Just After Sunset *possible spoilers*

[Darkthoughts]

Jean, I loved The Gingerbread Girl! Why did you find it pointless?

[Jean]

It read to me like Reader's Digest version of Gerald's Game; if not for that similarity, it would be like what you can read in a women's magazine about someone's another "liberating experience". I've spent a lot of time at the dentist's the summer before the last, and got acquainted with the genre... only GB was so much longer...

[alinda]

Ah well thanks to our bear, I now am reading Willa, I too will go in order this time, oh and thanks Jean.

[Jean]

[theyspunaweb]

I understand that the predictability was a means he used on purpose; the problem is, I find this means dubious, just as well as the whole idea of "revisiting". It might work, or it might not; in my case it didn't. I also understand that

Spoiler:

the personal moment might make this story for you much more interesting than it was; it's also a matter of perception, because this here bear, being disturbed in various ways, still doesn't find anything original in the way King treated it in this particular case.

Also, it's not only the ending which I meant when I said "predictable" - it's the whole development of the story, step by step and every step known in advance; not from the inner logic of the novella, but alas, from other literature.

Jean, you're right. Like most things, it probably just works with some people or doesn't. I did read them in order, and I have been dissapointed with most of the stories, except this one. You knew what was happening or what happened throughout the whole story, but it's how it happened, and how the charecter felt. And you're right, I probably felt a little bit more connected to the character personally because of my own background, and I'm sure that's why I was into this story. Hmm.

I'd like to hear from others once they've read it since there was such a hype about this story.

- On Gingerbread Girl, I liked it. Not compared to his other novels but to the other stories in this book, because it caught me off gaurd. It wasn't what I thought it would be about, and the plot went from slow, to instantly fast and crazy. I liked the unexpectedness about it.

[ManOfWesternesse]

Hmmm... I see what you're saying Jean, but I still enjoyed both N and Gingerbread Girl (those 2 + Stationery Bike would be my 3 picks from this collection).
.. not compared to anything else, King or otherwise, I just read them and enjoyed them. (Yes, I can be quite shallow betimes! )

Isn't it great really that, after all the years and all the stories, we constant readers can still like and dislike King's work so differently!

[Jean]

I read Stationery Bike yesterday, and have to say it would be more or less ok if it was much shorter. The message just doesn't fit the number of words it took him to get it across; the same with Lisey's Story or Bag of Bones; I would suspect it was a characteristic feature of recent King if not for Duma Key where this ratio was absolutely perfect, to my ursine taste.

[jayson]

I read Stationery Bike yesterday, and have to say it would be more or less ok if it was much shorter. The message just doesn't fit the number of words it took him to get it across...

I agree, and enjoy the apparent irony of using too many words when the message (as I read it) is "use moderation".

[Jean]

[ManOfWesternesse]

[theyspunaweb]

Why do you think King mentioned Alice in Wonderland references throughout the collection of stories? (at least 4 that I caught...) or maybe that is why he put these together for the book? I almost didn't like that he kept mentioning the story.

[Matt]

Your av is so cute theyspun

I'm right in the middle of this book and the stories are mostly okay for me. I listened to Stationary Bike on audio months ago and I enjoyed The Gingerbread Girl because no matter how often I hear it, I love those kinds of stories.

[Brice]

Have just finished reading N., and was very unimpressed. It reads like a cross between Flexible Bullet and Crouch End, both of which I like a lot, but recognition kills a lot of effect... plus many other sources, both King and non-King, echo there and I couldn't help feeling some prevailing second-handedness of what I was reading; let alone that the story was monotonous like hell, - worse, it was totally predictable.

Well, it's directly inspired by Machen's Great God Pan and reminiscent of Lovecraft and that whole sort of thing. It's definitely derivative of them and others, but I expected this. It was actually something I looked forward to. I loved the story.

[Jon]

I thought "N" was the best in a weak line up of stories.

[AcidBumbler]

Hmm. I liked it but... I don't know. It was really good but I found that it wasn't one of King's best. I loved the one about the cat, but that's the only one I can remember fully enjoying and being unable to put down.
The rest were good stories but I found that it took me a long time to read and I also found myself checking what page I was on.

[jsn]

what a great read.

king keeps doing it right.

i think i read the whole thing in less than a day.

[Odetta]

I just finished this book a couple of weeks ago.
For me, I am a huge fan of SK's short stories... these were OK at best. It was almost too easy a read for me.

[Savvy]

I'm not a great fan of short stories and since I've read Just after sunset, I can only remember N and Stationary bike clearly. So I'm taking it that these were my favourites lol

[herbertwest]

An error in "N." ???

The second letter written by Sheila is from the 8th of june 2008, while the article about her suicide is from the 1st of june 2008.

How can it be?

[Brainslinger]

I just picked up the hardback edition of this book for £1.99 in a book shop's closing down sale! Excellent value considering this would proably be around a tenner RRP.

[WeDealInLead]

I thoroughly enjoyed this. Overall I like it better than Night Shift. I like the simplicity of Night Shift and the best stories from that collection are better than the best stories from JAS, but JAS is more solid throughout. There are no stories like The Mangler you know? Or the one with the trucks.

[beam*seeker]

I liked JAS almost as much as Everything's Eventual. The cat from Hell story was f**king awesome. Almost as good as LT's THeory of PEts--possbily my fave short story of his

[LadyHitchhiker]

I'm halfway through it... just read one that really was too much for me, but I stuck through it anyways... must keep reading!

[Jean]

which one was it?

[LadyHitchhiker]

The one about the wife being beaten. For obvious personal reasons, too much for my heart right now, so I skimmed it.