If It Bleeds: Mr. Harrigan's Phone, The Life of Chuck, If It Bleeds, Rat
Apr 2020 · Simon and Schuster
4.5star
295 reviewsreport
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448
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About this ebook
*#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER*
Featuring the novella “The Life of Chuck,” now a feature film adapted for the screen and directed by Mike Flanagan (The Fall of the House of Usher, Doctor Sleep) and starring Tom Hiddleston, Mark Hamill, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Karen Gillan—a Toronto International Film Festival People’s Choice Award winner!
From the legendary storyteller and master of short fiction Stephen King comes an extraordinary collection of four new “exceptionally compelling novellas that reaffirm [King’s] mastery of the form” (The Washington Post).
Readers adore Stephen King’s novels, and his novellas are their own dark treat, briefer but just as impactful and enduring as his longer fiction. Many of his novellas have been made into iconic films, including “The Body” (Stand by Me) and “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption” (Shawshank Redemption).
The four brilliant tales in If It Bleeds prove as iconic as their predecessors. In the title story, reader favorite Holly Gibney (from the Mr. Mercedes trilogy and The Outsider) must face her fears, and possibly another outsider—this time on her own. In “Mr. Harrigan’s Phone” an intergenerational friendship has a disturbing afterlife. “The Life of Chuck” explores, beautifully, how each of us contains multitudes. And in “Rat,” a struggling writer must contend with the darker side of ambition.
If these novellas show King’s range, they also prove that certain themes endure. One of King’s great concerns is evil, and in If It Bleeds, there’s plenty of it. There is also evil’s opposite, which in King’s fiction often manifests as friendship. Holly is reminded that friendship is not only life-affirming but can be life-saving. Young Craig befriends Mr. Harrigan, and the sweetness of this late-in-life connection is its own reward.
“An adroit vehicle to showcase the…nature of evil” (The Boston Globe), If It Bleeds is “exactly what I wanted to read right now,” says Ruth Franklin in The New York Times Book Review.
Featuring the novella “The Life of Chuck,” now a feature film adapted for the screen and directed by Mike Flanagan (The Fall of the House of Usher, Doctor Sleep) and starring Tom Hiddleston, Mark Hamill, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Karen Gillan—a Toronto International Film Festival People’s Choice Award winner!
From the legendary storyteller and master of short fiction Stephen King comes an extraordinary collection of four new “exceptionally compelling novellas that reaffirm [King’s] mastery of the form” (The Washington Post).
Readers adore Stephen King’s novels, and his novellas are their own dark treat, briefer but just as impactful and enduring as his longer fiction. Many of his novellas have been made into iconic films, including “The Body” (Stand by Me) and “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption” (Shawshank Redemption).
The four brilliant tales in If It Bleeds prove as iconic as their predecessors. In the title story, reader favorite Holly Gibney (from the Mr. Mercedes trilogy and The Outsider) must face her fears, and possibly another outsider—this time on her own. In “Mr. Harrigan’s Phone” an intergenerational friendship has a disturbing afterlife. “The Life of Chuck” explores, beautifully, how each of us contains multitudes. And in “Rat,” a struggling writer must contend with the darker side of ambition.
If these novellas show King’s range, they also prove that certain themes endure. One of King’s great concerns is evil, and in If It Bleeds, there’s plenty of it. There is also evil’s opposite, which in King’s fiction often manifests as friendship. Holly is reminded that friendship is not only life-affirming but can be life-saving. Young Craig befriends Mr. Harrigan, and the sweetness of this late-in-life connection is its own reward.
“An adroit vehicle to showcase the…nature of evil” (The Boston Globe), If It Bleeds is “exactly what I wanted to read right now,” says Ruth Franklin in The New York Times Book Review.
Ratings and reviews
4.5
295 reviews
Southern Sorrows Tell me a story
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September 15, 2024
Stephen Kings' worst book is better than the majority of other writers' best books. I am heartbroken because I can't afford to read his latest works. A younger me would have chosen King over food, but I have a sick dog. Maybe I will see it in the bargain bin. I am a constant reader and have been with you since Carrie. Stephen and my therapist are the longest relationships I've had. Hmm, I wonder if he is the reason I need her. Naw, that was the trauma and neglect I experienced as a child. My best friend and I had my mothers adult library card . I would get mysteries for Mom and horror for Kenny and I. Third graders reading Cujo. The barrons were our safe place; thank you for giving us a place to hide from the real monsters in the real world. Kenny overdosed next to a creek 2 years ago, in a place much like the barrons. He died smiling. Thank you for that. We have grown old together from Pintos to Prius, and Stephen King still reins supreme.
Richard
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February 24, 2021
I like the book but the narrator for IF it Bleeds reads in an off putting way. He has a robotic cadence. He pauses in the middle of words and finishes them with a different inflection. He seems to be out of breath. This intensifies when he speaks as Holly. I was listening to another book he narrated and could finish because of this. It's like riding in a car with someone who constantly pats the gas to maintain 65 mph for 10hrs instead of using cruise control.
11 people found this review helpful
Batgirl
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December 17, 2020
Seriously could not put it down. Grabs you, envelopes you. Glued to it. The Holly Gibney story was very interesting but just a bit slow for me. The phone story... gets you hooked from the beginning. A very intriguing book.. Left wanting more which is always an excellent thing. Creepy. Read Rat straight through without stopping. Wow.. only read a couple of King's books but this one blew me away.
28 people found this review helpful
About the author
Stephen King is the author of more than sixty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. His recent work includes Never Flinch (May 2025), the short story collection You Like It Darker (a New York Times Book Review top ten horror book of 2024), Holly (a New York Times Notable Book of 2023), Fairy Tale, Billy Summers, If It Bleeds, The Institute, Elevation, The Outsider, Sleeping Beauties (cowritten with his son Owen King), and the Bill Hodges trilogy: End of Watch, Finders Keepers, and Mr. Mercedes (an Edgar Award winner for Best Novel and a television series streaming on Peacock). His novel 11/22/63 was named a top ten book of 2011 by The New York Times Book Review and won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller. His epic works The Dark Tower, It, Pet Sematary, Doctor Sleep, and Firestarter are the basis for major motion pictures, with It now the highest-grossing horror film of all time. He is the recipient of the 2020 Audio Publishers Association Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2018 PEN America Literary Service Award, the 2014 National Medal of Arts, and the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He lives in Bangor, Maine, with his wife, novelist Tabitha King.
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