Book Review: YOU LIKE IT DARKER by Stephen King

YOU LIKE IT DARKER by Stephen King (Scribner/Simon & Schuster, May 2024) Hardcover, 502 pages. 

 

    When your name is Stephen King and you title your latest collection "YOU LIKE IT DARKER" it is bound to set specific expectations among his regular readers. I have a feeling King didn't really consider how fans might react to that. In the afterword, he remarks that he liked a song title with similar words and changed it slightly. However, "darker" is a subjective term and it all depends on how that is perceived by each reader.

For me, I had certain expectations which were not entirely met - - but I still enjoyed this collection. Had this been the first story collection from a new author, I would have rated it a solid Five Stars for inventiveness, story-telling ability, rich characterization, keen observations on the human condition, and the ability to make readers empathize and worry for the characters- - often fearing for them. I find all of that in these stories.

I never expect less than a Four Star read from Stephen King, but I rated two of the twelve stories here Three Stars - - "Red Screen" and "The Turbulenc Expert. Nevertheless, I enjoyed them. My favorite stories - - all Five Star reads - - were "Danny Coughlin's Bad Dream", "Rattlesnakes" and "The Dreamers", with "Laurie" a close contender. 

Four Star reads (above expectations) were "Two Talented Bastids", "The Fifth Step", "Willie The Weirdo", "Finn", "On Slide Inn Road", and "The Dreamers".

In terms of darkness, I made some notes for fun as I was reading -- grading the stories as Dark, Dim, or Light. I considered five stories "Dark", three stories "Dim" (in-between), and four stories "Light". See my notes below . . . . . .

I participated in a group read with the HORROR AFICIONADOS community on Goodreads and share my comments/observations here as well:

JULY 15: Late start for me, and I'm reading several other books at the same time. However, this is the way I prefer to read short story collections. Read one, reflect. Read some other book. Come back to YOU LIKE IT DARKER in small doses. Read another story or more. Reflect, etc. 

Interesting observations by all in this group. I've found that many of King's story collections are not just horror, but cover a lot of ground. Just finished "Two Talented Bastids" and admire how King pulls you into the heads of his characters so you can quickly empathize and even feel warm towards them. He's done it again. That is what I love most about King: his characters.

So far for YOU LIKE IT DARKER (only one story in): Not dark. Not horror. Science fiction works, or even fantasy for "Two Talented Bastids". Who needs labels?

JULY 16: So, what does the "darker" of the book title mean? I skipped to the Afterword to see if King explained what he meant, and he doesn't. All he says is that his stories often deal with dark matters. Also, he copped the title from a Leonard Cohen song he liked - - "You Want It Darker."

Many in my reading group seem to be grappling with the meaning of "darker" in this collection. I think we can all agree that "darker" is subjective, and will mean whatever we want it to. I agree with one member who calls it "bleaker" rather than "scarier".

However some of the stories so far don't seem "dark" in any definition I can think of. For fun, I'm going to rate my impression of the stories. They are either "Light" (not dark at all), "Dim" (tending towards darker/bleaker) and genuinely "Dark" - - in my subjective opinion of course.

I'm at Page 83 now, having finished the first three stories.

Here's my quick impression of them . . . . .

TWO TALENTED BASTIDS - - - A shared, life-changing experience. LIGHT.

THE FIFTH STEP - - - Park bench encounter. It was a light-hearted, warm story until it wasn't. . . . . DIM.

WILLIE THE WERIDO - - - Misfits. Covid. Aging grandparents. . . . DARK.

JULY 20: Just finished the novella DANNY COUGHLIN'S BAD DREAM. Brilliant. I loved it. Truly a Five-Star story. King is still the master of story-telling and characterization. He's still got it. This is the evidence. DARK.

July 23: Read FINN today. Off-beat, odd ball tale about an unlucky man and mistaken identity. I'm wondering what point King was trying to make with this one, as interesting as it certainly was. Love the punch line . . . . . DIM.

THE SLIDE INN ROAD: Dysfunctional family trip. Never underestimate the abilities of a grandpa. DARK. 

July 25: Finished RED SCREEN, my least favorite story of the collection so far, but still well-written. Kind of a one-note short story, with a little twist at the end. Wife murderer blames it on aliens. . . . LIGHT.

July 27: THE TURBULENCE EXPERT. Unusual premise, but interesting. Kind of a one-note story. May end up being my least favorite of the collection. . . . LIGHT. There's really not much hint of that King touch. This story could have been written by anyone.

Observation: The shorter stories in here are not as strong as the longer pieces. I think maybe King needs a higher word count in order to do what he does best- - - rich characterization. Coincidentally or not, the longest story in here is novella length, DANNY COUGHLIN'S BAD DREAM, and remains my favorite of the bunch.

I really enjoyed LAURIE, but I'm a sucker for a good heart-warming dog story. . . . LIGHT.

July 29: RATTLESNAKES is one of the better stories in this collection. Very creepy with squeamish moments. A solid Five Stars. King pays homage to both DUMA KEY and CUJO within the novella, as readers learn what's happened to Donna after the St. Bernard attack as related by the narrator of RATTLESNAKES, her former husband. . . . . . DARK

THE DREAMERS is a nice departure from the rest of this collection, and dabbles in cosmic horror with Lovecraft elements. It was another favorite of mine. Four Stars, for sure, and . . . . DARK

July 30: THE ANSWER MAN is a clever premise, but the story itself with the history of the family far surpasses it. While there are uplifting moments, this is essentially a sad story that nearly brought me to tears. For that reason, I rate it . . . . . DIM.

This collection ended with a strong finish. Those last four stories were especially good.  FOUR STARS OVERALL.