This book came as kind of a surprise to me. After looking for Stephen King's newest release right after coming back from the recent trip to Europe, I saw not only the new novel (which as of my writing this, I am still in the process of reading), but also saw this new release, which looks and feels more like a novella than anything else.
In fact, once I began settling in after purchasing this along with the new book, it dawned on me that I actually had read this one before. It is included in If It Bleeds, a collection of King writings which was released back in 2020.
So this was not an entirely new story. He had released it before. I began to feel familiar with it almost right away. That said, it was almost shocking how much of the story I actually forgot. So it was good to read it again, just for that reason.
SPOILER ALERT
SPOILER ALERT
SPOILER ALERT
Okay, so by now if you are still reading this, I have to imagine that you either are familiar with this story already, or perhaps you do not mind the spoilers. Please just don't say that you were not given advanced warning.
This story is in three parts. And not only is it not in chronological order, it is actually in reverse chronological order.
It "begins" with what is actually the ending. The world appears to be falling apart, in almost every way. I know, sometimes it feels like that is the case anyway. But in this world, that is multiplied many times over. California is getting very serious earthquakes, to the point where huge chunks of it are breaking off and lost forever. And it is starting to hit the "breadbasket" region in central California.
Meanwhile, the roadways are jammed. Long lines for gas, and the local roads are now massively congested, because the highways are falling apart.
In fact, everything is falling apart. We even learn that the days are growing longer, so we know that this world really seems like everything is going wrong with it, and all at once.
We keep seeing clues about what is going on. There are advertisements and signs everywhere thanking someone named Chuck for 39 great years. Nobody in this part of the world knows who Chuck us, yet there is the sense that somehow, Chuck is at the center of all of this. In fact, we learn that Chuck is dying, and that this world - "multitudes" from a Whitman poem - is actually the world of his creation, or rather, his world. And as he is dying, so, too, is this world.
At the very end, a divorced husband and wife sit together and look out at the night sky, watching as the stars and everything begin blinking out. Relatively slowly at first, then with greater speed, until everything blacks out, including this entire world.
The next story goes back just a few months. This is the first time when we actually get to meet Chuck, if you will. It is just before he learns about his fatal illness. He has been getting headaches - serious migraines - and will soon go to the doctor to get this checked out. We know that it will be not only bad news, but the worst news. That he has only months to live.
However, he does not know that just yet. He is on an all expenses paid business trip to Boston, which he has never visited before. He is wearing his usual business attire, but something stops him. He hears some drumming, and this always gets him wanting to move, to dance, like in the days of his youth. Suddenly, he begins dancing, right then and there, business suit and all. Soon, he gets a young woman to join him, and for just a brief moment, nothing else in the world matters. There simply is the drumming, and Chuck and this young woman dancing. People are watching and beginning to get out their camera phones. Chuck is a little worried that he might go viral, finding himself in a business suit, dancing like a madman. He wonders what his wife might think, or his job. But he does not sweat it too much.
At the end, Chuck is a bit sweaty and tired. He, the young woman, and the man drumming get together and talk. They muse about doing this dancing full-time, although they all know that will never happen. Chuck can feel a headache coming on, but knows that for now, it is mild. Surely, it will get worse by tonight, but he will worry about that later. For now, he is happy, having danced like when he was young. This is the last real happiness that Chuck will know, because he will soon learn of his fatal condition, and his health will then deteriorate quickly after that.
The third and final story show us Chuck when he was still a kid. We learn about how his parents both died in a car accident when he was still very young, and hos his grandparents then took care of him. We learn about both grandparents, the qualities which Chuck learns to love. How his grandmother taught him to appreciate, and even to love, dancing, before she also dies.
Soon, we see him joining dancing in school. He is particularly gifted, and gets to dance with one of the most attractive girls. They agree to do a number before the everyone at the next school dance. Once again, Chuck is purely having fun. He feels good after the dance, and we learn that he has come up with a story about how the boyfriend of the hot girl he was dancing with bullied him and shoved him into a fence, thus causing the scar. In fact, he merely trips and falls on his own, thus creating the scar after simply wanting to get a cool breath of fresh October air after the dance.
And that's it.
This is a quick read, one you can probably get done in one sitting, if you are so inclined. Also, like most Stephen King works, it is engaging and will likely keep you entertained. Plus, it is an interesting idea, this notion that we all contain within us an entire world, even an entire universe, or "multitudes," as Chuck prefers to view them.
A highly recommended read.
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