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Mute
Monette, a middle-aged traveling book salesman (his first name is never given), goes to confession. When the priest asks him what sin he has committed, Monette admits that he believes he has sinned in some way but is not entirely sure exactly what he is guilty of. He then explains the events of the preceding days.
24 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2007
2 people are currently reading
181 people want to read
About the author
Stephen King
2,413 books887k followersStephen 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
April 17, 2023
Mute
ها هى رائعة أخرى من مجموعة بعيد الغروب
صفحاتها ثلاثون مقسمة على عدة أجزاء
اذا تعديت انت و زوجتك سن الخمسين و ربما قبل ذلك فإن الفتور قد يتسلل إلى علاقتكما الزوجيه و خصوصا اذا كنت معظم الوقت خارج المنزل كصاحبنا بطل القصة الذى يقضى عشرة اشهر من العام متنقلا بين الولايات لتسويق منتجات شركته
تتورط الزوجه فى علاقة مع رجل اخر بل و فيما هو افظع من ذلك
على هامش القصة يعترف الزوج ايضا بأنه لم يكن مخلصا على طول الخط و لكن له نزواته ايضا
إلى هنا و الأحداث تبدو عاديه و مستهلكة أيضا و لكن للأبكم وجهة نظر أخرى ستقلب الأمور رأسا على عقب
April 26, 2020
Monette, a travelling salesman in books, confesses to a priest. He took a hitchhiker and told him about his cheating wife, her gambling addict, embezzlement, his worries and the new boyfriend of hers. At a rest stop the deaf and mute hitchhiker is gone. He has taken a Christopher medal from Monette's car. Later on something terrible happens. What is going on here and why does the book salesman contact a priest? Brilliant story with eerie elements only Stephen King can tell. You can also find this story in King's anthology Just After Sunset. Absolutely recommended!
July 20, 2020
This story is told with a man confessing to his priest in confessional. I think that works well.
The story is about the man picking up a hitchhiker who is mute and deaf. The man begins to spill his trouble to the deaf mute who can’t hear him and it feels so good. His wife done him wrong and he was spewing his anger. The twist at the end was nice and I sort of saw it coming.
An interesting story, moderate size.
The story is about the man picking up a hitchhiker who is mute and deaf. The man begins to spill his trouble to the deaf mute who can’t hear him and it feels so good. His wife done him wrong and he was spewing his anger. The twist at the end was nice and I sort of saw it coming.
An interesting story, moderate size.
July 7, 2020
Story & audio 4 stars**
Narrator skipp Sudduth
Narrator skipp Sudduth
January 12, 2022
A book salesman, an adulterous wife and a hitchhiker. When it all comes out at confession in front of the priest, what could possibly go wrong? Well a lot goes wrong in Stephan King’s world! Question is, how much of it is Sin?
July 18, 2021
An enjoyable story that had me engaged until the very end.
January 28, 2023
زوج فى الخمسينات من عمره يعرف بخيانة زوجته له وذك لانشغاله فى العمل ويجد ان حياته قلبت رأسا على عقب ولا يجد حل امامه ولا يبقى امامه الا الفضفضة حيث انه لا يجد حل للمشكلات التى اوقعتهم فيها زوجته.. ولكن كان للقدر رأى اخر
القصة اسلوبها شيق جدا
القصة اسلوبها شيق جدا
July 17, 2023
A solid morality tale. Nothing extraordinary, but an entertaining and engaging read.
September 7, 2024
This was a quick, satisfying read that actually has an organic ending. The ratio of dialogue to scenery description is well balanced. I'm most impressed with the amount of complexity and layers captured in such a short time, yet it feels natural. Lastly, the ending - chef's kiss.
September 27, 2019
This is a great story about a truck driver who picks up a hitchhiker he believes to be a deaf-mute. While they travel, the trucker spills his guts to the hitchhiker because he believes it will make no difference if the man cannot hear. He tells of his cheating wife who was an embezzler and left him. After the ride, his wife and her lover are killed and the trucker tells everything to a priest in confessional. The story is excellent as it talks about the philosophies of justice and love.
March 30, 2020
An interesting little short story but not the most memorable I've ever read.
May 19, 2021
Good, solid read. Engaging characters, typical "dissecting the person we're reading about mind and soul" King style
June 18, 2021
“Mute” is a story about whether we are to blame for the actions of someone else, especially if our actions directly led to theirs. Mr. Monette, a traveling book salesman (are those still a thing?) picks up a hitchhiker to claims to be deaf and mute. As the two travel in silence, Monette determines to unload his recent troubles onto the guy in a cathartic way. It can’t hurt, right?
Monette is recently separated from his wife, who is about to be indicted on embezzlement associated with a secret lifestyle with an adulterous lover. The storytelling turns to venting as Monette expresses concern about how his wife’s undoing could affect all their lives. The whole time, the man appears to be asleep and when Monette stops at a rest stop, he returns to find the man gone. Two days later, his wife and her lover are beaten to death in a motel room.
The story is told in the form of Monette confessing to a Catholic priest, ending with the question of whether or not he is responsible. Monette admits to being relieved his wife his dead and for that the priest gives him penance of 10 Our Fathers and 10 Hail Marys. Monette asks a further question as to if God ordained the main to be there in his car. The priest almost says yes, but then gives another 10 Hail Marys.
King asks poignant theological questions and, while left unanswered, are quite haunting. The title “Mute” is clever, as it shows what Monette maybe should have been—seeing as his hitchhiking friend wasn’t as deaf as he claimed. It’s a cautionary tale in one sense. In another it’s a haunting question of if we are responsible for the actions of others.
Monette is recently separated from his wife, who is about to be indicted on embezzlement associated with a secret lifestyle with an adulterous lover. The storytelling turns to venting as Monette expresses concern about how his wife’s undoing could affect all their lives. The whole time, the man appears to be asleep and when Monette stops at a rest stop, he returns to find the man gone. Two days later, his wife and her lover are beaten to death in a motel room.
The story is told in the form of Monette confessing to a Catholic priest, ending with the question of whether or not he is responsible. Monette admits to being relieved his wife his dead and for that the priest gives him penance of 10 Our Fathers and 10 Hail Marys. Monette asks a further question as to if God ordained the main to be there in his car. The priest almost says yes, but then gives another 10 Hail Marys.
King asks poignant theological questions and, while left unanswered, are quite haunting. The title “Mute” is clever, as it shows what Monette maybe should have been—seeing as his hitchhiking friend wasn’t as deaf as he claimed. It’s a cautionary tale in one sense. In another it’s a haunting question of if we are responsible for the actions of others.
July 31, 2022
Stephen King excels at creating vivid characters and especially does a First Person Narrative well. The narrator is filled with horror, guilt, confusion, and quiet satisfaction as he tells his story of imploding marriage to a priest in the confessional. All first-person narratives have some degree of self-deception in their story, and this man's justifications for his wife's fate grate. A man who travels 300 days per year should put more connection and work into his marriage. Otherwise, this is a gripping story.
May 9, 2023
When you get past the name "Stephen King" and "Horror Stories" you really appreciate what a wonderful writer he really is and this is no exception. Here, we have a man going to confessional to unburden guilt to a priest.
A travelling salesman goes to confessional to unburden himself of the story of the hitchhiker he picked up. The Hitchhiker is a Deaf and Mute. Taking the advantage of this he un burdens himself of the situation with his wife who admitted having an affair.
Wonderfully scripted, exceptionally well written and you follow through everything right to the end of the book.
A travelling salesman goes to confessional to unburden himself of the story of the hitchhiker he picked up. The Hitchhiker is a Deaf and Mute. Taking the advantage of this he un burdens himself of the situation with his wife who admitted having an affair.
Wonderfully scripted, exceptionally well written and you follow through everything right to the end of the book.
March 13, 2021
Mute was another very good one. I see that Stephen King has chosen that formula of volatility many times here, because even when these stories turns out to be shit, they still hold you riveted until the disappointing ending. Except this one pays off. The ending was funny and satisfying, and quite sinister. Any hitchhiker in a Stephen King story should never be trusted. Except this time around, the tables are turned, and the hitchhiker proves to be a blessing in disguise.
September 1, 2024
Story starts with a man in a confessional come at the same time the man picks up a mute hitchhiker on the highway, revealing everything…
A conventionally ambiguous short story that feels like it was out of the twilight zone, at least if it had been weirder. What I do appreciate is Stephen King's mastery of writing, and switching between multiple timelines in the story. Otherwise unconventional.
A conventionally ambiguous short story that feels like it was out of the twilight zone, at least if it had been weirder. What I do appreciate is Stephen King's mastery of writing, and switching between multiple timelines in the story. Otherwise unconventional.
February 26, 2021
A good short story with a subtle psychological energy.
Хороший короткий рассказ с тонкой психологической подоплекой.
Хороший короткий рассказ с тонкой психологической подоплекой.
December 27, 2022
4.4⭐ Damnn, idk but i'm kinda glad abt what happened in the ending
February 9, 2024
داستان کوتاه مسافر لال. در اپلیکیشن نوار گوش دادم. ایده جذابش من رو یاد یکی از خطوط داستانی فصل اول سریال فارگو انداخت
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews