Hearts in Atlantis

by Stephen King

Although I am not a huge fan of Stephen King, every once in a while I will pick up one of his novels and give it a go. His descriptions, vivid detail, and ways of bringing his characters to life make him worth trying. Even if you just try one of his books.

This book is broken into five different stories. Although they each have their own main character, all of these stories are intertwined with the three main characters that are introduced in the first story. King manages to tangle magic, love, and tragedy throughout the stories as well. Hearts in Atlantis starts in the year 1960 with three childhood friends, Bobby Garfield, Carol Gerber, and John Sullivan. This story follows these friends through a life changing summer: Bobby’s mom rents an apartment to an elderly man (Ted) who Bobby becomes friends with. It is through this companionship that this first part really takes off. Bobby and Ted’s relationship is endearing and wonderful. You immediately become attached to their bond and their friendship. This first story is full of wonderful moments that are so like all of our lives it will make you remember childhood stories and similar memories.  

The other four stories continue through different years: 1966, 1983, the next two in 1999. These follow different characters through various stages of their lives. While the story develops the characters, King also includes history of the times. The first follows a college student on campus during the Vietnam War. It follows the protesting and political views of the times. It is obvious through this section that King stays true to the history of the time period throughout his writing of this book. The 1983 story follows the story of a Vietnam vet and his days/struggles after the war. The first 1999 section follows former child John Sullivan, as he attends a funeral of one of his fellow soldiers in Vietnam and the second 1999 section returns the focus on Bobby later in his life.

Unfortunately, while in the literary sense the book delivered, the actual content of these last stories were disappointing. While I appreciated them for their authentic history content, I truly felt much more emotionally attached to the first section and its characters. I felt that so many subjects and questions I had were unanswered at the end of this book. Despite this I would still urge others to read this book as it is a wonderful source of content for Vietnam, protesting, realistic childhood memories, and tragedy-it is the first section that keeps me thinking about this novel and would be the reason I would pass it along to someone else. Even if you read each section as individual short stories.

Rating: 3 out of 5


Next: A Bend in the Road -Nicholas Sparks