brandonsears

I have to admit, I was a little hesitant to pick this up. Not because I have any predisposed notions towards Uncle Stevie, it's just that it's a bunch of short stories and it's uncharted territory for me when it comes to King (well, aside from [b:Blockade Billy|7940591|Blockade Billy|Stephen King|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/510hFvKDuxL._SL75_.jpg|11366182]). I've read a fair bit of his longer fiction or stuff that's over 300 pages (not that I consider 300 pages long). However, after reading the opener 1922, those worries quickly subsided.

King is writing on a common theme here and he elaborates on it in the afterword. Rather than exploring the supernatural world of fiction, he's delving deep into the dark side of humanity. Most of us live our lives surrounded by people we assume are helpful, are kind and loving but as King writes, "When it came to the dark fuckery (awesome word, by the way) of the human heart, there seemed to be no limit." King basically lets it be known, do we really know anyone? In the story, "A Good Marriage", we find out that a woman has been married to a man for 27 years and knew nothing of his extracurricular activities. It's sad and frightening but the story is inspired by actual events - so it's not impossible.

Overall, I quite enjoyed this experience. Throughout these tales, King brings the reader into the dark cellar of a rundown and abandoned house and nearly throws away the key. I've always been a fan of darker fiction and I can't imagine King getting much darker than this.

The only thing keeping this from 5 stars is the fact that while I really enjoyed it, it doesn't measure up to my other King favorites (i.e. The Stand, On Writing..., etc.). That being said, I am going to seek out some of his other short story collections. I have no idea why I was hesitant at all; he obviously has a lot of these collections in his catalog.