13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
There's the good and the "eh" . . ., April 1, 2004
The first story "The Man In The Black Suit" tells a dark edged tale laced with grief and centers around a young boy and his fear of losing his Mom. Out fishing one day a boy has a run-in with the devil who attempts to take advantage of his fear. It manages to be creepy, funny, and heartbreaking and the characters come to vivid life. This is a story I'll be rereading before passing along.
Next up is "All That You Love Will Be Carried Away" about a suicidal traveling salesman with a quirky habit of collecting little snippets of bathroom graffiti in a notebook. As he contemplates suicide and the trauma it (and the discovery of his odd collection) will have on his wife and young daughter (he has no clue . . .) he reviews his favorites for what may or may not be the last time. This was a downright gloomy story filled with despair and near hopelessness about a lonely life spent on the road. There's an itsy bitsy glimmer of hope at the very end and the emotion felt very real but I wish I hadn't "read" this one in such an intimate format. I can deal with gloominess, darkness and all the grossness you can splatter at me but a suicidal father is something I never, ever wish to read about if I can avoid it.
"The Death of Jack Hamilton" takes a step back in time. It's all about a gang of bank robbers, one who is gravely wounded, running from the law. I'm not a big fan of this sort of thing but King's writing voice managed to hold my attention. His characters are full of color and wit even when facing down death. It's also very gruesome. It's a good thing I have a cast iron stomach because I not so brilliantly insisted upon listening to the bullet removal scene while eating lunch. Ewww. . .
The final story, "You Can Only Say What It Is in French ", features a long-time married couple on their way to their second honeymoon. While traveling, the wife has an odd sense of déjà vu and "sees" some disturbing images. She knows bad things are going to happen to her husband. She's seen his glasses melt right into his face (amongst other gruesome images). She also knows she can prevent `em if she changes but one thing in their routine but, for reasons that are explained later on, isn't compelled to do so. As the story begins she appears to adore her husband, who has given her riches beyond her greatest expectation and seems to have been a decent guy during their time together but as the story progresses it turns out he's done some not-so-nice things along the way. He's also the reason why she feels she is doomed to burn forever in hell if those Christian School teachers of her past have their way. This was entertaining but slightly predictable.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Horror curled up deep in your armchair, April 1, 2003
This review is from: The Man in the Black Suit : 4 Dark Tales (Audio CD)
Stephen King is writing novels, and in this case short stories that are supposed to be read in the night to put yourself to sleep with a pair of nightmares as fodder of your soul. But here they are read, and it is different. Quite different indeed because the visual reading we are used to is replaced by hearing the reading of the tale by someone else. You become in other words inactive. And the reading by the actor simplifies the text and reduces it to one possible interpretation, whereas your own reading might open more doors. So you have to follow the reader. At times it even brings up readings you may not have thought of at all. For instance, the fourth tale, « That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is In French » read by Becky Ann Baker brings up that the déjà vu feeling comes from the fact it is a second honeymoon and a second honeymoon has to be deja vu . Hence the hell or purgatory the text speaks of becomes that second honeymoon and not at all the hell or purgatory that might follow death. The tale becomes then very strong in the idea that you must never take second helpings, especially when the first one had been good. The second one can only be second grade. So try to listen to these tales and you will enjoy them as much as I did but in a quite different way you had enjoyed your own reading of them as printed on paper.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Overall decent, but not his best work in short story form, April 21, 2008
This review is from: The Man in the Black Suit : 4 Dark Tales (Audio CD)
Stephen King's `The Man in the Black Suit' is a collection of 4 short stories from his book `Everything`s Eventual`. As with all Stephen King audio books, these stories are unabridged.
The first story, `The Man in the Black Suit`, tells the tale from an elder man's perspective of his encounter with the devil when he was a young child. The story is well told. At 9 years of age, he sets out on a fishing trip by himself, John Cullum does wonderful voice work in this audio book.
The second story, `All That You Love Will Be Carried Away`, is about a traveling salesman by the name of Alfie. Alfie is a man obsessed with the graffiti he reads in rest area bathroom stalls. Much of the story is poems you would find there. At times it seems as if this work may be Stephen King's excuse to show off his prowess in these toilet poems. The story premise is of a man's world as he contemplates his final thoughts on his upcoming motel room suicide and how it will reflect on him and his loved ones.
The third story, and perhaps the most engaging one, is about John Dillinger and his friend, Jack Hamilton. In `The Death of Jack Hamilton', Dillinger and his gang are on the run from the FBI, when Jack Hamilton is shot and wounded. What follows is the continued adventure of their attempted escape and nurturing of Dillinger's close friend, Jack, in his final days. I am not sure how historically accurate the story is, or whether the author intended it to be, but the story does a good job with it's entertaining details.
The fourth story was one I had trouble with. While the story telling was good, it still disappointed. Carol and Bill are on their way to their second honeymoon. Carol encounters an incredible amount of déjà vu's. It builds up well, and has promise, but it never really goes anywhere.
Overall, these short stories are simply OK. They are well written, and well read, but they lack some of the meat of the story I expect from Stephen King.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
