Rating: 
Summary: Heart, heart and more heart.
Review: I thought this book was fantastic. It is called a "story-collection" which i think is stupid because it really is an all in one novel.
It is well-written, as you'd expect from the KING himself, and is full of suspense and heart. probably one of the most heartfelt stories i've read of KING coz it's not the slightest bit scary, or creepy like very other king book i've read.
"Low Men In Yellow Coats" is the first story, a novel in itself around 300pgs. This the film we see called "Hearts IN Atlantis". The story is brilliant. Young Bobby Garfield meets and befriends his strange new neighbour, who turns out to be hiding from someone and has a special gift. Bobby has to keep an eye out for him, and try to cope lvinvg with his constantly-worrying-about-money mother. The film made little of the book, because the book has so much more depth and suspense, and is connected ever so slightly to "The Dark Tower". In the film your left wondering why these people are after Ted, in the book you understand completely.
"Hearts In Atlantis" is also brilliant. In this you see a new character, irrelevent to the first story, cope in Maine University with the pressure of studying while he and his entire dorm barr maybe two or three become totally addicted to the card game hearts. I thought it was great; the story shows us how Bobby's girlfriend, Carol Granger, is like four years later, and mild references to Bobby & Carol's old best friend Sully-John.
"Blind Willie" is a story about a man who is scarred mentally by the Vietnam war. Sull-John is referred to in this story too, but isnt a main character. I think the story just portrays what a scarred mind, particularly from war, can do. Willie, or BIll, goes to work everyday, does nothing and writes in a notepad that he's sorry over and over. Then grabs his walking stick, and puts on glasses. he sits in the streets pretending to be bling and makes thousands of dollars a day. then goes home to write the same thing over and over again. An interesting story.
"Why We're In Vietnam" is where Sully-John becomes a main character again. He's an older man now, and he too is scarred by the war. He meets another Viet Veteran at a funeral and reminices slightly on things. He's haunted by a woman who was killed by one of Petes, out of Hearts In Atlantis, ex card-playing buddies. A good story, one of the most heartfelt in the book.
And last but not least! "Heavenly Shades Of Night Are Falling" is in 1999 where Bobby returns to Sully-Johns funeral. he meets an old friend - not to spoil anyhthing further!
Overall, an excellent book that you will read again and again. Well, not straight away, but maybe after six months to a year you'd probably yearn to read it again coz it's just that good!
Rating:
Summary: If you dug the movie, don't hesitate on the book, go for it.
Review: I'm a non-fiction guy--and Well I hadn't read a fiction for fun, since the last Bush was throwing elbows in Iraq, and I bet that book was Charlie and The Chocolate Factory. But I was entranced by the Anthony Hopkins film, and figured this would be a sure bet.
Well, I could get into great details about how the book differs or enriches the experience one has for the movie but I won't.
Stephen King has a magic of mesmerizing the times surrounding this tale, and an omnipotence in the lives of all the Characters, from the wonderful Ted Brautigan, Bobby, Carole, to some of the despicable characters. You feel them.
I am certainly drawn back to the beauty of being a child through this story, the bonds between children and grandfather figures, the moments of true hapiness, simplicity & love. The timeless attatchments to baseball gloves and vintage schwinns, as well as feeling the struggle to remain young, vibrant and not jaded, while quickly maturing into the world. King is a master in this tale.
The movie is most certainly the "Coles notes" version and allows you to draw your own conclusions about what you saw and what will happen next. The book is far more complete and has it's own beauty to it. At times I thought the book might wreck how I felt about the film, but in the end I like it a whole lot more. It fills in the blanks where your imagination had before.
As I mentioned, I won't get into details about these deviations, but if you loved the film, as I did, you'll definately get sucked into the book.
My paperback copy will no doubt be read many times over the years, as my point of view alters, not changes, and it will always be a timeless tale and a beautiful story I'll treasure.
Rating: 
Summary: Borrow it and read the first novella and maybe the second.
Review: A strangely disjointed collection of novellas where the only connection between them is one character name (the characters themselves seem to have scant relation).
I'd recommend borrowing the book from a library and see if you like it first. The first two novellas are terrific. The whole collection will be enjoyable for King fans, obviously, but the first and longest one is the one i'd recommend anyone to borrow the book to check out.
The movie adaptation which took the name of this collection is actually based on this story, which is called "Low Men in Yellow Coats." It is the second story, my favourite, set in King's university days, which is called "Hearts in Atlantis."
The first novella is most satisfying as a cohesive work. The others do feel a little tacked on, i'm afraid. Not a satisfying work as a whole.
Rating:
Summary: King's maturing style gives the best King ever.
Review: Born in 1970, I grew up on Stephen King. From the time I was old enough for my own "orange library card" (see the book!) I have seized and gobbled up every King I could get my hands on. I stayed up all night and scared myself silly, reading about frightening other-worldly entities.Over the last few years, I've seen King move away from the "scary monster" genre into a style that is increasingly philosophical, almost metaphysical; increasingly these stories have a feeling of "This could happen". "Hearts in Atlantis" is definitely one of these. From the moment I recognized elements of the Dark Tower creeping in, to the finale that comes around full circle 40 years after the story starts, I was enthralled, lifted to new heights, and plunged back down into the underground tunnels of a runaway mine train. By the time I got to the end, I was breathless. Literally. As I closed the book and slowly put it down, exhaling, I could do nothing else but remain thoughtful. Wanting to pick it up again right away, read it again. That had never happened to me before, with anyone's work. It took me a while to realize I'd been virtually holding my breath over the last few pages. Even when I scared myself as a child in the middle of the night, reading "Carrie" or "Salem's Lot", that had never happened to me before, either. I think he must be very proud of this book, for in his own style he is emulating L. Ron Hubbard, a writer who influenced his career by virtue of the admiration King holds for his work. I think he is doing a wonderful job.
Rating: 
Summary: The rebirth of a King fan
Review: I had really lost all hope of ever reading another Stephen King book after trying to attempt reading "Dolores Claiborne", which was the worst of his.
Well, some ten odd years later, I picked up "Hearts in Atlantis" at a yard sale. I had heard it was a good book, and that the movie was great. I always have to read the book before seeing the movie, so opted for the written page.
It was awesome.
"Hearts...." is a book broken down into five separate stories that all have a connection is some form. The first story "Low Men in Yellow Coats" is the longest and best of the group. It is set in the Summer of 1960, Bobby Garfield, Carol Gerber, and Sully John are all 11 yrs. old and enjoying their youth in adventurous ways. Enter Ted Brautigan, who is an older man. He takes a room in the house that Bobby and his not so nice mother live in. He becomes Bobby's father figure, and the boy becomes emotionally attached to Ted much to his mother's chagrin.
He askes Bobby to read to him, pays the kid for it, and thus they begins their bonding.
It is extremely well written and the characters just burst with life. I felt as if I really knew Bobby, who was my favorite character in the book. I am glad that this story dominates the pages of this thick novel because it is the best work of fiction here as it's the most endearing.
The four stories left, "Hearts In Atlantis", "We Were in Vietnam", "Blind Willie", "Heavnely shades of Night falling" all have a character in them that appeared in "Low Men". This is the connection of them all. In some stories, they are older, and the men have seen the horrors of Vietnam, and they have all had the war effect them in some way. Carol becomes a protestor in "Hearts in Atlantis", which is set at a college in Maine. This was my second favorite.
The book certainly doesn't have much closure, as some reviewers were looking for, but I don't think that this is what King wanted with this work. He is just showing how life was in the 60's, and how the Vietnam war shaped the lives of the characters in the stories, which span from the summer of 1960 up til 1999.
There is a lot of sadness, humor, and realism to this piece of writing.
Worth reading!!! Just skip "Blind Willie" as I don't think it adds anything but just annoys. I hated it but read the whole thing anyway. It was annoying and boring. We get to see how the bad kid from "Low Men" turns into a bad man basically. Highly recommended!! Eileen Famiglietti
Rating:
Summary: Hmmm...?
Review: I had to wait a while to write this review because I'm not sure what to say. This is practically a book of three short stories, with the characters sort of intertwining throughout.
I was thoroughly engrossed with the first of the three scenarios. A young boy with a single mother and the old man who lived upstairs. The old man teaches the boy about reading and many other things. The mother is always leery of the man's attention to the boy. This portion of the book was touching.
The second portion of the book was okay, but not as good as the first. It tells the story of college kids in the 60's. One of those college kids was a friend of the little boy in the first part of the book. The kids go in different directions, have an addiction to playing Hearts, and being involved in anti-war protests. What I enjoyed most about this portion of the book was the look back at the sixties.
The third part of the book was just bizarre. I can't think of how to put it better. It covered some Viet Nam vets in the 90's. Of course, one of the vets had been a friend of the little boy in the first part of the book. But something "science fiction"-like creeps in and it gets quite confusing.
The good news is that I finished the book. I was interested in finding out how King would tie this all together in the end. And each story on its own was entertaining enough. But the tying together that I was hoping for didn't really happen and I was slightly disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Check it out...
Review: I put this book off for a long time. I kept looking at it on the shelf and thinking "Good God! Not another book about the 60's. Hippies? Viet Nam? 'Hey there Mr. Tambourine Man, gag a long-hair for me!'" I couldn't believe that King of all writers would pick such a worn-out subject.
Then finally I broke down and checked it out at the library (there was no way in hell I was going buy another book about the GD Viet Nam war). I went into it thinking I'd be bored to tears. Boy was I surprised. This whole novel was great, from beginning to end. Each story was engrossing for a different reason, and it was in no way saturated with the same old tired themes that I've come to expect from novels about that bygone era. Examples: Peace, love, drugs, the JFK assassination, Woodstock, etc. It was every bit the typical King horror novel, as well as a social commentary. I just wish the movie had been better, but what the hell? You can't have everything.
Rating:
Summary: 3 1/2 stars for one great story and several duds . . .
Review: I read this in its unabridged audiobook format and was initially held spellbound. At first glance, this isn't a book I'd pick up and read on my own which is is probably why I didn't purchase it before now but I always enjoy Stephen King's voice and the first story "Low Men In Yellow Coats" is no exception.
It clocks in at 320+ pages and is a novel in and of itself. "Low Men" tells the story of Bobby, a young boy growing up in the 60's with a bitter, angry mother who claims to love him but who definitely does not like him. He has a small group of friends who dodge town bullies but finds true kinship with an old man named Ted who has an odd secret. When Bobby's mom goes away on business Ted looks after Bobby. During their time together Bobby learns many truths, some ugly some stunning. It's funny and heartbreaking. Great stuff.
The second story "Hearts In Atlantis", unfortunately, didn't do it for me and I often found my drifty mind floating away as I pondered all of the laundry that I had left to do when I returned home from work. The rewind button got a lot of use during the rest of this audiobook . . . It's basically about a group of college students living through the Vietnam War. The boys do a lot of trash talking and play a card game called "Hearts" which becomes an obssession for many of them. As the Vietnam war protests heat up and these guys fear expulsion for their lackluster grades the plot plods on . . .
Next up is the story of one of the unlikable kids featured in the first novella. Will is all grown up but is haunted by his past, particularly the incident that made him such an unlikable character for me in "Low Men". This story, like the previous one, was unremarkable and tough to get through. Same goes for the next two stories which wrap up a few loose ends. I wish I had stopped the audio after reading "Low Men" but I'm a glutton for punishment.
Rating:
Summary: A must read
Review: I tried to listen to this audiobook while driving... I WANTED to listen to this book... but William Hurt reads SOOOOOO SLOOOOOOW and like some smarmy college professor trying to impress people with his reading inflections. It was so bad that I couldn't make it through the first chapter. Maybe I'll try it again when I have a speed control or if someone else reads it.
Rating:
Summary: Recommended
Review: I'm not a big thriller fan, and this is not a thriller. I want to read more king books because of this one.
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