found drama

Just After Sunset is a strong collection for Stephen King; a little of what I expect (i.e., schlocky horrorshow) and then some rather sophisticated surprises.   This anthology is a bit more literary, a bit more high-brow than what I expect from King – and the “keepers” in here are real keepers. There is some not-unexpected post-9/11 influenced overtones in places, but that just seems to be a framing technique for some of the more fundamental human horrors. In that respect, “Graduation Afternoon” is by far the pick of the litter.

Averaged rating on the Goodreads scale: 3.6923

Individual Story Ratings:

• “Willa” (★★★★½) – fantastic and intriguing and a little reminiscent of something Kelly Link might write if she were taking a class with Stephen King.
• “The Gingerbread Girl” (★★★) – ultimately just a long chase scene, though it does capture the essential horror of a nightmare quite well.
• “Harvey’s Dream” (★★★) – a little on the disturbing side but (dare I say?) it reads a bit like something out of an Alvin Schwartz collection.
• “Rest Stop” (★★★★) – weird enough to be good.
• “Stationary Bike” (★★★★) – also weird enough to be good (and probably requiring a re-read to fully “get it”).
• “The Things They Left Behind” (★★★★★) – like a more brooding, post-9/11 Skinny Legs and All?
• “Graduation Afternoon” (★★★★★) – quite heavy-hitting for “just” 7 pages; interesting, the way it drives home how superficial and petty class differences can be (and nicer still how the nuke is down-played and isn’t even a big end-of-the-world thing but just an end of the world as she knows it).
• “N.” (★★★) – Lovecraftian and epistolary.
• “The Cat from Hell” (★★★) – fun but a little unsatisfying.
• “The New York Times at Special Bargain Rates” (★★★½) – well-played and (in context of the collection) well-placed; a bit emotional and worth exploring a few more times.
• “Mute” (★★★) – also a bit Alvin Schwartz-esque; but much longer and more involved and like George Saunders edited it.
• “Ayana” (★★★) – Chicken Soup for the Horror Fiction Writer’s Soul?
• “A Very Tight Place” (★★★★) – this is essential horror.

SPECIAL SIDE NOTES:

• Multiple references to Maine and Vermont (though the ME references are more than a little predictable); New England seems to be King’s setting-of-choice for the supernatural.
• Also: what’s King’s deal with Florida? That seems to be his setting-of-choice for those non-supernatural but utterly base human-on-human destructive acts.

About Rob Friesel