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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
My book review of Hearts In Atlantis by Stephen King. 4 out of 5 stars ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Stephen King will never fail to amaze me. On how he weaves together stories into additional stories, surrounded by stories. The only issue really that I have with him is the way that he creates ALL of his damn characters. There’s too many.
“Hearts can break. Yes, hearts can break. Sometimes I think it would be better if we did when they did, but we don’t.”
But like I said, his storyline in this one trumps his massive character building, and I enjoyed this one of his very much. It felt very much like the beginning of his world before he creates the Dark Tower, and the gunslinger, and etc. I can’t wait to read more about it, and I feel like Mr. Ted is going to be a character that keeps coming back, or he better be.
“Friends don’t spy; true friendship is about privacy, too.”
A fantastic book largely centered around Vietnam. The book is broken up into five linked stories. The first, "Low Men in Yellow Coats" was the basis for the Anthony Hopkins movie (though it takes its title from the second story which isn't at all a part of the movie). There is a lot more supernatural things going on in this story than in the movie or the rest of the book. It's heavily tied in with the Dark Tower. I actually think that's possibly the weakest part of the book, but I still enjoyed it. The rest of the story is great, but I feel like sometimes Stephen King feels like he has to do the supernatural thing because he's Stephen King and I feel like his stories would sometimes work better without it. Which is why the second story "Hearts in Atlantis" is much better, in my opinion. It's about college kids in the 60s basically ignoring their schoolwork and playing Hearts instead. It's terrifying because the threat of the draft looms over them if they get kicked out, but for some reason they can't stop playing... The third story is "Blind Willie" which is probably the weakest story as I'm not sure the premise holds up under scrutiny. It's a little overly convoluted, but interesting. The fourth story is "Why We're in Vietnam" and is perhaps my favorite. A man has been having visions of a woman that he saw die in Vietnam. The end of that story is absolutely bonkers and classic Stephen King. It's sad, scary, and wonderful. The last story is "Heavenly Shades of Night are Falling" which is kind of an epilogue. It wraps everything up nicely. The only problem I have is that one of the common threads between each story is a character named Carol. She's great in the first two chapters (especially the second one), but only vaguely referenced in the third and fourth. And the things vaguely referenced would be incredibly interesting to see from her point of view. Instead, we just see the aftermath of her story and that's nowhere near as fun. But all in all, it's the best Stephen King book I've read in a while and honestly, I think it's because he didn't rely too much on forcing in stereotypical Stephen King horror stuff. I'm looking at you, Rose Madder.
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The start is brilliant. Unfortunately, the rest isn't as good, but still worth reading.
Going into Hearts in Atlantis all I knew about it was it had a Dark Tower connection, and Anthony Hopkins is in a movie based off it. I’ve heard it referred to as a novel and a collection, so I wasn’t sure what to expect…
…but it sure wasn’t this.
In truth only one of the stories has a Dark Tower connection, and while it is (maybe) my favorite, it feels a bit out of place given the earthiness of the other stories. Still, it does contend with King’s main theme with this collection, which is mostly about growing up, and loss, and change.
I think people forget how well King does outside genre fiction. His ‘literary’ pieces are generally much stronger than his horror, and he does not fail to impress me with his wisdom and the way he so deftly captures that feeling of ennui, of nostalgia, of memories that can both hurt and heal.
Hearts in Atlantis is a masterful collection, displaying King’s depth and range, and I consider it amongst one of his best works.
…but it sure wasn’t this.
In truth only one of the stories has a Dark Tower connection, and while it is (maybe) my favorite, it feels a bit out of place given the earthiness of the other stories. Still, it does contend with King’s main theme with this collection, which is mostly about growing up, and loss, and change.
I think people forget how well King does outside genre fiction. His ‘literary’ pieces are generally much stronger than his horror, and he does not fail to impress me with his wisdom and the way he so deftly captures that feeling of ennui, of nostalgia, of memories that can both hurt and heal.
Hearts in Atlantis is a masterful collection, displaying King’s depth and range, and I consider it amongst one of his best works.
Loved the sections with Bobby and Carol, the other stories not as much. Good read overall. 4*