Stephen King’s “The Bazaar of Bad Dreams”

Well, everyone, Christmas has come and gone, and that means there are a slew of new books lining my bookshelves that I have to talk about. First and foremost is a book by Stephen King that I’ve been dying to get my hands on for quite awhile: The Bazaar of Bad Dreams. Bazaar is the latest collection of short stories by the master of horror, and has quite a bit of competition from his other collections. So, how does it stand up?

Bazaar is somewhat different from King’s other collections. Rather than being devoted wholly to nightmarish stories of the supernatural and depraved, a decent chunk of Bazaar revolves around a much subtler style of horror: utter realism. There are a handful of stories in this collection, some early on, that can leave you a nihilistic shell of yourself from about 15 pages ago. Bazaar really shows off a side of King that can be forgotten nowadays. Think of the opening chapters of The Shining more than Salem’s Lot, and you’ll have an idea of the tone of these stories. While there are some more conventional King stories here, Bazaar is almost not a horror novel, in the conventional sense. It would be more accurate to say it is a veritable celebration of the macabre, and a wonderfully warped tour into the horror author’s mind. It is also King’s most experimental collection, in my opinion. Church of Bones, in particular, stands out to me as one of the more memorable short stories I’ve read in years. In terms of quality, it is difficult to rate the writing, due to the span of years over which the stories were written. The collection never seems “un-King-ly,” and absolutely shines in a few instances. I wouldn’t say this is King’s highest point, by any means, but it also isn’t remotely his low. Take that for what you will.

Ultimately, The Bazaar of Bad Dreams is a strange book. If you want the fast thrills of some of King’s bigger novels, they are definitely here, but this collection has much more variation than some of his others. Longtime fans of King will almost certainly have a blast reading some of these entries, especially since they showcase some forms of his writing that haven’t been seen much since the 70s. The Bazaar of Bad Dreams is one twisted book, and I recommend that horror fans of all shades give it a shot. The sheer number of stories will almost guarantee that you will find something to love.