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'The Bazaar of Bad Dreams': Stephen King's latest collection of short stories is a triumph

'The Bazaar of Bad Dreams': Stephen King's latest collection of short stories is a triumph

From “The Body” — the basis for the film “Stand By Me” — to “1408” and its film adaptation, Stephen King’s shorter works have inspired readers, writers, filmmakers and other artists for more than 40 years. His newest short story collection, “The Bazaar of Bad Dreams,” continues his tradition of compulsively readable short stories, novellas and narrative poems that will thrill fans looking for scares, surprise critics that write him off as a “genre” author and inform artists about his personal creative process.


"THE BAZAAR OF BAD DREAMS"
By Stephen King
Scribner ($30).

In a departure from his other collections, each piece is introduced by Mr. King with a discussion of his inspirations for the story, whether it is news, books, films, friends or just a flash of an idea. These introductions are a fascinating look into the mind of one of the most popular writers in the world, and much like his writers’ manual “On Writing,” he provides readers with concise and insightful observations about the art of the written word. For those who like to have a glimpse “behind the curtain,” knowing the story behind the story will deepen their appreciation of Mr. King’s expert world-building.

Of course, the stories are the main attraction, and the author doesn’t disappoint. However, one of the more intriguing aspects of this collection is that most of the pieces fall outside of the horror genre entirely. Although a few boogeymen may be found, the stories tend to focus on protagonists coping with trauma. This thematic focus gives the book a sense of purpose that many short story collections lack, and as a result, the stories enhance each other and elevate “The Bazaar of Bad Dreams” from merely good to remarkably resonant.

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Some stories explore the human reaction to traumas — usually with tragic consequences. In “Under the Weather,” an older man tries to cope with his growing feelings of inadequacy at work while dealing with his wife’s extended illness by lying to himself — and the other residents of his apartment building. Similarly, “Herman Wouk Is Still Alive” explores the depths a person can sink to when faced with no other way out by following two women on a road trip with their children in a last-ditch effort to find joy in their lives, while “Morality” uses a married couple making a pact with a metaphorical devil to explore how resolving one source of desperation can sometimes lead to something even worse.

While death — or at least the fear of it — has always been an integral theme of Mr. King’s work, multiple stories deal less with death itself than the tension between denying and accepting one’s mortality. “Afterlife,” which imagines what happens after death as a literal life-or-death choice, brings the consequences of denial into focus with pitch-black humor; “Premium Harmony” furthers the subject by stepping into the darkest two hours of an unhappily married man’s life as he realizes that nothing lasts forever.

On the other hand, the two best stories of the book both involve the acceptance of one’s death. “Mister Yummy” follows two residents of a care facility as one explains to the other how he knows his death is imminent; the explanation is poignantly optimistic in its reassurance that the happiness in one’s heart remains until the very end. The last story of the collection, “Summer Thunder,” takes the reader through the last days of two survivors of a worldwide nuclear holocaust. Knowing their time is limited, these survivors are left to make peace with their mortality, and the last lines of the story are some of the most emotionally powerful sentences Mr. King has ever committed to paper — they will leave readers weepy, uplifted and satisfied.

With “The Bazaar of Bad Dreams,” Stephen King has achieved something rare: a short story collection with no weak spots. From a woman confronted with the limits of empathy and the reality of pain, to a man who sees the names of the doomed written in sand, the pieces play off of one another to create a cohesive reading experience filled with optimism, sadness and a search for answers to life’s unanswerable questions. While these stories may conjure up a few nightmares, they also will delight, inspire and, most importantly, entertain readers willing to make the journey.

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Wendeline O. Wright is a local writer and editor (wendywright@gmail.com).

First Published: November 3, 2015, 5:00 a.m.

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