On Impact | The New Yorker - June 19, 2000

On Impact - Stephen King

As I look ahead to the essays that we'll be reading and commenting on here, I notice that nearly all of them involve tragedy of some sort.  However, they all have a hopeful tinge to them, which brings us through, if not unscathed, at least not damaged as readers.

Stephen King's tale of getting hit by a van while walking down a road in Maine reads much like a Stephen King novel.  The words flow easily.  A story is underway.  It is horrific, yet personal.

What separates this story from his fiction is the tone it takes whenever he mentions Tabitha.  When she is on the page, in his thoughts, it is clear that we are seeing the definition of love.  He reminisces on their initial meeting, triggered by a memory of his wedding ring.  He's near death and he needs to tell her that he loves her.  He needs to write and she accommodates.  She is half of him.  I would venture a guess that he is half of her also.  This is what couples are.  They aren't perfect, they just seem to fit together.  Over time, people really do complete each other.

I love this essay.  King is a master at story.  He mixes humor with the pain.  He has a front porch poignancy about his writing that harmonizes with American culture while also extending the culture's boundaries.  Where would horror be without him?  (He did his vampire masterpiece 30 years ago.)

We're all lucky that Mr. King survived this accident.