| "Herman Wouk Is Still Alive" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Short story byStephen King | |||
| Country | United States | ||
| Language | English | ||
| Genre | Horrorshort story | ||
| Publication | |||
| Published in | The Atlantic | ||
| Publisher | Atlantic Media Company | ||
| Media type | |||
| Publication date | 2011 | ||
| Chronology | |||
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"Herman Wouk Is Still Alive" is ashort story by American authorStephen King. It was originally published in the May 2011 issue ofThe Atlantic magazine.[1]
Old friends Brenda and Jasmine, along with their seven children between them, set off on a road trip in a rentedChevy Express after Brenda wins $2,700 (equivalent to $4,000 in 2024) on the Pick-3lottery. They reflect back on their harsh childhoods and disappointing lives. Meanwhile, Phil and Pauline, two aging poets and former lovers, are on their way to a poetry festival at theUniversity of Maine. They stop at a rest area to have lunch together. Soon, Brenda decides that their lives are no longer worth living and that the children are doomed to a pitiful future. Deliberately and with the consent and encouragement of Jasmine, she crashes the van into a tree near Phil and Pauline at high speed. Phil and Pauline hurry to the wreckage, but Brenda, Jasmine, and all their children are dead. When a passer-by asks Pauline what happened, she finally loses her well-cultured disposition and asks him "What the fuck does it look like?"
"Herman Wouk Is Still Alive" came about as part of a bet between King and his sonOwen during theNCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in which the loser would have to write a story based on a title supplied by the winner. Owen King came up with the title after reading in an article thatHerman Wouk was still alive and writing despite being in his mid-nineties (he would die in 2019 aged 103).[2] King conceived of the story after reading about the2009 Taconic State Parkway crash.[3]
"Herman Wouk Is Still Alive" was first published inThe Atlantic in May 2011.[2][4] It was collected as part of the 2015 workThe Bazaar of Bad Dreams.[3]
Rocky Wood described "Herman Wouk Is Still Alive" as "King showing once again what a clear eye he has for observing society" and "another mainstream story that illustrates the horror that lurks in real life."[2] Tim Lepczyk described it as "an enjoyable and saddening story."[5]Herman Wouk himself was asked about the short story in a questions and answers session published as part of his 2012 novelThe Lawgiver; Wouk stated "I read Mr. King's short story and enjoyed it."[6] The story won the 2011Bram Stoker Award for Short Fiction.[4]
