‘IF IT BLEEDS’ FEATURES STEPHEN KING AT HIS MOST OPTIMISTIC, COMFORTING
Stephen King’s latest collection is surprisingly optimistic
Of the many lessons to be learned from the way our lives have been turned upside-down this year, one of the more painful is that the things we take for granted can be snatched away at any moment. The losses may be relatively small, like the smell of hot pretzels at the mall, or they may be so overwhelming that grief blocks out joy like an eclipse.
The best possible remedy for this pain is to find solace in what still remains: warm sun on an upturned face, the way another’s eyes can smile even when their mouth is hidden by a mask, or, perhaps, new work from a favorite artist.
It is timely, then, that we now have “If It Bleeds,” the latest story collection from Stephen King, to fill some of the void left behind in each of us. Its publication is a reassuring reminder that even though everything has changed, some things have not — like the clockwork publishing schedule Stephen King fans have come to expect over the past 40-odd years. More importantly, though, the stories themselves are ultimately reassuring, as they all touch on the importance of finding peace with one’s self, despite the external pressures of the world. The stories still have teeth, of course — this is Stephen King we’re talking about, after all — but the feelings that linger afterward aren’t of fear, but optimism. Really, what could be more timely than that?
The opening story, “Mr. Harrigan’s Phone,” finds its adult narrator remembering a time before smartphones became, as the author puts it, “how we are wedded to the world.” Set in 2007, when iPhones were first released, the mobile technology is a source of wonderment to both the 11-year-old version of the narrator and his titular elderly neighbor, a retired millionaire who quickly latches on to the disruptive capabilities of instant access to information. When Mr. Harrigan dies a few years later, the phones form an unexpected and inexplicable link between them. What follows is less a treatise on the evils of smartphone addiction and more a supernaturally flavored look at how one approaches the idea of control. As the prepubescent boy grows up, he learns how to reconcile the inherent narcissism of childhood with the nascent understanding that there are an infinite number of things one has no control over — grief and loss being chief among them — and that the only way to find happiness in an uncontrollable world is to be present in the moment and grateful for what those moments bring you.
This particular theme resonates throughout the collection: in “The Life of Chuck,” a terminally ill man reflects upon the joys his life has brought him, even as his awareness of the all-too-short nature of life changes the world around him — and inside of him. Similarly, in “Rat,” a frustrated writer grapples with the idea of a lifetime and how best to bring it to fruition; when a feverish night alone in a storm leads him to an offer that will change his life at the cost of someone else’s, the aftermath of his decisions requires him to make peace with his own choices and abilities.
What will probably speak the loudest to fans, though, is the title story, which follows Holly Gibney, a recurring character from the Bill Hodges trilogy (2014’s “Mr. Mercedes,” 2015’s “Finders Keepers,” and 2016’s “End of Watch”) and 2018’s “The Outsider.” In this story, Holly solves a mystery on her own, and while it shares quite a bit of narrative DNA with “The Outsider,” “If It Bleeds” is more than its myriad thrills: It is also a compassionate and warm story of an adult woman finding her way beyond past traumas on the path to loving and accepting herself.
While this story collection had been percolating inside of Mr. King for years prior to its release, it is striking — sometimes eerily so — how necessary these stories feel today. “If It Bleeds” continues the increasingly optimistic bent the author has displayed over the past decade, while still bearing those nightmarish touches at which he excels. When so much is uncertain, there’s no small amount of comfort to be found in these tales — and right now, comfort, in whatever form we can find it, is what we all need.