Herman Wouk Is Still Alive

"Herman Wouk Is Still Alive" is a short story by American author Stephen King. It was originally published in the May 2011 issue of The Atlantic magazine.[1] The short story won the 2011 Best Short Fiction Bram Stoker Award.[2]

Synopsis

Old friends Brenda and Jasmine, along with their seven children between them, set off on a road trip in a rented Chevy Express after Brenda wins $2,700 on the Pick-3 lottery. 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 the University 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 and Jasmine and all their children are dead. When a passerby asks Pauline what happened, she finally loses her well-cultured disposition and asks him "What the fuck does it look like?"

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See also

References
  1. King, Stephen (19 April 2011). "Herman Wouk Is Still Alive". The Atlantic. Boston, MA, USA: Atlantic Media Company. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
  2. admin (1 April 2012). "2011 Bram Stoker Award™ winners and Vampire Novel of the Century Award winner".
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