by Monnie

Created on: September 15, 2010

Just After Sunset is the most recent collections of short stories from Stephen King. Published in 2008, Stephen King has gathered an ensemble of various types of horror and given them to us in one package. Thirteen tales lie between the covers of this collection and all of them are different. Nobody does gross out better than King. He proves these once again with his riveting but repulsive tale of revenge A Very Tight Place.

A Very Tight Place is the story of two feuding neighbors where one goes to extreme measures to end the argument. Johnson and Grunwald have been feuding over a peace of land but there is more to the argument than meets the eye. The story begins where Johnson receives a phone call from Grunwald. Johnson is shocked to hear Grunwald making a piece of offering. He will give up the property. Johnson drives out to meet his neighbor at an abandoned construction sight. He soon finds out that Grunwald has everything but throwing up the white flag in mind.

Grunwald is out for revenge.

The story excels due to King’s expert handling of the different elements of the story. He takes a fairly innocuous, common setting and gives it a sinister twist. While there are plenty of people in the world who wouldn’t want to spend more time in a port-a-potty than necessary, very few are probably terrified of those blue monuments to waste on constructions sites across the U.S.A. King gets full credit on making the idea of one positively terrifying. If a person reads this story and doesn’t feel their heart skip a beat the next time they see one they probably weren’t paying attention to the story. The characters were well conceived for a shorter story and King made sure you understood their motivations and fears. He does a good job of keeping both Johnson and Grunwald consistent. The pacing of the story is perfect; fast enough to keep you interested but slow enough for you to savor each development.

A Very Tight Place is probably one of the most horrifying, disgusting stories a reader will encounter in awhile. Depicting the events occurring between two feuding neighbors and the dark and miserable places our anger can take us, A Very Tight Place is a vivid narrative. Most readers will find themselves on the edge of their seats wondering if Curtis Johnson in going to get out of the predicament he’s in. They might find themselves wanting to stop reading at one point but being unable to do so. The story is suspenseful to be sure.

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