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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
I am not a fan of short stories. I find them synonymous with boring lectures in old high school and college lit classes. Don't get me wrong, my BA is in English, so I love a good yarn as much as the next guy and can appreciate a really good short story. My main issue with short stories, other than having flashbacks to analyzing sentence structures of a Flannery O'Connor story, is that feeling of always wanting more. What I mean by that is short stories always feel incomplete to me. I want more from them. I feel like I have a ton of unanswered questions. So I just don't read short stories.
The only exception to that is Stephen King. I am a nut for anything he writes. But as usual, I am not wowed by his short stories. The only stories I liked in this ensemble were "Autopsy Room Four" and "The Death of Jack Hamilton." 2 out of 14 . . . not very good. The only other one that I am on the fence about whether or not I liked it was "The Man in the Black Suit." It had a Slenderman feel to it, and it left me wondering if it was the inspiration for the Slenderman phenomenon.
The only exception to that is Stephen King. I am a nut for anything he writes. But as usual, I am not wowed by his short stories. The only stories I liked in this ensemble were "Autopsy Room Four" and "The Death of Jack Hamilton." 2 out of 14 . . . not very good. The only other one that I am on the fence about whether or not I liked it was "The Man in the Black Suit." It had a Slenderman feel to it, and it left me wondering if it was the inspiration for the Slenderman phenomenon.
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
This wasn't my favourite short story collection by King, but it is still very good. I recently read The Bazaar of Bad Dreams, which I felt had a certain cohesiveness as a group of stories that Everything's Eventual lacked.
That said, there were some great stories in this. I read this with a group, and interestingly, the stories that appealed to me the most - The Death of Jack Hamilton, Everything's Eventual, and Riding the Bullet - were not the ones favoured by the majority. What I like about King, what he demonstrates in the stories that affect me the most, is his ability to capture character and place them effectively with horror elements.
The thing about horror, though, is that it doesn't necessarily mean gore or jump scares. It can, of course, but true horror encompasses as larger and more subtle range of discomfortable feelings such as loss, vague fear, and creeping existential dread. For me, King succeeds most when he uses the range of our human discomfort in the telling of a story, and pairs that with what we know and love. It is that juxtaposition that provides suspense, investment, and the eventual emotional payoff in learning the fate of an individual character or outcome of a story. That is what I look for, and that is where my ratings for each story come from. Overall, there were some pretty good ones in here, and a few misses (for me) too.
Autopsy Room Four (4/5) - The conceit of being alive yet mistaken for dead is classic for a reason. It's something everyone can imagine for themselves and be equally horrified by.
This was a very good start to set the tone. I honestly didn't know what was going to happen. Things can go either way with King.
The Man in the Black Suit (4/5) - This O. Henry Prize winner uses another classic set up, with an elderly man finally relating the tale of a youthful encounter with the Devil. The protagonist has a wonderfully flowing and effecting voice in the telling of his story, bringing the incident fully to life.
It is interesting that King calls this one of those stories that he felt compelled to tell. That same sense of compulsion runs through the text. There is an urgency in the man to unburden himself of this secret held for scores of years, underlaid with his admitted fear that he may yet see the Devil again. Since innocence did not help him as a child, there is no reason to think living a good life as an adult will be enough to protect him from a final visit.
All That You Love Will Be Carried Away (4/5) A snapshot type story where you get an intensely personal look at a travelling salesman, and slowly come to understand what is going on with him. I love the setting of the chain motel off the Interstate, with the surrounding field and wind intensifying the competing senses of closeness and isolation. The ambiguous ending fits the piece perfectly.
The Death of Jack Hamilton (4.5/5) In the audiobook version this story is perfectly narrated by Arliss Howard. He has an intelligent yet accessible lilt to his voice that sets the stage perfectly for this Depression era tale of the outlaw Dillinger gang trying to deal with the injury and slow death of a beloved member. By turns shocking, funny, sad, and sometimes grotesque, it is in all ways memorable.
In the Deathroom (2.5/5) I didn't much care for this one, only because I felt like it was a familiar premise (drug cartel interrogation) and there wasn't enough of a twist to make it stand out from similar stories, film, and TV scenes.
The Little Sisters of Eluria (3/5) This is a prequel story to The Dark Tower series (which I hadn’t read at the time I read this story). The interesting genre-crossover feel of the piece gives a fresh twist to the vampiric monster tale. Appropriate levels of dread are also brought to bear by the use of insects which apparently operate under the direction of the Sisters.
Everything's Eventual (4.5/5) This story is one of my favourite kind of horror stories; where things start out seeming ok and ordinary and then start to reveal the darker side of what is happening. It reminds me of the kinds of stories from The Twilight Zone, or more recently, Black Mirror. Again, the slightly open end added to the chill.
L.T.'s Theory of Pets (4/5) Another story where I felt like I got to know the narrator well through his storytelling. It's a story that is at first about a marriage breaking up and then it becomes clear that the telling and retelling of the story is really more a form of denial.
The Road Virus Heads North (4/5) More of a classic feeling King-style horror. Right from the start you know where it's going, but you can't do anything to stop it.
Lunch at the Gotham Cafe (4/5)Another study in how normal life can shift suddenly, and violently. I liked the use of misdirection in terms of where that violence comes from, although the ending makes you wonder whether it was misdirection or simply foreshadowing?
That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is In French (3/5) Loop stories are hit or miss for me. I didn't love this one, but it did have some interesting elements.
1408 (3/5) The obligatory haunting story, as King calls it. It was ok, and definitely creepy, but everything unfolded pretty much in the way I expected, so the emotional payoff was a bit lacking. That said, this seems to be the kind of straightforward horror lots of people say they read King for.
Riding the Bullet (4/5)
A suspenseful story about impossible choices and confronting mortality. The strong horror elements are an excellent setting for the characters, who seem very real and lifelike.
Luckey Quarter (4/5)
There is something really charming about this story. It captures perfectly that sense that so many mothers have of never being able to quite do enough, but just pushing through day to day as best you can. I hope the luck held.
Notes on the audiobook: I did a combination of audio and print when reading this. There is a different narrator for each story, and mostly they were pretty good. My favourite was definitely Arliss Howard reading The Death of Jack Hamilton. My only real complaint is that the audiobook contains neither the introduction nor the text by the author that introduces or ends each story. To me that is a pretty grave oversight as these things are part of what makes this a collection rather than a bunch of individual stories. If you do listen to the audiobook, I recommend checking the print copy for the extra text, which is always interesting and relevant to the story.
That said, there were some great stories in this. I read this with a group, and interestingly, the stories that appealed to me the most - The Death of Jack Hamilton, Everything's Eventual, and Riding the Bullet - were not the ones favoured by the majority. What I like about King, what he demonstrates in the stories that affect me the most, is his ability to capture character and place them effectively with horror elements.
The thing about horror, though, is that it doesn't necessarily mean gore or jump scares. It can, of course, but true horror encompasses as larger and more subtle range of discomfortable feelings such as loss, vague fear, and creeping existential dread. For me, King succeeds most when he uses the range of our human discomfort in the telling of a story, and pairs that with what we know and love. It is that juxtaposition that provides suspense, investment, and the eventual emotional payoff in learning the fate of an individual character or outcome of a story. That is what I look for, and that is where my ratings for each story come from. Overall, there were some pretty good ones in here, and a few misses (for me) too.
Autopsy Room Four (4/5) - The conceit of being alive yet mistaken for dead is classic for a reason. It's something everyone can imagine for themselves and be equally horrified by.
This was a very good start to set the tone. I honestly didn't know what was going to happen. Things can go either way with King.
The Man in the Black Suit (4/5) - This O. Henry Prize winner uses another classic set up, with an elderly man finally relating the tale of a youthful encounter with the Devil. The protagonist has a wonderfully flowing and effecting voice in the telling of his story, bringing the incident fully to life.
It is interesting that King calls this one of those stories that he felt compelled to tell. That same sense of compulsion runs through the text. There is an urgency in the man to unburden himself of this secret held for scores of years, underlaid with his admitted fear that he may yet see the Devil again. Since innocence did not help him as a child, there is no reason to think living a good life as an adult will be enough to protect him from a final visit.
All That You Love Will Be Carried Away (4/5) A snapshot type story where you get an intensely personal look at a travelling salesman, and slowly come to understand what is going on with him. I love the setting of the chain motel off the Interstate, with the surrounding field and wind intensifying the competing senses of closeness and isolation. The ambiguous ending fits the piece perfectly.
The Death of Jack Hamilton (4.5/5) In the audiobook version this story is perfectly narrated by Arliss Howard. He has an intelligent yet accessible lilt to his voice that sets the stage perfectly for this Depression era tale of the outlaw Dillinger gang trying to deal with the injury and slow death of a beloved member. By turns shocking, funny, sad, and sometimes grotesque, it is in all ways memorable.
In the Deathroom (2.5/5) I didn't much care for this one, only because I felt like it was a familiar premise (drug cartel interrogation) and there wasn't enough of a twist to make it stand out from similar stories, film, and TV scenes.
The Little Sisters of Eluria (3/5) This is a prequel story to The Dark Tower series (which I hadn’t read at the time I read this story). The interesting genre-crossover feel of the piece gives a fresh twist to the vampiric monster tale. Appropriate levels of dread are also brought to bear by the use of insects which apparently operate under the direction of the Sisters.
Everything's Eventual (4.5/5) This story is one of my favourite kind of horror stories; where things start out seeming ok and ordinary and then start to reveal the darker side of what is happening. It reminds me of the kinds of stories from The Twilight Zone, or more recently, Black Mirror. Again, the slightly open end added to the chill.
L.T.'s Theory of Pets (4/5) Another story where I felt like I got to know the narrator well through his storytelling. It's a story that is at first about a marriage breaking up and then it becomes clear that the telling and retelling of the story is really more a form of denial.
The Road Virus Heads North (4/5) More of a classic feeling King-style horror. Right from the start you know where it's going, but you can't do anything to stop it.
Lunch at the Gotham Cafe (4/5)Another study in how normal life can shift suddenly, and violently. I liked the use of misdirection in terms of where that violence comes from, although the ending makes you wonder whether it was misdirection or simply foreshadowing?
That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is In French (3/5) Loop stories are hit or miss for me. I didn't love this one, but it did have some interesting elements.
1408 (3/5) The obligatory haunting story, as King calls it. It was ok, and definitely creepy, but everything unfolded pretty much in the way I expected, so the emotional payoff was a bit lacking. That said, this seems to be the kind of straightforward horror lots of people say they read King for.
Riding the Bullet (4/5)
A suspenseful story about impossible choices and confronting mortality. The strong horror elements are an excellent setting for the characters, who seem very real and lifelike.
Luckey Quarter (4/5)
There is something really charming about this story. It captures perfectly that sense that so many mothers have of never being able to quite do enough, but just pushing through day to day as best you can. I hope the luck held.
Notes on the audiobook: I did a combination of audio and print when reading this. There is a different narrator for each story, and mostly they were pretty good. My favourite was definitely Arliss Howard reading The Death of Jack Hamilton. My only real complaint is that the audiobook contains neither the introduction nor the text by the author that introduces or ends each story. To me that is a pretty grave oversight as these things are part of what makes this a collection rather than a bunch of individual stories. If you do listen to the audiobook, I recommend checking the print copy for the extra text, which is always interesting and relevant to the story.
I just started reading King this year and picked up this anthology because it has two stories that are connected to "The Dark Tower" series. Finally got around to reading the other 12 stories in the book, and really enjoyed them.
Favorites from this collection:
All That You Love Will Be Carried Away
LT's Theory of Pets
The Road Virus Heads North
That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is in French
All That You Love Will Be Carried Away
LT's Theory of Pets
The Road Virus Heads North
That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is in French
I officially started reading this book 2 years ago haha I ended up putting it down for a long stretch and then really tried reading it again about a month ago. All the stories were good; I enjoyed them all, but for some reason the book dragged for me. Maybe if I read a physical copy I would have been more engrossed or motivated to read this but as an e-book it was hard.
More winners than losers here. A few stinkers I actively disliked but loved the The Little Sisters, 1408, Riding the Bullet and a few others.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
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
“Everything is Eventual” is, in many ways, a microcosm of my beloved Stephen King. Some stories are, rightfully so, legendary. Others are entirely forgettable. “Autopsy Room Four,” “Lunch at the Gotham Cafe,” “The Road Virus Heads North,” “The Man in the Black Suit,” and of course, “1408” are the standouts in this collection. I read the collection as intended, one story in one sitting, although over far too long of a time. Some, like “All that You Love Will Be Carried Away,” didn’t even hold up in my memory by the end of my prolonged journey between the covers. But all in all, this collection certainly contains numerous, classic King, eye-widening shocks and jumps, albeit coupled with a few eye rolls. Definitely should be on your King Hit List.
I'm not super crazy on short stories but there were a few in here I liked.