Spit in the Air, Learn a Lesson: Book Review of Just After Sunset

 

Just After Sunset by Stephen King

Gratitude

Thank you to the Montgomery County Public Libraries for making Stephen King’s Just After Sunset easily accessible to the public at no charge.

Description

Just After Sunset came out in 2008, when the world, as they say, was a different place. No worldwide pandemic, smartphones weren’t a thing yet, and September 11th was the tragedy of the generation. Accordingly, some of the stories show a reality that is far from where we are today. In particular, “The Things They Left Behind” focuses on September 11, 2001, and is from the point of view of a character who worked in the Twin Towers, but did not go in that day. The freshness of September 11th is so different from now, when anyone under thirty probably has no memory of that day.

The story, in Stephen King fashion, has an element of the supernatural--office belongings from his coworkers show up in his apartment, out of nowhere. The hauntings, however, do not seem to serve the same purpose as they do in other stories--for example, another story in the collection, “The Cat from Hell” visits with what seems to be malicious intent.

King also touches on mental health in a few stories, questioning perceptions of reality and our individual lives, as well as personal rituals and compulsions. In King’s stories, a trick of the mind can trap us in a hell we didn’t know we were capable of creating.

The stories in this volume are not King’s strongest short fiction. There aren’t any of his richly detailed novellas. The characters do not have significant backstory or development. Even the plots do not take the reader on the same adventure as many of his other stories. They seem to have begun with obvious “what would happen if” scenarios that do not transcend above the original question.

Would I teach this book?

Of all the many works in King’s catalogue, including other collections of his shorter works, Just After Sunset just doesn’t burn as brightly. For fans, it is a reasonable read, but as a point of discussion showcasing the depth and breadth of his work, I would not include it on the syllabus.

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