HEARTS IN ATLANTIS - by Stephen King

Hearts in Atlantis by Stephen King




Finished.

Great story-telling.

I wrote earlier that the story of the lowmen and Ted was the first of three sections.  NOPE, it's the first of 5 loosely connected sections.  I much prefer this first story because it includes a greater amount of dealings with the paranormal, and the last story, 'Returning Home', is the finish of the cycle and refers heavily to the first story.

The sections in the center circle around the Nam experience for those who were involved in the 'green'.  It is a great look at why war survivors must face when they get home with a head full of grisly action. The book leads to a greater understanding of the whole.

The overarching theme of the book is an examination of how experience can change a person; we enter the world innocent and less likely to take direct action to defend ourselves and others, but as we age our character begins to unfold and we move to more closely become ourselves.

The MAGIC of the 60's is represented well, but because the 60's was such a deep psychological experience for all of us (gulp! I was there and I DO remember everything!) one man's story, even a writer's story (full of the product of a life-time of studying people) cannot encompass more than a fraction of the freeing of the mind most of us enjoyed for a while.

In a small way I was a bit disappointed that the angle of the lowmen and the Breakers, the Beams, and the Dark Tower were not explored more fully ... but to get that one has to read the Dark Tower series.



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