Hearts in Atlantis

Hearts in Atlantis by Stephen King

A collection of short stories that are just vaguely linked with each other, with an overriding theme of a particular generation that failed to fulfil their potential, according to King. Naturally, it was the connection with The Dark Tower that drew me – I wanted to know more about Ted’s “little vacation”.
The first story was about the summer that Bobby lost his innocence. Ted is the catalyst for the change with his powers, but ultimately about Bobby’s growing up with little bits about his relationship with his mother and Carol as well. ‘Low Men in Yellow Coats’ was always going to be a disturbing story, with the titular low men looming over the characters’ thoughts the whole time, but I found Elizabeth’s thought processes the most interesting, if more than a little disturbing. The Breaking is described in quite a lot of detail, interestingly for a stand alone book. The Tower and the Beams are talked about quite a lot.

The next story is the title story, 'Hearts in Atlantis'. It has nothing to do with Atlantis other than the fact that it’s referring to a time where everyone was blissfully ignorant yet all-knowing, and the Hearts is referring to the card game – as in the one on the computer. I really liked this story, because I can understand the addiction of winning games and gambling, and the characters were really interesting. Ronnie is equally disgusting and fascinating – he’s definitely someone that sticks in your head. Pete is a rather typical teenager, but he becomes more mature as the story progresses. Stokely was also a fascinating character, with his disability and his disposition. His activism was the driving force for the story, and while I don’t really have a strong interest in the Vietnam war, this story did help me learn more about it.

The next two stories weren’t as interesting for me, as they involved some minor characters from the first story. One was about a veteran doing penance, but the question is, what is he doing penance for, and is it really penance? The set up is so elaborate, but he is contemplating throwing his penance away completely when he encounters some trouble. We don’t know what happens, and I think it was a good way to end, because it causes us to think about our morals. The other story was a bit sad, as it mostly was a reminiscence about Sully-John’s life after the war and the mass murdering by the soldiers. It showed the bloody results of wartime, and what can happen when the blood fever becomes strong. There was a disturbing bit when objects started falling out the sky described in terrifying detail, but it glossed over in the end.

The final story was the most poignant. It drew the stories together, and we do find out more about Carol’s activism. Her story was quite tragic (and there are hints of Randall Flagg being involved), but Ted’s message gives hope to everyone. I think the way Bobby turned out was interesting, because you don’t see the rest of his life, only the beginning and the end. He reverted a bit to the child he was at the end, and that made it all the more touching at the end. The rose petals and the symbols (love + peace = information) were a nice touch.