The Bazaar of Bad Dreams

by Stephen King

The short story OBITS won the 2016 Edgar for best short story.

A generous collection of thrilling stories - some brand new, some published in magazines, all entirely brilliant and assembled in one book for the first time - with a wonderful bonus: in addition to his introduction to the whole collection, King gives readers a fascinating introduction to each story with autobiographical comments on their origins and motivation...

The No. 1 bestselling writer has dazzled readers with his genius as a writer of novellas and short story fiction since his first collection NIGHT SHIFT was published. He describes the nature of the form in his introduction to the book: 'There's something to be said for a shorter, more intense experience. It can be invigorating, sometimes even shocking, like...a beautiful curio for sale laid out on a cheap blanket at a street bazaar.'

In THE BAZAAR OF BAD DREAMS there is a curio for every reader - a man who keeps reliving the same life, repeating the same mistakes over and over again, a columnist who kills people by writing their obituaries, a poignant tale about the end of the human race and a firework competition between neighbours which reaches an explosive climax. There are also intriguing connections between the stories; themes of morality, guilt, the afterlife and what we would do differently if we could see into the future or correct the mistakes of the past.

Effervescent yet poignant, juxtaposing the everyday against the unexpected, these stories comprise one of King's finest gifts to his constant reader as well as to those fascinated by the autobiographical insights in his celebrated non-fiction title ON WRITING.

'I made them especially for you', says King. 'Feel free to examine them, but please be careful. The best of them have teeth.'

TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR THE BAZAAR OF BAD DREAMS

Introduction
Mile 81
Premium Harmony
Batman and Robin Have an Altercation
The Dune
Bad Little Kid
A Death
The Bone Church
Morality
Afterlife
Ur
Herman Wouk Is Still Alive
Under the Weather
Blockade Billy
Mister Yummy
Tommy
The Little Green God of Agony
That Bus Is Another World
Obits
Drunken Fireworks
Summer Thunder

• ISBN10: 147369888X
• ISBN13: 9781473698888
• Publish Date: 3 November 2015
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 5 March 2021
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Hodder & Stoughton
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 496
• Language: English

Reviews

[wcs53]

I got this collection almost two years ago, so I thought it was time to get it read. Over the years I've really enjoyed most of Stephen King's short story collections and this one was no exception. There wasn't really a bad one in the book, but there were a few that were weaker than the others, which is why I gave the book 4 stars instead of 5. Quite a few of them had an interesting twist and most of them were not predictable, which is something I've always liked when reading King's books. It's hard to pick out a favourite, but 'Bad Little Kid', 'Ur', and 'Blockade Billy' are ones that stuck out for me. One thing I really liked was the little introductions to each story, especially the one where King talked about the little old lady who was convinced that he hadn't written 'The Shawshank Redemption.' It was a good collection to dip in and out of, but I'd have to say that his 'Skeleton Crew' is still probably my favourite collection.