Although it is difficult to believe, the Sixties are not fictional:
THEY ACTUALLY HAPPENED.

No matter the format, Stephen King's work is spellbinding because the author himself is spellbound. The first hugely popular writer of the TV generation, King published his first novel, Carrie, in 1974, the year before the last U.S. troops withdrew from Vietnam. Images from that war -- and protests against it -- had flooded America's living rooms for nearly ten years. In Hearts in Altantis, King mesmerizes readers with fiction deeply rooted in the Sixties, and explores -- through four defining decades -- the haunting legacy of the Vietnam War.

As the characters in Hearts in Atlantis are tested in every way, King probes and unlocks the secrets of his generation for us all. Full of danger, full of suspense, and most of all full of heart, Stephen King's new book will take some readers to a place they have never been able to leave completely. (back cover)

Hearts in Atlantis

Stephen King

Justin Staack

7,5

Niedere Männer in Gelben Mänteln 9,5 Punkte
Herzen in Atlantis 10 Punkte
Blind Willie 3 Punkte
Warum wir in Vietnam sind 7 Punkte
Heavenly Shades Of Night Are Falling 7 Punkte

Nach der ersten hälfte dachte ich, dass es eine 10 wird aber dann kam die zweite hälfte und alles fiel in sich zusammen.

Asher Black

King's book is really a number of stories in a cycle. The film is actually one of the stories, but not the title story - which means, if you watch the film, you never really learn what the title means. The film is fantastic, one of my most beloved, but I love the book separately and together with the film at once. I love both versions of the story.

This is also, as a whole, one of the books I love. I don't say "I love this book"; everyone says that, of course, about books they enjoyed, the way they say it of a confection they have just finished. But that's not what I mean, and this book is not merely this month's confection. I love some stories, whether film or books, the way a man loves a woman, and yes I know what that is. This is one of those books. There are some really painful things in here. But it's like having a friend and the friendship being busted up into a pile of debris - I think, along with a lot of readers who don't need happy endings as much as we do a sense of life, that something goes on - that more than closure, we get persistence, that the friendship, like the book, is worth it. Friendship is so rare and precious, that even if it's like a pile of broken glass, I want it, all of it - shards and all. I want books like this in that same way.

This is also one of those books I think you can read after you've watched the film, with it not being spoiled. Not because the film story - Low Men - doesn't end the same way, but because the richness the author creates in the text embellishes the film experience in such a way that, if you're capable of experiencing art this way, lets you sort of live the film differently in the past. It lets you time travel, rather than feeling like you're re-watching the same film. At least that's how I experience a lot of books, including this one. But I think you have to love a story, really love it, in the unspoken place of the heart, or you don't get that.

Some people have been deprived of such an experience, as I had been for a number of years growing up, and think of the "heart" as a Hallmark card sentiment or Disney movie "message". The heart doesn't exist, or we can't know what it is - it's make believe. I know you - I was once one of you. All I can tell you is that they took it from you, took it from you when you were young, and you can get it back again. And it's nothing like Disney or Hallmark - it's nothing like when they say a movie "will touch your heart". That still makes me want to vomit. But there is a heart, and it is an organ of the soul, given the metaphorical name of the beating organ that pumps your blood, and even connected to it, overlapping it, if you prefer, and connected to your will and your mind, which overlaps your brain and the rest of your body.

I don't mean to condescend and say, "if you don't like this book, you're not enlightened, you have an impoverished soul, you have no heart". All hearts are unique. I'm just saying that, this book operates in my heart, and the title doesn't reflect saccharine sentimentality, but a kind of connection that's possible with others, real or imagined, who also have hearts, even if some of them aren't tromping around the world we consider visible, flattening the same turf. Take that how you like. Anyway, I like this book.

Available from Amazon.

Celeste Richardson

Actual rating: 3.5 stars (Because the first two stories were great.)

Disclaimer: I read this book and wrote big portions of this review while ill. So if it doesn’t make a ton of sense, that’s why. In my defense, the book made less and less sense as I read it, the stories flowing less effortlessly and feeling more forced. Which is common with King. Sticking the landing just isn’t his strength.

Out of all of the Stephen King books I’ve read, this one is by far the strangest, at least in terms of set-up. It’s not a novel, per se, nor is it a collection of short stories. These interconnected novellas become more and more dependent on one another as they progress, telling different facets of the same story in a way. I cared the most about the first two, and by far the longest two, stories, and honestly would have enjoyed the book more had it ended after “Hearts in Atlantis.” “Low Men in Yellow Coats” is perhaps one of the very best, most moving stories I’ve ever read. “Hearts in Atlantis” was a study in human nature that spoke to me on a deep level. The remaining 3 shorter stories just didn’t have that same level of impact. I felt like the more war-heavy stories didn’t age very well. I did, however, like that the book ended with revisiting the main character from the first story. That decision made everything feel a little more cohesive overall. Below are my brief thoughts on each of the five stories.

Low Men in Yellow Coats:
This particular story, which accounts for almost half of the book’s length, felt like something special. King is so incredibly good at writing convincing child heroes who aren’t saccharinely precocious. The friendship between Bobby and Ted was beautiful and true, and I love that it was founded upon a love for of good fiction. The story delivered so many things, from nostalgia to sweetness to fear to sorrow to, at last, hope. It ties directly into the Dark Tower narrative, and even if the rest of the collection doesn’t end up blowing me away, reading this story made my picking up the book absolutely worth it. 5 solid stars. If you’re a fan of Boy’s Life by Robert McCammon, I feel like this story is worth your time. The childhood nostalgia was excellently captured.

Hearts in Atlantis:
I find it amazing that King can take an idea as simple as a college dorm’s collective addiction to a card game and make it a compelling story. But he did. I was astounded by how much I came to care about these boys and their struggles. Pete Riley was an incredibly compelling character, and I was really rooting for him to overcome his addictions and save himself from the draft that was killing so many boys at the time. I also really enjoyed seeing Carol again, in a completely different context.

Blind Willy:
This is an odd one. How long can the events of a childhood rule the life of an adult? We have a borderline dissociative identity disorder and selective blindness represented here, and the entire premise is a really weird one. It’s interesting how Carol Gerber has become a bit of a Shrodinger’s cat by this point in the narrative. I’m super curious what happened to her, and what caused her to make the decisions she’s made and get involved in the movements she was involved in.

Why We’re in Vietnam:
Again, this story hinges on a ripple effect, on how past events and acquaintances shape the course of a life. Here, all of the main players, from John Sullivan to Ronnie (the card-playing instigator from Hearts in Atlantis) to Blind Willy of the previous story, are all connected loosely by 2 things: Carol Gerber and the Vietnam War. It was interesting seeing more of Sullivan, since he was an important side character in Low Men in Yellow Coats as the third member of Bobby and Carol’s friend group, but that was really the only purpose his story served. 

Heavenly Shades of Night are Falling:
This final story brings us back to Bobby, our protagonist in “Low Men in Yellow Coats.” It was nice to see how his life turned out, as the end of that first story left his fate a bit up in the air. We also get to learn a little bit more about what happened to Carol after “Hearts in Atlantis.” Both Bobby and Carol are very interesting characters, and I was happy that King returned to them in the end. And I really hope to see more of Ted further down the road to the Tower.

All in all, Hearts in Atlantis was a nostalgic, thought-provoking read. “Low Men in Yellow Coats” was incredible on its own, and reading it ended up being a very emotional experience. I can see how that central story could link in with the Dark Tower, and I’m very excited to see what actually comes to pass. There’s a movie of the same name starring Anthony Hopkins as Ted, and I bet he was absolutely amazing in the role. It’s definitely on my watch list.

You can find  this review and more at Novel Notions.

Five interconnected, sequential narratives, set in the years from 1960 to 1999. Each story is deeply rooted in the sixties, and each is haunted by the Vietnam War.

Stephen King, whose first novel, Carrie, was published in 1974, the year before the last U.S. troops withdrew from Vietnam, is the first hugely popular writer of the TV generation. Images from that war -- and the protests against it -- had flooded America's living rooms for a decade. Hearts in Atlantis, King's newest fiction, is composed of five interconnected, sequential narratives, set in the years from 1960 to 1999. Each story is deeply rooted in the sixties, and each is haunted by the Vietnam War. 

In Part One, "Low Men in Yellow Coats," eleven-year-old Bobby Garfield discovers a world of predatory malice in his own neighborhood. He also discovers that adults are sometimes not rescuers but at the heart of the terror. 

In the title story, a bunch of college kids get hooked on a card game, discover the possibility of protest...and confront their own collective heart of darkness, where laughter may be no more than the thinly disguised cry of the beast. 

In "Blind Willie" and "Why We're in Vietnam," two men who grew up with Bobby in suburban Connecticut try to fill the emptiness of the post-Vietnam era in an America which sometimes seems as hollow -- and as haunted -- as their own lives. 

And in "Heavenly Shades of Night Are Falling," this remarkable book's denouement, Bobby returns to his hometown where one final secret, the hope of redemption, and his heart's desire may await him. 

Full of danger, full of suspense, most of all full of heart, Stephen King's new book will take some readers to a place they have never been...and others to a place they have never been able to completely leave. (jacket)

Tannie Davidson

haven't read one that's this good in a while

Ben Nathan

The first story "Low Men in Yellow Coats" is a solid 5 stars. The stories after that I would rate around 3.5 stars. I really enjoy them all, but the first is wonderful. The others had a really strong message about the Vietnam war generation. I would highly suggest for King fans.

Jessica

A. D. Knapp

Vicky  Nuñez 

'Although it's difficult to believe, the sixties are not fictional; they actually happened' (Author's Afterword) Stephen King, whose first novel, Carrie, was published in 1974, the year before the last US troops withdrew from Vietnam, is the first hugely popular writer of the TV generation. Images from that war - and the protests against it - had flooded America's living rooms for a decade. Hearts in Atlantis is composed of five linked stories set in the years from 1960 to 1999. Each story is deeply rooted in the sixties, and each is haunted by the Vietnam War. Full of danger, full of suspense, most of all full of heart, Hearts in Atlantis will take some readers to a place they have never been...and others to a place they have never been able to completely leave.

Hearts in Atlantis

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