Book Review: ‘If It Bleeds’ By Stephen King

Review by Lauryn Angel

I always love Stephen King’s story collections because – even though his stories tend to be novellas, rather than short stories – it’s nice to be able to pick up one of his books and know that I can take a breather after each story; I don’t have to commit to 500, 800, or even 1000 pages. Don’t get me wrong; I love big books. But during our current situation – during which I had to transform my face-to-face college classes to being 100% online – I just don’t have the mental energy for a big book right now. I can’t resist a new Stephen King book, and If It Bleeds was just what I needed.

If It Bleeds is a collection of four stories: “Mr. Harrigan’s Phone,” “The Life of Chuck,” “The Rat,” and the title story, “If It Bleeds.” While I enjoyed the entire collection, “The Life of Chuck” and “If It Bleeds” are my favorites – but I have to confess that the reason I enjoyed “If It Bleeds” so much is because it focuses on Holly Gibney, a character I loved in King’s The Outsider.

“Mr. Harrigan’s Phone” is a story about growing up, albeit with a creepy King flair. Craig started working for Mr. Harrigan as a kid, and their relationship develops into a mentor-protegee relationship that works both ways, with Mr. Harrigan passing on life advice and Craig teaching Mr. Harrigan how to use an iPhone. Things take an interesting turn, as of course, they must in a Stephen King story.

“The Life of Chuck” is an experimental piece. I really liked it, even though I’m not entirely sure I understand all of it. The first piece in this story felt a little too familiar, as the characters are experiencing an apocalyptic event. The idea of losing the internet during a time when we were all confined to our homes and depending on the internet for both work and play was definitely scary. One of the things I liked about this story is that it moved backwards, revealing more about the elusive Chuck as we went back in time.

“If It Bleeds” is an adventure with Holly Gibney, who is very different in King’s writing than she is in the HBO adaptation of The Outsider. I may be in the minority, but I prefer the written version of Ms. Gibney, so I was glad to get more time with her. There are spoilers for Holly’s previous adventures, and this one is related, but not a repeat of prior experiences.

Finally, with “The Rat,” King returns to the familiar topic of the frustrated writer. It’s probably the darkest in tone of the novellas in this volume. Drew Larson is a writer in the grip of an idea, and he makes a deadly deal with the title character.

Once again, King proves that he is a master of short fiction. I thoroughly enjoyed this collection, as I’m sure most King fans will.