For five decades, Stephen King has captivated audiences with his richly developed characters, imaginative narratives, and knack for crafting stories that truly scare us. My journey with King's works began in my senior year of high school with the hefty Duma Key, and I've been an avid reader ever since. I strive to incorporate his books into my regular reading rotation, balancing his latest releases with the classic titles that have cemented his status as a household name. His newest effort, You Like It Darker, sees the author returning to his roots with a collection of short stories that showcase the genre-bending breadth of his writing prowess.
Like most short story collections, You Like It Darker has its share of hits and misses. Fortunately, the stories I found to be misses were the shorter ones. I could see King experimenting with his usual array of literary devices, but ultimately, the brevity of these tales left me wanting more. That being said, many of the stories were well worth the price of admission. Here’s a breakdown of my top three favorites.
Perhaps the most buzzed-about story in this collection is Rattlesnakes, the sequel to King's classic novel Cujo. It follows Vic Trenton, who readers will remember lost his young son to a rabid St. Bernard decades ago. Now a recent widower, the 76-year-old Vic rides out the COVID-19 pandemic at a friend's house in the Florida Keys. There, he meets an elderly woman whose personal tragedy mirrors his own. Rumor has it that she lost her twin boys decades ago and now pushes around their empty stroller, unable to acknowledge that her children are gone forever. The two grieving parents continue to cross paths, perhaps connected by their shared sorrow or something more sinister. When the woman meets a tragic end in one of the most gruesome scenes in the entire book, she leaves Vic an unusual inheritance, one that will reopen old wounds and torment him all over again.
Danny Coughlin's Bad Dream stems from a simple idea: What if you dreamed about the location of a murdered body? Would you seek it out? Would the authorities believe you truly dreamed it, or would they suspect you as the killer? This is the longest story in the collection, and it seems most in line with King's recent foray into crime thrillers. At nearly 200 pages, the work feels the most complete, providing a tense "what if" scenario that hits all the right notes.
The final story in the collection is quintessential Stephen King. The Answer Man imagines a protagonist who stumbles upon a simple table with a red umbrella. Sitting beneath the shade is the Answer Man. For a nominal fee, the Answer Man promises to truthfully answer whatever question you ask. Is that knowledge a blessing or a curse? This story highlights what King excels at: finding deep unease and philosophical uncertainty within the lives of everyday people. I think that's why we connect so deeply with his writing. We see glimmers of ourselves in the flawed people who inhabit his world. Yes, there are absolutely crazy things happening a lot of the time, but that connection to his characters and his ability to ground absurd plot points in reality have sustained him for his entire career.
The afterward of the book reads as both a thank you and a retrospective. King admits to liking only two of his finished works, The Green Mile and Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption. In the golden years of his life, however, he continues to follow his imagination and chase the thrill of writing something that truly captures magic. For the sake of us readers, I hope he continues that pursuit.
For more information, visit the author's website, Amazon, and Goodreads.
(2024, 44)
It's been years since I made my way through one of King's short story collections and, like you mentioned, there are always hits and misses. The Cujo follow-up is intriguing. And it's interesting (and a little sad) that King is so critical of his work that he admits to only liking two. Wow.
ReplyDeleteI was shocked to learn how critical he is of himself, especially given his massive success. I guess that's what keeps him going though, the constant strive toward something good.
DeleteLovely review Ethan. I read a lot of the shorter ones previously and enjoyed the new ones.
ReplyDeleteI feel like the story about the puppy was part of the audio for Elevation, but the others were all new to me!
DeleteThe first book I read for my own pleasure was Cujo by Stephen King and I was 15 years old. I read a bunch of his books back then and still like his books and movies. The Green Mile was such a good movie.
ReplyDeleteVery cool that Cujo was your first King novel! And I agree. The Green Mile is a fantastic film
DeleteI've grown to read a lot of horror, so I wonder if I should try King again. In the past, his brand of body horror has hit me too hard, though I did manage to read The Shining. I remember one particular story where the protagonist had eyes sprouting from his torso or something...yikes 😅. Anything of the sort in this collection?
ReplyDelete"King admits to liking only two of his finished works, The Green Mile and Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption"
Not bad, for one of the most prolific authors who ever lived 🤣.
There's some body horror in Rattlesnakes that would probably be too much
DeleteI'm so glad he's still writing. King certainly has written some really good short stories; Shawshank is one of my favs, and The Body, too. This collection sounds like fun, even if some of the stories are less than stellar.
ReplyDeleteEach of his new works feels like such a gift. I'll happily keep reading his writing as long as he continues.
DeleteI read a lot of King back when I was in HS but have mostly drifted away from horror, but I'd like to read more of his recent works and see where he is now - so many years later - as a writer.
ReplyDeleteYou'd probably enjoy his crime writing. The Mr. Mercedes books are great!
DeleteI've only read one book by King, but I've watched some of the film adaptations. I would like to read more by him. Interesting that he's so hard on his own writing. He's so popular!
ReplyDeleteI've always appreciated just how much variety there is in his writing. He's often pigeonholed into the horror genre, but I feel like there's so much more too him than he gets credit for.
DeleteDreaming of where a dead body is - big responsibility there. That's pretty long short story, more like novella length, and novellas tend to work better for me.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely is more of a novella, but one of the best!
DeleteShort stories always have hits and misses. Maybe
ReplyDeleteI agree, but I like the variety they bring
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