Hearts in Atlantis

By: Stephen King

Narrated by: Stephen King, William Hurt

Length: 20 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

Each of these five interconnected, sequential narratives, set in the years from 1960 to 1999, are deeply rooted in the 60s culture and the haunting images of the Vietnam War. "Low Men in Yellow Coats" is the story of 11-year-old Bobby Garfield who discovers a world of predatory malice in his own neighborhood. Bobby also discovers that adults are sometimes not rescuers but at the heart of the terror. In the title story, a bunch of college kids get hooked on a card game when they discover the possibility of protest. In "Blind Willy" and "Why We're in Vietnam," two men who grew up with Bobby in suburban Connecticut try to fill the emptiness of the post-Vietnam era in an America which sometimes seems as hollow - and haunted - as their own lives. And in "Heavenly Shades of Night Are Falling," this remarkable work's denouement, Bobby returns to his hometown where one final secret, the hope of redemption, and his heart's desire may await him.

©1999 Stephen King, All Rights Reserved, (P)1999 Simon & Schuster Inc., All Rights Reserved

Critic reviews

"We now know what Stephen King, the master of horror, is afraid of. The Vietnam War...scares him so bad he won't let his hero act imprudently." (The New York Times)
"...Hurt skillfully evokes pathos from the story's fine detailing...." (Publishers Weekly)

Hearts in Atlantis

William Hurt reads the short story so well. It's one of my favorite narrations. The book comes together so awesome with all the short stories. Stephen King is just so amazing. I like how there's hints of his other books in some of the stories.

extreme depth of character, solid plot with twists

extreme depth of character, solid plot with twists that will blow you out of your shoes (even though Stephen had been preparing you for them the whole time)

I wish I could rate it 3.5

The first story is really good, and I enjoyed the last story. I found myself much less interested in the middle 3 stories. The middle stories made this book drag for me.

Wonderful

I have reviewed several SK novels but none with more enthusiasm! I usually hate music interrupting my own thoughts, sometimes it actually pisses me off. In this extremely sensitive, to me anyway, it still wasn’t required but kudos to the directors. It was a wonderful addition. I’m tired of saying, “best one so far” but it was!

Another amazing story from the world of King!

I liked the fact that Stephen King did alot of the reading its nice to hear a story in his words!
I've almost read everything leading up to the dark tower series!

hold on, it gets better...

...and then it becomes greatness. I tried to start this one and fell off a few times, opting for what I thought would be more interesting, but always came back. I realize now that I wasn't ready to hear what this story had to say. but when I was ready to listen, really listen, it spoke to me in a language that I didn't know would impact me on levels that I had forgotten I understood. kings sentiments on vietnam and how he captures the tensions of the time mirror my deepest feelings of iraq and the time I spent there, and subsequently the time I have spent in recovery in the decades following perfectly... completely even, so much so that introspectively I have found things that I boxed away deep in my mind and safely, distantly been able to process more fully over the course of this story. I can't thank the author enough for providing me with countless hours of enjoyment over the past few years. but what I have come to truly appreciate is how he makes me think without knowing that I'm thinking, like a quiet ride through the country of my thoughts. tools in the toolbox. the story of william sherman and how he copes with his misdeeds in particular, struck chords in my heart, as well as the continued story or sully john... levels upon levels. don't sleep on this one, and if you think you aren't going to enjoy it... just hold on, it gets better.

An amazing work and terrific production!

King's writing and Hurt's narration combined for one of the most enjoyable Audible experiences I've had. My only quibble is impatience. Hurt's superb storytelling on Part 1 is amazing which makes the writer's reading of Parts 2 and 3 a hard act to follow. Too, the new storyline and King's voice had me overlaying the character with the author. While Peter Riley may be based on Stephen King's college years, "Hearts" isn't jumping from supernatural thriller to autobiography. Stay with it.

Mostly, I wanted to get back to Bobby and Ted and Carol and the Low Men in Yellow Coats--the monster stuff. And we certainly get monsters with a poignant, almost hypnotic examination of lives touched by war and violence, by human frailty and failings. No one escapes untouched and in the end, simple resolution is nowhere to be found.

But I think that's the point. Redemption, like life, is messy and uncertain. Yet it's there for the taking, should we have the humanity and good fortune to grasp it.

In a world that often seems a veneer of insanity stretched tight over a framework of the unknown, "Hearts in Atlantis" makes a great deal of sense.

(PS: Find or buy "Lord of the Flies" since you'll want to read/re-read Golding's classic when you finish HIA.)

why music???

the overall story was good. The performance as usual was good. but man o man the music seemingly every other paragraph was just very annoying. it may convey a sense of drama to a certain age bracket. but it did absolutely the opposite for my interaction with the story process. very often any sense of emotion was completely lost with the onslaught of some seemingly random musical moment.

Poignant collection

An interconnected set of stories with poignant surprises. Some better than others, plot and character-wise, but each unique with reflective motifs.

Great story. Good performance

Great storytelling by king as usual. It’s a shame this tittle isn’t more well known. Audiobook performance was fitting but a little too slow for my taste.