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Summary: Stephen King's Redemption
Review: How do we begin to associate Stephen King with literature? Probably with the title of " He who writes the scary and disturbing novels", am I right? I won't lie- I have read both The Shining and Different Seasons and I was disgusted with both. I vowed to never again read anything by or to do with Stephen King after having to endure these heartless tales. However, I was at my library and I found at the book sale a brand-new copy of Hearts In Atlantis and figured for a buck I might as well give it a try. It sounded like a book with actual story, plot, and King's vivid imagery, and it was. At no point in the story was I not amazed, nor taken into King's realm of creativity. Every line, every chapter was captivating, and one might forget while reading this book that King did indeed write it. Never have the sixties been so real that you can actually feel yourself in the novel, and this is another inclination of King's real ability to write a great story, as opposed to the traditional horror and gore that King is known for. Hearts In Atlantis breaks the stereotypes, and in this case, we can be glad. Kudos to Stephen King.
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Summary: Not a typical King "scare your pants off" novel
Review: I read this with some doubts at the beginning, hearing and reading mixed reviews, but as I got into the first few chapters I began to enjoy it very much. When I read the synopsis, I thought 'well maybe the negative reviews were right.' Good thing I chose to ignore them! Certainly not his best work, but not bad at all.
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Summary: It left me crying and wanting more
Review: Hearts in Atlantis was an excellent book. I throughly enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone who wants to read a great story. I liked how all the parts flowed together. Though I found the middle section to drag a little, I am obsessed with the Bobby/Ted/Carol plotline. I haven't read the Dark Tower series yet and now I can't wait to start. This was a really emotional book that leaves you feeling satisfied, but yet craving more. I know that's contradictory, but many things in life are. This a must read.
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Summary: Must Reading for the Class of '69
Review: Stephen King is at his best when he is writing non-horror. Just peruse "The Body" or "Apt Pupil" or even "Misery" to see why I say that. In this big book, that includes two novel length stories and three shorter ones, he demonstrates that again. Sure, the first story, "Low Men in Yellow Coats", features some strange looking leftovers from the cast of the "Dark Tower" series. Ted Brautigan, who helps the main character, Bobby and his friends, get through life in the early '60s, will be featured in a new "Dark Tower" novel. Ted has healing powers ala John Coffey of "Green Mile" fame. But, to my mind, it is the second story, the full length novel "Hearts in Atlantis", that really steals the show. The title doesn't refer to love and kisses on some lost continent but rather to the card game and it's role in the lives of young people at the Valhalla of their lifetime, college, with the shadow of Viet Nam hovering over everything they do. Kurt Vonnegut said that college teaches us how we should have behaved in high school. I think college is a dry run for life. I loved this story because King had me in the palm of his hand relating so well to the main character, Pete. I'm the same age as King, so if it was autobiographical for him, I'm right there with him. I even had all the Phil Ochs albums he writes about. I partook of the weekly and nightly hearts games. I had a roomate my freshman year who went from the Deans List to academic probation because of those devil cards. As a geologist, I am amused and mildly miffed that it was geology that was the course Pete struggles with. When Pete returns home on Thanksgiving break with the self promise to buckle down academically and, regarding his draft board, has one foot in a rice patty and one foot on a banana peel, his mom reminds him again of Nam. "Boys are dying over there". My mother said the same thing to me in 1969. And like Pete, there was a Carol in my life as well. This whole book hits home because anyone who went to college in the '60s will relate to it. While each story in the book may be read independently, if you read them in order, you will see what happens to selective characters throughout each of them. I liked it because the book takes you from the innocence of young childhood to a generation that maybe had to grow up way before its time. "Heavenly Shades of Night are Falling", the last story, will bring some closure for some of the characters. But King shows us that sometimes the real horror comes not from the devils he and other authors make up, but rather from the devils we know. A great book.
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Summary: Compelling and suspenseful.
Review: Hearts in Atlantis isn't the best thing King's ever written. It's also not that bad either, and still delivers a fair bit of suspense and social commentary to the reader. It's a compendium of short stories, and the best of the stories is 'Low Men in Yellow Coats'. It focuses on the travails of Bobby, an impressionable young boy, and his exposure to the morally corrupted real world. The rest of the book isn't that great, but fans of King should definitely have a look.
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Summary: It's Twilight Time......
Review: I have been reading Stephen King's work for the better part of 17 years now. I have gotten used to the nightmares that this man has given me over the years. When I picked this book up, I didn't know what to expect. About 300 pages into it, I thought to myself, "what is this [junk]0-- certainly not the SK I'm used to." But, like any devoted fan, I trudged on in hopes of better things to come. What I got was not horror, but one of the most moving works of fiction I have ever had the pleasure of coming across. Stephen King taught me that he doesnt have to scare us to entertain us. After I resigned myself to the fact that this wasnt a horror read, I let myself fall into the world of Bobby Garfield & co. and began a 672 page-long friendship with these characters. The final story: "Heavenly Shades Of Night Are Falling" ties all 4 of the prior stories together and (in my humble opinion) is the story that got me the most emotionally. Ironically, I heard that very song a few hours after finishing the book and was almost literally choked up about it--lol. I heartily recommend this book. Kudos to Mr. King!
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Summary: The characters are key!
Review: Stephen King has incredible character development. I literally cried at the end of the first story, and felt so disappointed not knowing what happened to those characters. But, lo and behold, he tied up all the loose ends in the last story. Made me feel so much better about the ending of the first.I read a few reviews here, where people said this was his worst book, or it was an "uphill" read, etc. I totally disagreed. With the exception of "Blind Willie" each story was compelling on its own, and I loved the way the characters were all intertwined. I will grant you that this book is different from King's other books, and although I am a little too young to appreciate the emotional turmoil of the sixties, I think he did a great job in presenting his representation of that era. Definitely worth reading!
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Summary: Masterpiece or Devil's Pawn?
Review: I love Stephen King, but this is one of my favorites. The book reads so smoothly, I didn't realize it was a collection of stories until I read it in a review. Can anyone write metaphors like King? I doubt it. This is a satisfying literary upgrade for King which proves he can write anything well. His deeply moving overall vision and multi-layered characters make this King's masterpiece - so far. To be this good AND this prolific, King must have made a pact with the devil.
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Summary: One of King's best
Review: Several years ago (my early teens) I was obsessed with Stephen King and for some reason vowed I would read every single one of his novels. Well, I grew out of that stage before I could get to every single one, but needless to say I have read more than a few, so I feel confidently saying that this is definitely one of his best. It is composed of four different stories with similar themes and characters who are generally seperated by a few degrees (of seperation) and weaves them together really affectively. If you've read King before and are not sure that you like him I would definitely recommend this book. I find that I generally like King's writing when it is more reality based (I think that the words I am looking for), as in when it focus more on realistic characters and events instead of fantastic monsters. Plus I think that this book is more chilling because the monsters are more hidden in the background. King is also great at telling coming of age stories because he can capture the magic of childhood as well as the fear of becoming an adult. And I think that this book is ultimately a coming of age story although it deals with the coming of age of a whole nation through the Vietnam War.
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Summary: He knows how and where the to get ya--a new king reader
Review: O.K. So everybody but everybody reads Stephen King, right? No, not right. There are lots of bookish sorts of people who don't read him -- and who look down their nose at King and his readers. I guess I picked up their gist/prejudice at some point and just never paid any attention to King--until one day I picked up Bag of Bones and discovered a ratehr interesting story--well told with values I understood and admired--so I decided I'll read another--so I went out and bought Hearts In Atlantis. Again I discovered --not a great book-- but a good book--made us of a series of moving tales, tied together by placing characters from the first story in the book in the later stories so there is a continum -- a linking of all the stories -- even though each story can stand separately. All these characters are placed in a universe from the 1950s and then we spot them again in the 60s seeing how the 60s impacted them. It is a nice structure for trying to get a grip on the diversity of what happened during that much talked about and deeply misunderstood generation. In the process King is able to pull to the surface and weave into the stories the things that haunt and hurt and motivate people--their needs (for a mother's love that isn't fully available) their obsessions (an out of control game of cards) their hopes & dreams (a base ball glove). King is even handed with his characters & the reader easily falls into caring about them. He isn't a fantastic wordsmith--he seldom turns a phrase that wows you but he is a able to go directly to where we live, tell a good story, locate our fears & concerns and present people in a fair handed way. All in all--I think King's detractors (those who haven't read his stuff and judge it negatively because it is popular) are snubbing the wrong guy--there is stupid literature in the world--but based on my limited sampling of his work King isn't the one writing it.
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