Rating: 
Summary: Simply incredible
Review: When I saw the movie adaptation of "Hearts in Atlantis," I knew I had to read the book. What I didn't expect when I picked up the book was to have the movie cover only the first 200 pages, and the differences to be so extensive. The movie is wonderful, the book is a masterpiece. Both exist in completely different worlds of storytelling, yet both bear the same name. Never before have a book and film existed so separately while complimenting each other so greatly. But they do, and while "Hearts in Atlantis" is arguably the best film of 2001, it is also arguably one of Stephen King's best books. From the very first page of every story told, I was sucked in and absorbed into this novel so completely that I would lose track of time and spend hours in a chair, practically immobile. Not many books have done that for me; this one did.The first story, the one the film is about, discusses the short time period after Bobby Garfield's 11th birthday, and how his life was tossed upside down with the arrival of a friendly stranger named Ted, who we learn has a very special gift. A gift so special that it has him on the run from the "Low Men", and also very contagious through the simple act of touch. The story follows Bobby and his friends Carol Gerber and Sully-John through their youth, but the bulk of the story is about Ted and Bobby, who develop a sort of father-son-best friend repore even as Bobby doubts Ted's sanity. The story comes to a climax in a supernatural meeting that is very intense and scary, and then levels into an ending that sets the tone for the second story, which follows Carol Gerber to the University of Maine in 1966. With the main character in the story being Pete Riley, the story explains the novel's title with more clarity as the third floor lounge of Chamberlain Hall becomes a stomping ground for a bunch of automatons who are obsessed with the game of Hearts. It becomes such an obsession to the people in the dorm that scholarships are revoked, people drop out, and the Vietnam protest finds its way into the realm with a simple "sparrow track" on the jacket of a crutch-wielding activist. But what really drew me into this story (the best one in the book) was the interconnections made as the love story between Carol and Pete develops and climaxes (you'll get the irony in that choice of words when you read the book) with her first participation in a Vietnam protest. The second story is so wonderfully thought out and original that I was upset to see it end. It is brilliant, funny, delightful, lovingly written, and it gives even a youngun like myself a true understanding of the nature of the Vietnam struggle in the US. But it's really only the mid-point. The last three stories are shorter, but no less absorbing. There's Blind Willie, which follows the life of a very minor character in the first story through his routine during the Reagan era, and then Sully-John resurfaces right before one of the most original and unsuspected events I've ever been privy to as a reader. And then we are brought full circle with Bobby Garfield as a middle-aged man returning home. I was left completely breathless when I turned the last page of this book. If you just looked back on the collection of films that have been based off his works (aside from "Shawshank" and "Green Mile"), you would never suspect such an accomplishment of literary genius from King. But even as an avid reader of King, I was surprised to feel the feelings that he evoked from my soul. "Hearts in Atlantis" is a true masterpiece of all the genres it encompasses in all the stories. This is King at his very best. Please read this soon.
Rating: 
Summary: Too many loose ends, disconnected.
Review: King should have ended the book with the tasty little tale of Ted and Bobby. (The "low men" reminded me of the little bald doctors in Insomnia...time is the "old bald cheater.") As I continued to read, I expected the tight, clean story King usually offers his readers. However, the remainer of the book reminded me so strongly of Forest Gump, that I was unable to enjoy it or even to take it seriously. (Run Forest, run!) As a matter of fact, I almost stopped reading three-quarters of the way through, but stuck it out. After completing the book, I wish I had stopped with first story. If you choose to read Hearts in Atlantis, be prepared to be disappointed. I give it three stars because of Ted and Bobby, but darn it, I wanted MORE!
Rating:
Summary: Hearts is lost
Review: This book was a great read if you know the style of Stephen King. Since this was the
first Stephen King novel I have ever read I feel that I missed an important part to the
reading.
The beginning of the story is about a young boy, Bobby Garfield, who's mother has very
relentless feelings toward him. She seems to ruin his life without even trying. It was very
captivating with the many adventures that he encounters. Then the story switches gears
to a new character. At this point of the story I was real perplexed about who this Pete
Riley was. I began to think that it was Bobby a few years later. It turns out that it is
about an man in his late teens who goes to college but ends up getting addicted to
gambling with his roommates. Although it did have some connection to the first story.
Carol Gerber was Bobby Garfield's first love. She ends up being great main character
throughout the entire book. King uses great description of the sixties and the Vietnam
war. He seems to bring the past to life. He uses the many peace rallies and the draft
vividly. He connects each character to the war.
The next mini story takes place with a character from the first story. He turns out to be
someone that he is not. He has many personalities and it was very confusing to see where
King was coming from.
The end of the book refers to the first story and towards the end he had lost my interest to
keep reading.
It was disappointing that Carol Gerber seems to be the main character. She does not have
much depth to her. She is the character that everyone can relate to, but she does not keep
the reader interested as a main character should.
These stories are very loosely tied together and that is was makes it confusing. I think
that King had many meanings to the story, but they were very hard to grasp. This book is
a great read if you understand Stephen King. Hearts in Atlantis is not good beginner
book, if you do not read Stephen King.
Rating:
Summary: King vs. Reality... King comes out on top!
Review: I liked this book. No, I loved this book. It did human nature justice, and for that, I applaud Stephen King. Life does not always end in closure for those of us here on earth, so why
should every book end leaving you feeling calm and complete? If life didn't seem to go the way you want it to, you can't just hang it up and go to bed. Things will leave us puzzled and baffled for years to come. Hearts In Atlantis essentially takes the reality of life and slaps it in your face. The truths and bad-natured flaws shown in each situation; Bobby with his pent-up anger and spiteful vengeance, and Peter with his motivational weakness as well as his natural sadistic yet incredibly accurate response to Rip-Rip's misfortune, all reflect the reality displayed in King's writing. Hearts In Atlantis is truly a work of art and I highly recommend it to any reader who's looking for perspective.
Rating:
Summary: TAKES YOU BACK TO A TIME NOT FORGOTTEN
Review: THIS BOOK IS A MUST FOR ANYONE WHO LIVED AND LOVED THROUGH THE 50'S AND 60'S, AND THE VIETNAM WAR. IT WILL BRING BACK MEMORIES YOU HAD STORED AWAY AND IT WILL BRING THEM BACK TO YOU IN LIVING TECHNICOLOR IN YOUR MIND.I CRIED, I LAUGHED, I SIGHED AND HURT, REMEMBERING A TIME NONE OF US HAVE FORGOTTEN. A TRUE STEPHEN KING MASTERPIECE.
Rating: 
Summary: Really not that good...
Review: I, like many of the other reviewers, was disappointed in this book. The first story was interesting and I enjoyed it, but it went down hill from there. I kept waiting for him to tie it all together at the end, and it seemed like he was going to, but it just didn't happen; At least not for me. There were just too many unanswered questions... like who were the breakers? Who were the "low men"? How did the glove go from "Blind Willy" to Sully? What did Willy ever do about the cop?
Rating: 
Summary: A new low for King
Review: I thought The Tommyknockers was his worst book until this came out. If not for the reference to his Dark Tower series, I would have never believed Stephen King had written something this bad. The only story that isn't completely awful is the first one, which the movie was based upon. The rest are beyond terrible, especially the title story. Read at your own risk and have your vomit bag ready!
Rating:
Summary: not exactly a tour de force
Review: This book is disjointed somehow. It consists of 5 novellas that are loosely tied together. The first part, on Bobby Garfield in 1960, is the best of the lot, almost magical, and the most Steven King-like--but then the book shifts abruptly to another time and place in a whole different genre (introspective realism, for lack of a better term) and bores the reader with page after page of card games and cafeteria food. The 3rd novella didn't make a whole lot of sense and didn't come to "closure." Finally, in the last part, King tries to sew all this together, but there are so many loose ends it's impossible (just who were the Breakers supposed to be?)Plus, King never really gets inside the heads of these characters to provide insight into their motivations. Where the main female character, Carol, is concerned, that's a real shame. I grew up in the 60s in the area where this book takes place and I can tell you it completely misses the spirit of the times. Despite my disappointment, I'll still remain a Steven King fan.
Rating:
Summary: Not his best
Review: The first story about Bobby and Ted is the most fulfilling. The characters and situations are compelling, but its supernatural elements are vague and never explained, and then the story simply ends. The rest of the book is forgettable, and only tenuously tied into the first story. I kept wanting the book to come back around to Bobby and Ted, to understand the mystery hinted at in the first section, and some satisfactory closure. At the very end, Bobby does resurface but it's far too little (still no resolution to the mystery) and far too late.
Rating: 
Summary: Did I miss something??
Review: I liked this book. It had several different stories. I liked them all, I just didn't get how they related. I kept waiting for them all to come together. I feel like I missed a chapter or something. Worth the read, just expect to be confused at the end!!
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