Hearts in Atlantis

Title: Hearts in Atlantis

Author: Stephen King

Published in: 1999

Date read: 8th September 2020

Score: 5/5

Genre: Horror, Supernatural, Thriller

Plot: (Warning, may contain spoilers):
"Hearts in Atlantis" by Stephen King is a unique and poignant collection of five interconnected novellas and short stories, all linked by shared characters and the overarching theme of the Vietnam War and its profound, lasting impact on a generation. The book moves chronologically from 1960 to 1999, exploring the loss of innocence, the nature of rebellion, and the enduring scars of conflict.

Here's a breakdown of the segments:

1. Low Men in Yellow Coats (1960)
This longest novella introduces Bobby Garfield, an eleven-year-old boy living with his self-centred mother in Harwich, Connecticut. Their summer is transformed by the arrival of a mysterious new tenant, Ted Brautigan. Ted possesses psychic abilities and is on the run from enigmatic, sinister figures known as "Low Men in Yellow Coats," who are agents of the Crimson King (a key antagonist in King's Dark Tower series). Bobby agrees to keep an eye out for signs of these men. During this pivotal summer, Bobby experiences a rapid loss of innocence, witnessing adult cruelty, dealing with a traumatic incident involving his friend Carol Gerber, and ultimately making a heartbreaking decision about Ted's fate. This story sets a melancholic tone for the entire collection, hinting at a larger, darker universe beneath the surface of everyday life.

2. Hearts in Atlantis (1966)
The focus shifts to Pete Riley, a freshman at the University of Maine. Pete and his dorm-mates become obsessively addicted to a high-stakes card game of Hearts, which serves as a metaphor for their increasingly reckless and self-destructive behavior. This story captures the atmosphere of the burgeoning anti-war movement and the tumultuous counterculture of the 1960s. Pete becomes involved with Carol Gerber, now a budding political activist, and struggles with his own identity and purpose as the shadow of the Vietnam War looms over his generation. The card game's escalating intensity mirrors the escalating tensions of the era, and the consequences of their youthful choices begin to become clear.
3. Blind Willie (1983)
This segment centres on Willie Shearman, who was a minor character in "Low Men in Yellow Coats" and had a connection to Carol Gerber's past trauma. Now a Vietnam veteran, Willie performs a peculiar act of penance: he pretends to be a blind beggar in New York City for a few hours each afternoon, during which time he genuinely experiences temporary blindness – a physical manifestation of his deep-seated guilt over his actions toward Carol and the horrors he witnessed in Vietnam. This story explores the psychological cost of war and the desperate search for redemption.

4. Why We're in Vietnam (1999)
This short story features Sully-John, another character from "Low Men in Yellow Coats," who also served in Vietnam with Willie. Sully-John attends the funeral of a fellow veteran and reflects on the enduring trauma of the war. His narrative culminates in a hallucinatory final encounter with a Vietnamese woman from his past, and he ultimately succumbs to the lasting effects of his wartime experiences, highlighting how the war continues to haunt its survivors decades later.

5. Heavenly Shades of Night Are Falling (1999)
The collection concludes by bringing Bobby Garfield back to his hometown for Sully-John's funeral. Now an adult, Bobby encounters Carol Gerber, who is still alive despite having been presumed dead after a radical anti-war incident years prior. Their reunion is a poignant reflection on their shared past, the paths their lives have taken, and the enduring nature of friendship and first love. The ending offers a glimmer of hope and reconciliation, but also acknowledges the irreversible changes wrought by time, loss, and the turbulent era they lived through.

"Hearts in Atlantis" is a powerful, character-driven work that, while containing subtle supernatural elements, primarily functions as a meditation on memory, the loss of innocence, the long shadow of the Vietnam War, and the complex ways in which individual lives are shaped by historical events.

Comments:
Another brilliant book. I read this out of sequence but that did not matter at all. My favourite part of this book is the link to the the Dark Tower series with Low Men, Breakers and The Beam. The individual stories of the characters is, as one would expect, fabulous and they tie in so well. The plot planning is almost as complicated and in "Needful Things" which was sensational. Highly recommend.

Books that we've read by Stephen King (68):
Carrie (1974), 'Salem's Lot (1975), The Shining (The Shining, #1) (1977), The Stand (1978), Night Shift (1978), The Dead Zone (1979), Firestarter (1980), Cujo (1981), The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower, #1) (1982), Different Seasons (1982), Christine (1983), Cycle of the Werewolf (1983), Pet Sematary (1983), The Talisman (The Talisman, #1) (1984), Skeleton Crew (1985), It (1986), The Drawing of the Three (The Dark Tower, #2) (1987), The Eyes of the Dragon (1987), The Tommyknockers (1987), Misery (1987), The Dark Half (1989), Four Past Midnight (1990), The Waste Lands (The Dark Tower, #3) (1991), Needful Things (1991), Dolores Claiborne (1992), Gerald's Game (1992), Nightmares and Dreamscapes (1993), Insomnia (1994), Rose Madder (1995), The Green Mile (1996), Desperation (1996), Wizard and Glass (The Dark Tower, #4) (1997), Bag of Bones (1998), The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (1999), Hearts in Atlantis (1999), On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft (2000), Black House (The Talisman, #2) (2001), Dreamcatcher (2001), Everything's Eventual (2002), From a Buick 8 (2002), Wolves of the Calla (The Dark Tower, #5) (2003), Song of Susannah (The Dark Tower, #6) (2004), The Dark Tower (The Dark Tower, #7) (2004), The Colorado Kid (2005), Cell (2006), Lisey's Story (2006), Duma Key (2008), Just After Sunset (2008), Under the Dome (2009), 11/22/63 (2011), Full Dark, No Stars (2011), The Wind Through the Keyhole (The Dark Tower, #4.5) (2012), Dr. Sleep (The Shining, #2) (2013), Joyland (2013), Mr. Mercedes (Bill Hodges Trilogy, #1) (2014), Revival (2014), The Bazaar of Bad Dreams (2015), Finders Keepers (Bill Hodges Trilogy, #2) (2015), End of Watch (Bill Hodges Trilogy, #3) (2016), Elevation (2018), The Outsider (2018), The Institute (2019), If It Bleeds (2020), Billy Summers (2021), Later (2021), Fairy Tale (2022), Holly (2023), You Like It Darker (2024)