Stephen King - Short Stories (Book Guide): 1408 - 1922 - a Good Marriage - a Very Tight Place - All That You Love Will Be Carried Away - Apt Pupil - Autopsy

by Stephen King

Source: Wikia. Commentary (stories not included). Pages: 37. Chapters: 1408, 1922, A Good Marriage, A Very Tight Place, All That You Love Will Be Carried Away, Apt Pupil, Autopsy Room Four, Ayana, Battleground, Beachworld, Big Driver, Blind Willie, Blockade Billy, Cain Rose Up, Chattery Teeth, Children of the Corn, Crouch End, Dedication, Dolan's Cadillac, Everything's Eventual, Graduation Afternoon, Graveyard Shift, Gray Matter, Harvey's Dream, Heavenly Shades of Night are Falling, Here There Be Tygers, Home Delivery, I've Got to Get Away, I Am the Doorway, I Know What You Need, In the Deathroom, It Grows On You, Jerusalem's Lot, L.T.'s Theory of Pets, Luckey Quarter, Lunch at the Gotham Cafe, Memory, Morality, Mrs. Todd's Shortcut, Mute, My Pretty Pony, N., Never Look Behind You, Night Surf, Nona, One for the Road, Popsy, Premium Harmony, Quitters, Inc., Rainy Season, Rest Stop, Riding the Bullet, Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, Secret Window, Secret Garden, Slade, Sneakers, Sometimes They Come Back, Stationary Bike, Suffer the Little Children, Survivor Type, That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is in French, The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet, The Beggar and the Diamond, The Blue Air Compressor, The Body, The Boogeyman, The Breathing Method, The Cat From Hell, The Cursed Expedition, The Death of Jack Hamilton, The Doctor's Case, The End of the Whole Mess, The Fifth Quarter, The Gingerbread Girl, The Guns of Deschain, The House on Maple Street, The Jaunt, The Langoliers, The Last Rung on the Ladder, The Lawnmower Man, The Ledge, The Library Policeman, The Little Sisters of Eluria, The Man Who Loved Flowers, The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands, The Man in the Black Suit, The Mangler, The Mist, The Monkey, The Moving Finger, The New York Times at Special Bargain Rates, The Night Flier, The Other Side of the Fog, The Raft, The Reach, The Reaper's Image, The Reploids, The Road Virus Heads North, The Sun Dog, The Ten O'Clock People, The Thing at the Bottom o...

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Fiction, Fantasy, Audiobook

38 pages, Paperback

First published October 28, 2011

About the author

Stephen Edwin King was born the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. After his father left them when Stephen was two, he and his older brother, David, were raised by his mother. Parts of his childhood were spent in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where his father's family was at the time, and in Stratford, Connecticut. When Stephen was eleven, his mother brought her children back to Durham, Maine, for good. Her parents, Guy and Nellie Pillsbury, had become incapacitated with old age, and Ruth King was persuaded by her sisters to take over the physical care of them. Other family members provided a small house in Durham and financial support. After Stephen's grandparents passed away, Mrs. King found work in the kitchens of Pineland, a nearby residential facility for the mentally challenged.

Stephen attended the grammar school in Durham and Lisbon Falls High School, graduating in 1966. From his sophomore year at the University of Maine at Orono, he wrote a weekly column for the school newspaper, THE MAINE CAMPUS. He was also active in student politics, serving as a member of the Student Senate. He came to support the anti-war movement on the Orono campus, arriving at his stance from a conservative view that the war in Vietnam was unconstitutional. He graduated in 1970, with a B.A. in English and qualified to teach on the high school level. A draft board examination immediately post-graduation found him 4-F on grounds of high blood pressure, limited vision, flat feet, and punctured eardrums.

He met Tabitha Spruce in the stacks of the Fogler Library at the University, where they both worked as students; they married in January of 1971. As Stephen was unable to find placement as a teacher immediately, the Kings lived on his earnings as a laborer at an industrial laundry, and her student loan and savings, with an occasional boost from a short story sale to men's magazines.

Stephen made his first professional short story sale ("The Glass Floor") to Startling Mystery Stories in 1967. Throughout the early years of his marriage, he continued to sell stories to men's magazines. Many were gathered into the Night Shift collection or appeared in other anthologies.

In the fall of 1971, Stephen began teaching English at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels.

Reviews

[BookHunter M ُH َM َD · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very tight place

كلنا غارقون فى هذا الخراء و ان كان بمستويات مختلفه و لكن كما يقول الأجانب
آت ذا سيم شيت

فى الصراع بين الوغد و المشعوذ قد لا يدرك كلاهما من هو الوغد و من المشعوذ و غالبا ما يميل المرء إلى أنه دائما الطرف الطيب المعتدى عليه
تجربة عصيبه بالفعل خاضها بطل القصة و كان طول الوقت كما يقول العبقرى أمل دنقل

بين السيف و الجدار
بين السبى و الفرار

اتاحت له الفترة التى قضاها فى العزلة الإجبارية و التى واجه فيها ما بداخله و ربما ما بداخل العديد من البشر أن يواجه نفسه و يكون أكثر تسامحا مع هذا العالم القذر
اخر روائع بعيد الغروب

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here we see a dispute between neighbors getting a very nasty twist. Two rich fellows have an argument about a dead dog and a piece of land. Will they find a solution to their problems? If you read this captivating story you get new ideas for settling a conflict and what to avoid. Absolutely loved this compelling tale! You'll also find this story in King's anthology Just After Sunset. Highly recommended!

[Calista · Rating 2 out of 5]

OH, this one was disgusting. In his notes about the stories, he even admits to wanting to pass on his fears of port-o-potties to us and grossing us out. I had to skip over some parts because I just wasn’t able to read it anymore. I did not like this story. It was unpleasant to read, and King always has to give us at least one of those.

A man fighting bitterly with his neighbor is taken in by a rouse that the neighbor is giving up the fight. Syke. He traps our protag in a port-o-pottie and tips it over. King relishes being as graphic as possible as what happens in this torture scene and it only gets worse. I can’t wait to forget this horror.

The ending was okay, but a little disappointing. I like it and I wanted more and I’m satisfied. Sue me. This could have been a brutal ending and King choose a different path. The suspense was good, even if totally gross.

[Karla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story 3.5 stars**
Audio 3.75 stars**
Narrator Ron McLarty

[Nadin Doughem · Rating 2 out of 5]

وضع عصيب للغاية
اعتقد انه بدأ يعتاد على هذة الأشياء، وأن باستطاعة الناس الاعتياد على أي شئ إذا اضطرّوا لذلك. ولم تكن هذة الفكرة مريحة جدا.
رواية برائحة سيئة

[Fifi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read 1408 from the short stort collection Everything's Eventual. I think the movie is far better as we actually get to spend time in 1408 and see some of the things that are going on as opposed to hearing snippets retroactively from Mike's recorder.

Overall,

⭐⭐⭐
🗝️🗝️🗝️

[Allegra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow, a book that made my stomach roll! This was certainly a little journey I wasn't expecting but I was certainly happy taking it. Since it is a short story I won't say too much but I did find the ending to be satisfying and the middle to be truly revolting (in a good way since there really isn't any other feeling you should express when reading about crawling through a port-a-potty filled to the brim with...well you know).

[Oumaïma (readwithmima) · Rating 5 out of 5]

First short story of Stephen King I thoroughly enjoy.

[Abeer Abdelhamid · Rating 3 out of 5]

القصة مرهقة وبها الكثير من التفاصيل المزعجة والمقززة.. فكرتها جيدة لكن التفاصيل لم احتملها

[Wilhelm Sundewall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only read 1408. I don't know what I'm missing to really like this novel. But it's either not abstract enough or not explicit enough in the description of Mike's mind as he confronts the room.

[Bri (the short story guy) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Felt a lot like Dolan's Cadillac.

[James Biser · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good tale about a man tortured by being locked into an overturned port-a-potty. -Oh The Horror!!!-

[Katia M. Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this a little slow to start, but once it got going it was a brilliant and gross thing, if somewhat predictable. Read if you want to grossed out!

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was absolutely disgusting and I loved it.

[Nicole Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well this sure was a bit disturbing! But it was also very good and kept me wondering what was going to happen next

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely disturbing to read but didn't hate it!

[JoRolle Nola · Rating 5 out of 5]

A grossly unique take on terror by Stephen King. And I do mean gross! 🤢😂

[Josh Olds · Rating 1 out of 5]

Review of A Very Tight Place

What a way to end Just After Sunset. This is a revenge story. Curtis is lured to a deserted construction site by his neighbor Tim. He and Tim have been in a property dispute and Curtis’s dog was killed by Tim’s electric fence (umm…that’s typically not how those fences operate). Tim traps Curtis in a porta potty and tips it over, leaving him to die. Curtis escapes and tries to take his revenge. He doesn’t kill Tim but says he will tell other people that Tim tried to kill him first if Tim ever tells. It’s all very petty but with pretty high stakes. Then Tim kills himself.

Wow. Not a good story.

[nat! · Rating 2 out of 5]

okay so like props for being the first king i read that i didn’t dislike but… it just isn’t scary :’) i had trouble following and becoming invested during certain parts of the story too. the most gripping parts imo were when the hotel manager was explaining the room’s history but that’s about it. idk. it’s fine lol

[Edd · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know what's wrong with me with this author, but I've been unable to find almost anything appealing about his stories. The clichés don't stop hitting you in the face and it seems that everything has to be described in the same and only way. I respect those who like it, but I think it's definitely not for me. Everything he writes seems like a script for a bad B-movie.

[Rochelle Swanson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Creepy. It's been a while since I had a descriptive story really play out in my head.

[Vy Nguyen · Rating 4 out of 5]

(a very tight place) it was good, but there is absolutely no reason to read this story unless you want to be scared of porta pottys for the rest of your life

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scary

[I live in your walls (real) (go check) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Stephen read my lips: You Need Therapy

[Natalie Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

1408 is my favorite short story of his.

[Aspen Abner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m actually writing this review so far for 1408 and not the rest — something about this story gave me the constant creeps

[Colleen Downey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good short story, I think I liked it more then the movie. Which definitely added a lot more .

[Laurie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Only read "All That You Love Will Be Carried Away" for a course assignment. I'm not a huge fan of the short story. The main character is unhappy with his life but has no plan to improve it. He is weak and whiny, with brief glimpses of humor. He needs to find a different job. Some people (my father-in-law, for instance) thrive as traveling salesmen. Alfie has quit taking his meds and plans to end his life in a Motel 6. I feel sorry for him but am also hugely irritated by him. He has a family, a home and a job. First World Problem at its finest.
On a side note, I read that S.K. changed the ending after a suggestion from an editor with the New Yorker magazine. He also claims to consider the short story "the highest form of his craft". Not for me.

[Cameron Mascari · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read "All That You Love Will Be Carried Away" it was a decent little short story. King is obviously very talented, this was actually the first thing I have read of his. I liked it, but I didn't think it was anything to special.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I only got the audio version of All That You Love Will Be Carried Away. I would have loved it if King had made this into a full length book. There were questions left unanswered and I hated the ending.