book reviews SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 20
Mr. Harrigan’s Phone
1 of 4 novellas in Stephen King’s ‘If It Bleeds’ Review By Brett Campbell Art submitted
The first iPhone was released in 2007 and revolutionized the way people interacted with each other and technology. That is a large focus of the novella “Mr. Harrigan’s Phone,” one of four novellas in Stephen King’s “If It Bleeds,” released in April. This new set of stories from the master of horror also includes “The Life of Chuck,” “Rat” and the titular story. “Chuck” focuses on the character of Chuck Krantz and is told in reverse, exploring a life simultaneously 24 BROOKHAVEN MAGAZINE
ordinary and extraordinary, and the crumbling of the world around him. “Rat” is a story that revisits a recurring theme for King — a writer with writer’s block makes a devilish bargain so he can finish his novel — but this story is no re-run in the author’s library. “If It Bleeds” reintroduces Holly Gibney — of “The Outsider” and the Bill Hodges trilogy — who is suspicious of a reporter who is first on the scene of tragic events. It continues a theme introduced in “The Outsider,” though that novel is not necessarily a prerequisite read. But the first story in the book is “Mr. Harrigan’s
