis is no exception. We are whipped back and forth in time between the Vietnam Era to current time (1999-2000) through the eyes of several characters whose lives are intertwined. We are drawn in, willy-nilly, because we have experienced to one degree or another exactly what King describes. We've been there, whether we were or not. That's great writing!
And yet, while I loved Hearts in Atlantis I didn't love it fully. One of the major characters we are introduced to is Ted Brautigan. It is part of King's genius to not explain mysteries in detail, but in this case the mystery of Ted is never resolved. After the first section of the book, Ted is mentioned in passing, and has a part in the ending, but I was dismayed at how unsatisfying that was.
That's because Hearts in Atlantis is not a novel. It is actually a stand-alone novella in a collection of two novellas and three short stories that do not quite add up to a whole. I read the whole book waiting for the mystery of Ted Brautigan to be resolved but it never was. That's because he doesn't belong in this book, not really. Ted belongs to the The Dark Tower series, and that's all I'm saying about that.
If you're of a certain age, though, Hearts in Atlantis is going to resonate in your soul and remind you of things you might have forgotten, things that you cant share with others, that you couldn't share even if asked. And if you aren't of that certain age, then all I'm saying is read the book because it'll teach you something important about the world.
Hearts in Atlantis is no exception. We are whipped back and forth in time between the Vietnam Era to current time (1999-2000) through the eyes of several characters whose lives are intertwined. We are drawn in, willy-nilly, because we have experienced to one degree or another exactly what King describes. We've been there, whether we were or not. That's great writing!
And yet, while I loved Hearts in Atlantis I didn't love it fully. One of the major characters we are introduced to is Ted Brautigan. It is part of King's genius to not explain mysteries in detail, but in this case the mystery of Ted is never resolved. After the first section of the book, Ted is mentioned in passing, and has a part in the ending, but I was dismayed at how unsatisfying that was.
That's because Hearts in Atlantis is not a novel. It is actually a stand-alone novella in a collection of two novellas and three short stories that do not quite add up to a whole. I read the whole book waiting for the mystery of Ted Brautigan to be resolved but it never was. That's because he doesn't belong in this book, not really. Ted belongs to the The Dark Tower series, and that's all I'm saying about that.
If you're of a certain age, though, Hearts in Atlantis is going to resonate in your soul and remind you of things you might have forgotten, things that you cant share with others, that you couldn't share even if asked. And if you aren't of that certain age, then all I'm saying is read the book because it'll teach you something important about the world.
I liked the first and last stories, but the middle three... ugh. The audiobook narrator for the second and third had the honest to god worst voice I’ve ever heard.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Stephen King has me in awe again. He is a genius of details and intertwines them like no one else. This is a collection of 5 distinctly different stories. They are different in tone and in content. The characters are used to connect these tales into one cohesive unit. The stories are merely good separate. Together they are a brilliant work of art.
En cada parte de este libro se desmitifica la década de los 60, ya sea porque te muestra cómo vivía la gente en esa década o muestra cómo quedaron o podrían haber quedado algunos de los que la vivieron en su infancia. Eso es quizás el tema central del libro y el mensaje que Stephen King quiere decirnos: basta de idealizar el pasado, quienes defienden que todo tiempo pasado fue mejor sólo argumentan desde su visión idealizada y filtrada del mismo, toda época tiene sus cosas buenas y malas respecto de las demás.
En el primer relato, "Hampones con chaqueta amarilla", se nos presenta una madre que ha endemonizado a todos los hombres debido a los maltratos que recibió, y a su hijo que se convierte en la bolsa de arena de ésta misma, ya que ella lo ha etiquetado como "otro hombre más", y el chico debe luchar por no convertirse en eso mismo que su madre cree que se convertirá.
El segundo relato, "Corazones en la Atlántida", tiene un título secundario "1966: Chico, no podíamos para de reír" que parece dar a entender que quien narra esa historia es de esos que recuerda con amor y nostalgia el pasado, pero al llegar a ese momento de "no para de reír" vemos un momento desagradable que no da nada de risa.
El tercero y el cuarto simplemente continúan las historias de personajes secundarios del primero, y cómo quedaron después de los conflictos grandes que se vivieron en la infancia y adolescencia de ambos
El quinto da un cierre al personaje principal del primero relato, y a quien debe ser el personaje principal de todo el libro: Carol Geber, alrededor de ella giran las vidas de los protagonistas de todos los relatos, y sólo la conocemos a través de los ojos de éstos, creo que esto fue lo que más me gustó del libro.
En el primer relato, "Hampones con chaqueta amarilla", se nos presenta una madre que ha endemonizado a todos los hombres debido a los maltratos que recibió, y a su hijo que se convierte en la bolsa de arena de ésta misma, ya que ella lo ha etiquetado como "otro hombre más", y el chico debe luchar por no convertirse en eso mismo que su madre cree que se convertirá.
El segundo relato, "Corazones en la Atlántida", tiene un título secundario "1966: Chico, no podíamos para de reír" que parece dar a entender que quien narra esa historia es de esos que recuerda con amor y nostalgia el pasado, pero al llegar a ese momento de "no para de reír" vemos un momento desagradable que no da nada de risa.
El tercero y el cuarto simplemente continúan las historias de personajes secundarios del primero, y cómo quedaron después de los conflictos grandes que se vivieron en la infancia y adolescencia de ambos
El quinto da un cierre al personaje principal del primero relato, y a quien debe ser el personaje principal de todo el libro: Carol Geber, alrededor de ella giran las vidas de los protagonistas de todos los relatos, y sólo la conocemos a través de los ojos de éstos, creo que esto fue lo que más me gustó del libro.
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"But when you find a book that has both good story and good words, treasure that book."
This quote sums up this book. As I've read through all of King's books (I have about 20 left) there's one thing I've discovered.... King is more a master of the youth melodrama than horror. Where he often gets tied up in the supernatural, its stories like this that are his true strength. The fact is this is pretty simple and basic and much like Shawshank or The Body, it is some of his best work.
Having read some 50 King books with little else in between this was a fresh of breath air. The only fault I had was the elements of Dark Tower distract. Perhaps once I tackle Dark Tower that will change; but those elements would make it a hard sell to reccomend to someone who knows nothing of that story. It really comes out of left field.
This quote sums up this book. As I've read through all of King's books (I have about 20 left) there's one thing I've discovered.... King is more a master of the youth melodrama than horror. Where he often gets tied up in the supernatural, its stories like this that are his true strength. The fact is this is pretty simple and basic and much like Shawshank or The Body, it is some of his best work.
Having read some 50 King books with little else in between this was a fresh of breath air. The only fault I had was the elements of Dark Tower distract. Perhaps once I tackle Dark Tower that will change; but those elements would make it a hard sell to reccomend to someone who knows nothing of that story. It really comes out of left field.