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)

King at his subtle best

The book consists of four loosely connected tales. What I find interesting is that the story they made into the movie was not the Title story. William hurt is a very good narrator moving easily between the voices of kids and adults, the sane and insane. I am not as impressed with king’s narration. A bit flat.

Stories had a range of some supernatural aspect to just psychological implication, more along the line of the green mile as opposed to Salem’s lot. Over all a good listen .

First part, 5+stars! Skip the rest.

William Hurt is by far one of the best narrators I have ever experienced in the realm of audiobooks. Hurt’s narrative magic coupled with King’s brilliant storytelling makes for an absolutely thrilling experience.
I absolutely love the story of Ted and Bobby. Beyond that, I would not suggest reading. That is something I never do, but as much as I adored the Ted and Bobby story, I utterly hated the rest of the book. I felt dirty and angry after it and truly wished I had not finished it. I literally started over immediately to experience the first part of the story again and to cleanse my mental palate from what came after it.
Ted and Bobby story – above excellent. Skip the rest.

Great beginning and end

I couldn't care less for the section of the book. the story is about Bobby and Ted's relationship and having Carol's life play a side arc wasn't, in my opinion, worth taking away from the other characters. I'm a big fan of The Dark Tower saga and really liked how this tied in, so that may be why I wanted more from Bobby and Ted.

Great Read

This is a terrific book. As always, I'm impressed by the author's ability to write convincingly from a child's point of view, and to create a compelling story. William Hurt is stunning as narrator, and Stephen King is also excellent.

Ensnared from first chapter

holds the attention of the readers and drags you into the characters world

Weird reading

The reader takes time to get used to. But once you get to the second part, you fall in the rythm.

Where is the story?

This was The Seinfeld of Stephen King books it was about NOTHING he dropped a couple of names from the Dark Tower series and wrote a bunch of nonsense around them. The first time I was disappointed in one of his books.

Review stating it again

Fantastic book. Quit adding music to these books. it's loud and distracting and takes away from the enjoyment

best Stephen King book ever

I have listened to this book over 10 times. it's still tears me up at the end.Stephen King is the best at writing from a child's perspective. it reminds me of my own childhood and how it affects me as an adult.

William Hurt is Superb!

This is one of the finest listens I have experienced in a long time. It is a trilogy with common characters and threads running through the 3 distinct stories. They are all beautifully written. There is not a lot of Stephen King supernatural-ism in the stories.

The 1st is a wonderful coming of age tale and the 3rd is a great treatise on the effects of the Vietnam War on those who fought in and survived it. Both are exquisitely performed (NOT narrated nor read) by William Hurt. Hurt puts so much of himself and his talent into the stories! I loved it. Hated to finish it.

I was less enthralled by Stephen Kng’s reading of the middle story. Perhaps I was spoiled by Hurt’s talent and passion for the characters and story. I wish he had performed all three.

I could do without the shmaltzy music that they use to separate sections. It felt clunky and unprofessional.