Just After Sunset by Stephen King
As I've mentioned before, I'm a fan of short stories - it takes some talent to write them well, and they don't require as much commitment as a novel. The first short stories I ever read were by Stephen King; my friend Brooke and I are obsessed with Skeleton Crew and Night Shift.
Stephen King edited the annual Best American Short Stories anthology in 2007, and has said that after reading thousands of short stories during the selection process, he was compelled to write a new collection himself.
I've finally finished Just After Sunset, which took me a lot longer than usual now that there's a baby in the house! It was an enjoyable set of stories, although I don't think the book measured up to his earlier collections - I guess in my own mind he set the bar too high with Skeleton Crew and Night Shift.
There were a couple of stories that I really liked, because they were either creepy or made me laugh, including "N.," "Mute," and "A Very Tight Place." Another story, called "The Gingerbread Girl," caused me to have an emotional breakdown. Keep in mind that I started to read the story either the first or second night we were home from the hospital, when I was both a hormonal and paranoid mess. For two weeks after the baby was born I felt like crying practically every time I saw my own shadow, and kept checking Isabelle every 5 minutes to make sure she was still breathing.
So imagine my horror when I opened up my book to read "The Gingerbread Girl," and the first line read: "After the baby died, Emily took up running." And a couple of lines later: "...there was never going to be another baby, with the attendant risk of finding said infant gray and still in its crib." Let's just say I had to put the book away, and it took me about two weeks to be able to conquer that story.
(Note - my hormones have been back to normal for several weeks and I can now laugh at my paranoia!)
The verdict: 3 stars out of 5
As I've mentioned before, I'm a fan of short stories - it takes some talent to write them well, and they don't require as much commitment as a novel. The first short stories I ever read were by Stephen King; my friend Brooke and I are obsessed with Skeleton Crew and Night Shift.
Stephen King edited the annual Best American Short Stories anthology in 2007, and has said that after reading thousands of short stories during the selection process, he was compelled to write a new collection himself.
I've finally finished Just After Sunset, which took me a lot longer than usual now that there's a baby in the house! It was an enjoyable set of stories, although I don't think the book measured up to his earlier collections - I guess in my own mind he set the bar too high with Skeleton Crew and Night Shift.
There were a couple of stories that I really liked, because they were either creepy or made me laugh, including "N.," "Mute," and "A Very Tight Place." Another story, called "The Gingerbread Girl," caused me to have an emotional breakdown. Keep in mind that I started to read the story either the first or second night we were home from the hospital, when I was both a hormonal and paranoid mess. For two weeks after the baby was born I felt like crying practically every time I saw my own shadow, and kept checking Isabelle every 5 minutes to make sure she was still breathing.
So imagine my horror when I opened up my book to read "The Gingerbread Girl," and the first line read: "After the baby died, Emily took up running." And a couple of lines later: "...there was never going to be another baby, with the attendant risk of finding said infant gray and still in its crib." Let's just say I had to put the book away, and it took me about two weeks to be able to conquer that story.
(Note - my hormones have been back to normal for several weeks and I can now laugh at my paranoia!)
The verdict: 3 stars out of 5
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