Summary | Excerpt | Reviews | Beyond the Book | Readalikes | Genres & Themes | Author Bio
Critics' Opinion:
Readers' Opinion:
First Published:
Feb 2007, 384 pages
Paperback:
Apr 2008, 320 pages
Book Reviewed by:
BookBrowse Review Team
Joseph Hillstrom King
(pen name: Joe Hill), born in
1971, is the oldest son of
Tabitha and
Stephen King. He has
an older sister, Naomi, and a
younger brother, Owen. His
stories have appeared in a
variety of magazines and his
first book, a collection of
short stories,
20th Century
Ghosts, won the British
Fantasy Award for "Best
Collection" and "Best Short
Fiction" in 2006, but was not
published in the USA until
October 2007.
On the one hand, Hill appears to
have made a point of not
mentioning the fact that he is
the son of Stephen King, and his
first collection of short
stories, although a relative
success in the UK, was not
published in the USA until after
Heart-Shaped Box took off
last year, which
implies that he has not gone out
of his way to use his parental
influence. On the other hand
it's doubtful that a first time
novelist without his connections
would have garnered the
pre-publication buzz that he
had for Heart-Shaped Box, including an appearance on
Good Morning America. So
it would appear that Hill might
be reluctant to use his
connections but his publisher is
happy to pull whatever strings
it takes to get him noticed!
Useful to know:
The title of Heart-Shaped Box is a reference to the
Nirvana
song of the same name
written by Kurt Cobain.
The character of Jude could
easily be modeled on the public
perception of any number of
aging rock-stars including Alice
Cooper who, as it happens,
published his first book last
May:
Alice Cooper, Golf Monster: A
Rock 'n' Roller's 12 Steps to
Becoming a Golf Addict -
which just goes to show that
perception isn't always reality!
This article was originally published in February 2007, and has been updated for the
April 2008 paperback release.
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