Customer Reviews
`60s catharsis - By: salopian, 07 Oct 2008 
this is stephen king explaining the `60s, without the usual cliches,to those who weren`t there. this is what it felt like living at a time of momentous changein america when the whole world, it seemed, could choosein which direction to go. this it what these stories are about,the choices we make & the consequences thereafter. as a bitter vietnam vet sums upin the latter part of the book "we had an opportunity to change everything.we actually did.instead we settled for designer jeans,two ticket`s to maria carey,frequent flier miles, james cameron`s "titanic" & retirement portfolios". awesome. read it,enjoy it & marvel at what might have been if we hadn`t sunk atlantis.
My favourite King novel... - By: Ms. C. A. Lever, 06 Sep 2007 I love this book & it's my favourite King novel, although there are others (ofcourse) that come a very very close second. In response to what another reviewer said about having to read The Dark Tower to understand about the Low Men, I haven't read TDT series yet but I didn't get confused by the Low Men at all, you just have to go with it when it's King & accept that you wont always understand everything or have everything spelled out for you. And of course the idea is that anybody can be a Low Man depending on how they choose to live their lives, the idea works on two levels- fantastical & moral. There is so much heartin this book on King's part & that's what I feel from it more than anything, they're aren't just stories, the characters feel so real, for the few days or weeks (depending on how you read) that they spend with you you enjoy their presencein your life & you mourn their passing when the book is finished. It's just a beautiful book.
Uncanny parallel to his real life - By: B. Chandler, 24 Oct 2006 
If you have read his book "On Writing" he has a small biography that parallels this bookin nature. The story line & the details were intriguing. The only distraction from this was his constant potty mouth. He must have needed filler to flush (not flesh) out the book. I do not know if that is a recent phenomenon of they all are that way. The movies are not that way.
This is one story with a few rest spots that make some think it is a series of shorts. Do not attempt to read this out of order as each relies on knowledge of the former. The first phase, about the "Low Men", is the only real supernatural section. And as he points out it is the moral environment around the story that makes the supernatural scary. In this phase he also does a dissertation books including "The Lord of the Flies." There are real close corollaries to "The Day the Earth Stood Still" single mother, kid named Bobbie, & a mysterious border. The second phase Deals with a collage life environment, which is a background for molding character & characters. I do not want to tell too much detail, as that is why you read the book. The third phase is broken into two parts, one a story of Willie during & after Nam, then the whole set of previous characters surround by death & near death experiences.
The not so loose stories ingeniously ties together by a certain object that travels throughout the times to add as a catalyst & a conclusion.
Liked it but didn't get the Low Men part - By: AKC, 25 Mar 2006 Only now after reading reviews of this book, do I understand that the Low Men come from King's Dark Tower books. I really don't want to be expected to have read that series to get the best of another of his books. A long time ago I used to read all of King's books, but "From a Buick 8" was so awful that I left them for a long time. I thought this book was very good except for the parts that I now know I could only understand if I've read another set of King's books. King must be very full of himself to expect all of his readers to have read The Dark Tower.
But I really did like most of the book, hence the 4 stars. It could have been 5 if it weren't for what I've saidin the previous paragraph.
King at his best. - By: Cathal, 17 Jan 2005 Quite simply the best King has to offer. He truely is a master storyteller. Heart's In Atlantis is a brake from his usual deep horror & a offers a light hearted tale of friendship, lost souls, addiction & love.
The book is seperated into five different interlinked stories. The main story takes placein a decade that King refers to as fictional, the sixties. 'Low Men In Yellow Coats'
It's this first part of the book that sets the mood. It tells the story of Bobby Garfield & his encounter with a mysterious lodger that movesin with him & his work aholic mother.
They become friendly & develop an unforgetfull relationship that puts 'Shawshank Redemption' to shame.
Simply, King at his best.
