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Stephen King’s new book, If It Bleeds, is a collection of four novellas that reminded me of one of his early collections, Different Seasons. Not only do both contain 4 stories, but they focus heavily on the character work that King is known for. As I’ve been hosting Chat Sematary and consuming his works in chronological order, it’s something that I’ve come to focus on as I read any of his novels, novellas, or short stories. Every once in a while, I’ll jump ahead as I have done for The Institute and If It Bleeds. It gives me a chance to see how King’s stories have been updated to reflect the present day. You can expect to find these four new stories full of his outlook on the world and his political opinion gets sprinkled in every now and then.
The first story, “Mr. Harrigan’s Phone” initially gave off an “Apt Pupil” vibe in the sense that King reuses the idea of a younger, impressionable boy frequently interacting with an older man and being influenced by him. Without spoiling the story for you, I’ll just say that I’m very glad that the outcome of this story was very different than “Apt Pupil.” It’s one that I think a lot of people will be able to relate to because of the technological factor that King adds in. Mr. Harrigan is not a huge fan of technology, but Craig introduces him to the first generation iPhone. Of course, it wouldn’t be a King story without a twist, which gives the story that extra creepy factor. It’s a great way to kick off the collection.
“The Life of Chuck” wound up being the story that didn’t immediately grab my attention, but it did play around with the traditional storytelling format. Instead of telling the tale of someone’s life from start to finish, this story takes you backward through Chuck’s life. However, the way it begins makes you think that the story will be drastically different from what it winds up being. It’s quite misleading and the change in the story comes on pretty suddenly and unexpectedly. Despite it being my least favorite, it takes someone ordinary and tells the tale of his life in an interesting way.
“If It Bleeds” is the longest story and as you noticed, is also the title story. I was at a bit of a disadvantage reading this because it focuses on Holly Gibney and I haven’t read any of the other books she’s appeared in. I had at least watched The Outsider on HBO, so I knew who the character was. The only thing I don’t know for a fact is how closely her character was to King’s written version of her. I do love a good crime story though, which made “If It Bleeds” one that I was looking forward to. I know that Holly Gibney is not a detective, per se, but her instincts make her extremely good at what she does. I also appreciated the tidbits about her love for movies throughout as she’s looking into a school bombing and crosses paths with a reporter who happens to cover major tragedies. The story also gives more background to Holly than we ever saw in the HBO series. I may not have caught on to all of the references to the Bill Hodges trilogy, but by the end of the story, you do understand who Holly is as a character and the lengths she’ll go to solve crimes.
The final story may not have a huge rat monster like “Graveyard Shift,” but it was titled “Rat” and therefore was inevitably going to involve at least one of the critters. Rats aside, this story takes on a subject that King is uber familiar with: writing. The main character, Drew, is a writer who has never managed to finish a novel until one day an idea hits him and he just feels compelled to get it all down. He travels to a cabin away from his wife and kids and anyone who has read horror stories or watched horror movies knows right away that being in a cabin on your own is not the best idea. It’s a fun look at the thought process of a writer who is finally feeling accomplished. Everything comes at a cost though and King spins that into the story to turn it into a moral dilemma.
Now that I’ve read roughly half of Stephen King’s books, it means that I’ve had the chance to dive into several of his collections. Different Seasons is likely still my favorite as the short story collections haven’t grabbed me quite as much. If It Bleeds comes in at a close second, though. All of the stories were at least good and I did really love “Mr. Harrigan’s Phone.” I’ll be revisiting the collection again when it comes around for my podcast and maybe by then, I’ll understand the references made in the title story. I look forward to what I think of it after a second read. For now, go grab yourself a copy of the book if you haven’t yet and get to reading it!
My Podcasts
Murjani Rawls returned to Welcome to Geekdom to discuss Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and I actually enjoyed rewatching the movie. Listen here.
Kt Schaefer watched The Shining miniseries for the third time so we could discuss it. The miniseries is long, but the episode is not. Listen here.
Currently Reading
After finishing up If It Bleeds, I returned to the Welcome to Geekdom book club pick, Before the Fall. I’m quickly catching up and anticipate finishing the book by the end of the month. If you’ve enjoyed Noah Hawley’s work on television, I recommend checking the book out. I’ve found it very interesting so far and can’t wait to see how it ends.