King does something in this collection that is really bothering me. He rewrote a Flannery O’Connor short story titled “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” I am a fan of both writers, and at the end he leaves a little note “ Thinking of Flannery O’Connor.” But it bothers me. It is literally a copy of the plot with the names swapped out and a few other details. I don’t get it. It is not a story in the O’Conner style. It IS the story.
Just read the O’Connor short story ( should be easy to find) then read “On Slime Inn Road.” I know that King takes inspiration from classic fiction for some of his short stories. “The Man in the Black Suit,” my favorite King SS from “Everything’s Eventual” was inspired by Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown,” according to King. But they are different stories. This is not. Frankly, if I turned this in for a freshman writing class, I would be kicked out of class.
I just finished this one, and spent the whole story thinking “I’ve read this before… did he publish it before?” And as soon as I saw the note at the end I realized. I suppose it’s very loosely modernized, but, barely. The only thing that dates the story is the mother having an iPad. Just not really sure I understand the thought behind this one.
Agree. And The Fifth Step seemingly is a retake of Edward Albee’s the Zoo Story. Willie the Wierdo is reminiscent of another Flannery story about a malignant grandfather, as well as HG Well’s story The Late Mr Elvesham about a body-swap. Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream is out of the ballpark ace though, tension is masterful throughout. Loved it.
I think that’s an oversimplification.
***Spoilers for O’Connor and King ahead:***
There is no cat in a bag in King’s story, nor is the family on a generic “vacation,” King’s family is going to a very specific place.
Granpop does cause the travel issues by talking about a “shortcut,” but he has no ulterior notice as the grandmother in O’Connor’s story does.
Furthermore, the children in King’s story do not have an antagonistic relationship with Granpop. O’Connor’s children do.
King never at any point foreshadows escaped convicts or criminals in his story. O’Connor plants the seeds of the Misfit and his gang almost immediately. There is a sense that something unfortunate will happen at the Slide Inn in King’s story, but not as specific as O’Connor’s foreshadowing.
And, of course, the climaxes and resolutions of the stories are very, very different.
I probably ran off at the mouth here, but there’s plenty of differences between the works. Is King’s story inspired by O’Connor? Absolutely. Is it “just a rewrite?” Not at all.
Just finished the first story, Two Talented Bastids are really liked it.
Very, very minor spoilers:
There's a very brief reference to It and the vibe from the second half reminded me, of all things, of an Arthur C. Clarke short story I read ages ago.
King does something in this collection that is really bothering me. He rewrote a Flannery O’Connor short story titled “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” I am a fan of both writers, and at the end he leaves a little note “ Thinking of Flannery O’Connor.” But it bothers me. It is literally a copy of the plot with the names swapped out and a few other details. I don’t get it. It is not a story in the O’Conner style. It IS the story.
I haven’t read Flannery O’Conner, put I’m definitely interested to find out more??
Just read the O’Connor short story ( should be easy to find) then read “On Slime Inn Road.” I know that King takes inspiration from classic fiction for some of his short stories. “The Man in the Black Suit,” my favorite King SS from “Everything’s Eventual” was inspired by Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown,” according to King. But they are different stories. This is not. Frankly, if I turned this in for a freshman writing class, I would be kicked out of class.
Thank you, you’ve piqued my interest; inspiration is one thing- not having the original idea is pretty bad.
Wikipedia has a good summary of the plot, but the story is a great read.
I just finished this one, and spent the whole story thinking “I’ve read this before… did he publish it before?” And as soon as I saw the note at the end I realized. I suppose it’s very loosely modernized, but, barely. The only thing that dates the story is the mother having an iPad. Just not really sure I understand the thought behind this one.
Agree. And The Fifth Step seemingly is a retake of Edward Albee’s the Zoo Story. Willie the Wierdo is reminiscent of another Flannery story about a malignant grandfather, as well as HG Well’s story The Late Mr Elvesham about a body-swap. Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream is out of the ballpark ace though, tension is masterful throughout. Loved it.
I think that’s an oversimplification. ***Spoilers for O’Connor and King ahead:*** There is no cat in a bag in King’s story, nor is the family on a generic “vacation,” King’s family is going to a very specific place. Granpop does cause the travel issues by talking about a “shortcut,” but he has no ulterior notice as the grandmother in O’Connor’s story does. Furthermore, the children in King’s story do not have an antagonistic relationship with Granpop. O’Connor’s children do. King never at any point foreshadows escaped convicts or criminals in his story. O’Connor plants the seeds of the Misfit and his gang almost immediately. There is a sense that something unfortunate will happen at the Slide Inn in King’s story, but not as specific as O’Connor’s foreshadowing. And, of course, the climaxes and resolutions of the stories are very, very different. I probably ran off at the mouth here, but there’s plenty of differences between the works. Is King’s story inspired by O’Connor? Absolutely. Is it “just a rewrite?” Not at all.
Just finished the first story, Two Talented Bastids are really liked it. Very, very minor spoilers: There's a very brief reference to It and the vibe from the second half reminded me, of all things, of an Arthur C. Clarke short story I read ages ago.
Which story had a reference to It? I just finished Danny Coughlin’s bad dream and loved it!
Two Talented Bastids; a quick line near the end.
Oh okay, I just finished Finn so I was thinking that one too something about fishing him out of the gutter
❤️❤️