Hearts in Atlantis

[Harley Wench]

I'm not sure if this has been discussed anywhere, so forgive me if I'm repeating something. I have read this book and listened to it several times. Enjoy it, but, can anyone explain the part about Sully when he was stuck in traffic? That part always boggles my mind...any clarification would be appreciated. Thanks!

[boogerb53]

The first time I read it I was totally bewildered. After the 2nd time, I came to the conclusion it was along the lines of the movies Jacobs Ladder and A Thin Blue Line where they are in Vietnam but as they are dying they have all these false forward memories of things that never happened because they never lived. I thinks that's why some ot the things were so bizarre.

[Harley Wench]

Parts of that I got..it was the stuff falling from the sky that threw me. If you haven't "listened" to the book, give it a try. Hurt and King really bring it to life..

[Drawn to Ka-tet]

Hi Harley Wench,
The objects falling from the sky threw me for a loop too. But the more I think about it that scene has a dream-like quality. Sully visions are certainly graphic enough for us to picture them as his reality. But it wasn't his first 'visit' from Mama-San. That was the clue that led me to think he was mixing reality and nightmares. Maybe the mixing was more vivid because he was crossing over...
thoughts?
Long days and pleasant nights.

[boogerb53]

Any idea where I can get cd? I've tried barnesandnoble.com, my stand by.

[Jack_Sawyer]

I havent seen the film and I did attempt the book once and gave up on it. I've got it up in the loft to attempt to read again, although it is a mighty original heavyweight hardback.....

[Harley Wench]

Any idea where I can get cd? I've tried barnesandnoble.com, my stand by.

Try eBay..Mine is on tape but I'm sure you can find it at eBay or Amazon..

[Harley Wench]

Hi Harley Wench,
The objects falling from the sky threw me for a loop too. But the more I think about it that scene has a dream-like quality. Sully visions are certainly graphic enough for us to picture them as his reality. But it wasn't his first 'visit' from Mama-San. That was the clue that led me to think he was mixing reality and nightmares. Maybe the mixing was more vivid because he was crossing over...
thoughts?
Long days and pleasant nights.

Good point..I'm in the process of listening to it again so when I get to that part I'll try keeping that in mind..Thanks

[pixelpusher]

I never understood that part either. It's one thing for a dying man to have some sort of parade of visual stimulus, but this was so specific and seemed to be mostly kitch (aside from the piano). We know that the traffic jam is when Ted transferred Bobby's glove to sully-john, so maybe the junk raining from the sky had something to do with that. Perhaps it was a consequence of opening a door between Ted's where/when and Sully-John's. I'd be delighted to have a definite answer to this question.

[wally wonder]

I think it has to do w/the easy credit plan, same reason the ufers are doing fly-bys, checking out the real estate, prob lookin' to put up a super-mall. Consumerism maybe.
Worlds in flux. A generation lost in space. Rebels w/o a clue, rebels going along to get along. I think maybe it had to do with that whole generation that protested the war in Vietnam. The local paper is doing flash-backs from its 150 year history. Tonight, they had the front page from Jan 1968. The war. Didn't notice anything about the protests. A whole generation mobilized against what the older generation wanted for them. The guys playing Hearts, almost giving up on school. Why? Cause of a sense of guilt? Their brothers were being killed.

The whole mixed up time period. So all that consumerism started falling from the sky. This is what we're fighting for, the easy credit plan, Martha Stewart living, and a Starbucks on every corner. I dunno. Just thoughts.

[Wylde06]

I never understood that part either. It's one thing for a dying man to have some sort of parade of visual stimulus, but this was so specific and seemed to be mostly kitch (aside from the piano). We know that the traffic jam is when Ted transferred Bobby's glove to sully-john, so maybe the junk raining from the sky had something to do with that. Perhaps it was a consequence of opening a door between Ted's where/when and Sully-John's. I'd be delighted to have a definite answer to this question.

After thinking about, I came to some what the same conclusion that Ted had something to do with it. Maybe not everything that happened, that could have been part of Sully John's passing, but it is obvious (at least to me) that Ted took part in this as a way to get Sully John to remember his childhood friend, and a way to get the Glove back to Bobby.

[Dark Reader]

I got the impression that the stuff falling from the sky was Ted's doing to distract him while he lifted the glove

[Phedrus]

My take on this is that at the time of the traffic jam, 'Sulli' is pondering the death of his friend, the ailments suffered by fellow veterens, and of course the presence of Mama San.

I think he would have been wondering 'was it worth it?' and 'what was it all for?'

As previously mentioned in this thread, the falling objects could represent western consumerism. The Vietnamease fired mortars and bullets at him in his earlier life, and the US lobbed consumer products, car loans and mortgages at him on his return. The Vietnam experience changed the remainder of his life forever, and that of his colleagues, but their sacrifices appeared to have been for no real reason, and no they are all fading away in a society driven by wealth and shallow consumerism.

For me the clue is the reference to the upside-down plastic chair found lying in the centre of the 'ville' which is mentioned earlier on in the book. The fact that the village would have continued life unchanged for centuries, and the presence of the chair, and the US troops, changing things forever....

That's the great things with Stephen Kings books, there is no correct answer, only the readers interpretation.

Absolutely cracking book! I finally finished listening to it at 4am this morning. Brought a lump to my throat....

[Susanne]

it´s one of my favorite books and I even love the movie. But I felt so sorry for Ted.

[finalfantasyVII]

Check Your local Library..mine has most of them:smile2: Good reading..Mark FFVII

[finalfantasyVII]

The movie I believe was only based on the 1st part of the book with the young boy, have to reread alot of stuff to remember.:eyebrow: Good reading..Mark FFVII

[youngfibre]

I'm not sure if this has been discussed anywhere, so forgive me if I'm repeating something. I have read this book and listened to it several times. Enjoy it, but, can anyone explain the part about Sully when he was stuck in traffic? That part always boggles my mind...any clarification would be appreciated. Thanks!

Read it again and again the book i mean trying to get it. i still dont get it but now i feel much better. (united in 'stupification?'):oo:

[SebastiaanZ]

He dies right? He has a heartattack and goes with mama-san.

As I see it, it's all in his head, he's seeing things that aren't there, he reliving things, while having his ptsd-hallucination. Of course it's also symbolic: The interpretations above are something along the line I was thinking of. But with King you never know what's real and what is not. It's up to us, the Readers and our imagination.

[JRLauer]

I only read it once when it was released, but I got the impression it might have been a thinny as mentioned in the DT series.

[jackson992]

*SPOILERS*



I also was confused by this. I did not understand at all why Sully had a heart attack. And is it just me, or did anyone else wish that Malenfant would have died

[noliebean]

**Spoiler**

If you read the DT series, Stanly rips open portals to our dimension or neighboring ones. My impression was that Ted knew the promise made and was then assuring Bobby would see his old friend again :) (won't say who) because he knew what would happen due to different dimensions and different time lines without the pivotal promise being kept. Because Ted is that cool. But I have always thought that sometimes Mr. King leaves things vague so that his readers can decide where it goes in their own mind rather then drawing conclusions for the reader.

[aKINGreader4ever]

Hey Every1:laugh:,

I just got this book today 8/26/11, I only paid 1 cent 4 it, but the shipping was 3.99, still a bargain. I got it because I am on a Stephen King short story kick, plus I just got done reading Night Shift. It has been forever since I read that 1 and can't believe that I 4got so much from that collection of stories, I did remember Grey Matter. i have one collection about Hearts In Atlantis, this book is a collection of shorts stories, correct? Is it something like Different Seasons, just 4 to 6 stories; and do all of them talk about 1 big subject Vietnam. I read the back and it looks like a great read, small stories about one of the most turbulent times in history. Vietnam and life in the 60's has always peaked my curiosity:eyebrow:. I have an uncle who was in Nam, it's a touchy subject 4 him, the 60's was b4 my time, but the events that happened in that decade will never be 4gotten.

-K-:cool2: