Just After Sunset

From Singles 2009

Just finished King's most recent short story collection. King. Short stories. It's a good combination.

Kevin read the collection first. He generously let me keep the book (on his library card...and you know how risky that sort of behavior can be...) and even made a list for me rating the stories from most to least favorite. Since I recognized I had a limited time to read this before it was recalled, I started reading from the top of Kevin's list rather than reading from the first page of the book.

So, I liked the book...some good creepy stories. I read them all. Eventually. I had to actually return the book and ask the librarian to allow me to check it out again on my card.

What I found most interesting, however, was how very different Kevin and my taste in stories was. If you took Kevin's list and turned it upside down, you'd get my list. He preferred the suspenseful, imminent danger tales, while I'm more disposed to a quiet, subtle, ghost story. And, monsters. Monsters rated much higher in my list than his. Now, doesn't that surprise you?

What he's articulating is a delusion, and part of him knows it - 'shadows that looked like faces,' etc. - but it's very strong, and strong delusions travel like cold germs on a sneeze.