Hearts in Atlantis by Stephen King
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
**4.5-stars rounded up**
My first time reading Hearts in Atlantis, if Goodreads existed, I would have given it 3.5-stars and rounded up to 4.
Alas, it was the Stone Age and it didn’t. Dark times, my friends. Dark times.
Many years have passed and I think the fact that I now have age and experience on my side, allows me to view this work from a completely different perspective.
While this most likely explains the significant jump in my rating, I think the fact that I have now read the first six books in the Dark Tower series, also contributes.
There are a lot of interesting references and connections between this book and those.
While the Hearts collection is more understated, it is very powerful. There’s a lot of food for thought in here and I think every reader will take a little something different away.
I really enjoyed how each story follows a different child of the 60s at different stages of their lives. So, while it follows different people, it still keeps that classic coming of age vibe.
I think the collection as a whole fits very well together.
I won’t claim to understand every nuance of these stories, but I do feel like I got a significant amount of meaning out of it this time around.
I would love to read this again someday; maybe in another decade or so. I’m sure it would affect me differently at that time.
This feels more introspective for King. One for his generation. It’s impressive, it’s beautiful, it’s powerful and it’s definitely worth picking up!
