Book Review: NIGHT SHIFT by Stephen King
This review was originally posted on Goodreads. I’m re-posting it here for the benefit of my non-Goodreads readers.
NIGHT SHIFT is Stephen King’s first published collection of short stories, dating from 1970-1977. Most of the stories first appeared in various magazines (most notably Cavalier), but some are original to this book. As one might expect, the stories are dark, sometimes with a conclusion, sometimes not, and a few times with a twist at the end. A couple of the stories (most notably “The Last Rung on the Ladder”) are not at all what you might expect from King, since they contain no horror, and only perhaps a bit of suspense.
This book, perhaps more than any I’ve read of King so far, showcases for me what it is I (grudgingly) like about him: he refuses to be defined by his genre of choice. Let me explain. He is known as a horror writer, and, indeed the cover of the book calls these tales “Excursions into horror”–it’s a categorization King has never really fought, and he admits that’s its the genre he naturally gravitates toward and enjoys. But it always seems as if the thing that drives King’s writing is the idea, not the genre. If King got an idea for a romance, he’d write it, and without the compulsion to chop off someone’s limbs in the process. If you doubt me, read the stories in this book. “The Ledge” is pure suspense. “The Last Rung on the Ladder”–my favorite of the collection–is a beautifully written story about broken promises and their consequences.
If this book proves nothing else, it’s that Stephen King can write. Not only does he show himself right at home with the dark, horrible, and weird, but he’s also able to turn his hand quite deftly to the human and the real. Even with some of the quirkier tales, there are real principles to be gleaned. “Quitters, Inc.” introduces us to an organization that has a 98% success rate with helping people stop smoking. Though pushed to an extreme, I think the point he makes is true: the key to success in quitting, or dieting, or whatever it is, is to have a powerful motivation that drives you to do it.
From a writer’s perspective, there are two things I liked about this book. The first is King’s writing. Yes, he can be down-to-earth, and he’s not shy about throwing in profanity (though I must say, there wasn’t nearly as much in this as other books of his I’ve read), but he can also be very literary. Some of the descriptive passages really draw you in. Indeed, I’m sure he wrote “The Ledge” as an excuse to consider what it must feel like to walk around the edge of a building 43 stories up with only a five inch ledge to walk on.
I’d give this book a PG-15 rating for some profanity, and for the horror and suspense. But I recommend it especially to those who may be new to King and are curious to read his work without committing to a big novel. I also recommend it to all aspiring writers. This is how it’s done.
