Book Review: Hearts in Atlantis by Stephen King
Hearts in Atlantis by Stephen King
I been digging audiobooks again on my commute and recently finished up the reading of Hearts in Atlantis, as read by William Hurt and Stephen King.
Hearts in Atlantis is a collection of 4 novellas and one “coda”. This is the third collection set up like this, the prior being Different Seasons (Featuring the stories that Shawshank Redemption, Apt Pupil, and Stand By Me are based) and Four Past Midnight. (Featuring the stories that the Langoliers and Secret Window are based). The film Hearts in Atlantis is based on the first of the four, titled Low Men in Yellow Coats, and the “coda” at the end.
Overall this is much less supernatural/horror King and much more the “literary” side. The stories follow a chronological order and there are some interconnected characters, though no two lead characters are the same. The first takes place in 1960 the last 1999. The overall scope is the Baby-boomer generation, their promises of hope, the weight, guilt, and complexity that the Vietnam War bared and ultimatum the glimmer of hope.
The writing, for the most part, is above-the-average King novel and he seems to have something to “get off his chest”. Guilt or perhaps fear, maybe both. The placement of the Vietnam war as a nearly a character is interesting. None of the novellas take place in Vietnam, though there is one flashback in the story “Why We’re in Vietnam” that is very surreal.
The first novella, Low Men in Yellow Coats, also ties in heavily to the Dark Tower series of books. Ted, the character played by Anthony Hopkins in the film, is a “breaker” and plays a significant role in the Dark Tower (Dark Tower VII). It is interesting, this was written approximately 4-5 years before DTVII. Very cool pre-placement.
Stephen King
William Hurt
The reading by William Hurt and Stephen King could not have been more different. Hurt is a trained actor and it shows. But he is not a trained reader. There are times I wanted to yell at him “READ FASTER”. Stephen King on the other had has a nasal quality to his voice, but as the author you get all the right intent and meter. He has read plenty of his other books and has a personal love of audiobooks.
Overall, I liked it. It is much more literary than most of King’s material, though there are supernatural elements (especially in Low Men in Yellow Coats).
