Atlantis (Stephen King)
Atlantis ( Hearts in Atlantis in English ) is a novel by Stephen King from 1999. The title of the original is derived on the one hand from the folk ballad Atlantis by the musician Donovan , and on the other from the card game " Hearts ". Due to the German tendency towards one-word translations for King titles, only the word Atlantis was adopted.
Structure of the novel
The book is a compilation of five short stories . King deals primarily with the lifestyle of the 1960s, especially the student movement and the effects of the United States' participation in the Vietnam War . The time frame of the book extends from 1960 to 1999.
The individual novellas
Low men in yellow coats (Engl. Low Men in Yellow Coats )
1960: This by far the largest episode is about 11 year old Bobby Garfield. His father, who died years ago, allegedly left nothing but debts, his mother, who works as a secretary in a brokerage, basically doesn't love him. The new tenant, an older man named Ted Brautigan, encourages Bobby's interest in books and offers him a job to supplement his pocket money: Bobby is supposed to read him from the newspaper, as Ted sees increasingly poorer. But this is more of a pretext, in fact, Bobby should look for Ted for "low men", from whom Ted is on the run. This is where the references to the novel cycle The Dark Tower come in , because Ted is one of the breakers who have to work to destroy the beams that support the tower.
Bobby loves Ted, who is quickly becoming a father substitute, but fears for his sanity. Nevertheless, the signs that Ted warned about seem to be increasingly visible - but Bobby refuses to believe this. More and more, Bobby realizes that Ted is right and special because he seems to have the gift of reading minds, a gift that he can pass on at times through touch. While the relationship between Ted and Bobby deepens and the old man introduces him more and more to the realm of literature, Bobby falls in love with the girl next door, Carol Gerber, and experiences his first kiss. When John Sullivan, his best friend, is on holiday camp, events roll over. Ted feels the low men around him and gets ready to move on. Bobby's mother is raped by her manager and several colleagues while on a business trip. Carol is beaten up by a group of elderly students from a Catholic community school (including Willie Shearman), and Bobby carries her home with an almost superhuman effort. When Ted dislocates her shoulder, they are surprised by Bobby's mother, who thinks Ted has sexually assaulted the girl. Despite Bobby's assurances, she alerts the lowly men, and after an unsuccessful attempt to warn Ted, Bobby witnesses them taking Ted with them. Bobby cannot forgive his mother and himself and gets lost more and more in petty crime.
Hearts in Atlantis (ger .: Hearts in Atlantis )
The second story is written from the first person perspective of student Pete Riley, who does not appear in any of the other short stories. Riley describes his troubles in the winter of 1966/67, when the card game "Hearts" (almost everyone in his dormitory is addicted to it) is almost doomed. The loss of his scholarship would inevitably have meant drafting into military service. Pete is emotionally attracted to the peace movement against the Vietnam War . A key figure here is Carol Gerber, Bobby Garfield's sandpit love and future political activist and terrorist that Riley falls in love with.
Blind Willie (English: Blind Willie )
1983: Willie Shearman, who used to go to school in the same small town as Bobby, Sully and Carol, does some kind of penance every day . Outwardly a businessman, he disguises himself during the day as a blind, penniless Vietnam veteran and begs thousands of dollars every day in front of New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral , which he then throws, in turn, largely into sacrificial boxes. Willie repents for the attack on Carol, but also for his role in the Vietnam War - this goes so far that he can induce psychogenic blindness for some time each day. The district cop extorting protection money from Willie grows suspicious. Willie then makes plans to get rid of the cop; whether he will carry it out remains open.
An earlier and very different version of Blind Willie was released by King back in 1994.
Why in Vietnam we are (English. Why we're in Vietnam )
About 30 years after the Vietnam War ended for the soldier John Sullivan, he attends the funeral of his comrade-in-arms Pagano. On the way back, John gets stuck in a traffic jam and relives the worst events of the war for him again and again. He was traumatized by the war and has since been haunted by the apparition of an old Vietnamese woman who was killed before his eyes. As he gets out of the car to get some fresh air, he is caught in a hail of objects falling from the sky: telephones, a piano, even an entire swimming pool, burying people and cars - but this is only John's last vision when he has one Suffering from a heart attack. In his lap is Bobby Garfield's old baseball glove.
Heavenly Shades of Night Are Falling
1999: After John's death, Bobby Garfield returns to his hometown for the funeral, where he meets Carol Gerber, who was believed to be dead. Ted Brautigan sends the two of them (apparently from another time or dimension) a package with Bobby's baseball glove and a message.
Audio book
The original English version of the book is available as an audio book, read by William Hurt (Episodes 1, 4 and 5) and Stephen King himself.
filming
The 2001 film Hearts in Atlantis, starring Anthony Hopkins as Ted Brautigan, is loosely based on the first novel Low Men in Yellow Coats . All references to the Dark Tower have been deleted.
Reviews
Kirkus Review called the novel at the time the work of a truly mature Stephen King, deserving of a literary award, and "his masterpiece". Although the book contains supernatural elements, the human element and the fascination of a not-so-long past prevail. In no way can Atlantis be called a horror novel.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Book review: Hearts in Atlantis. In: KirkusReviews.com. May 20, 2010, accessed September 10, 2018 .