Well, they say that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. This is definitely the case with Joe Hill, who is a great writer in his own right. Stephen King should be proud! While there are some similarities in style, especially when it comes to character development, Hill does possess his own style when it comes to context.
While on a vacation, I decided to take Hill's "Strange Weather" with me. Containing four short stories, I found the time to read the very first one, "Snapshot." This was a challenge not because of the story but the boat was following a storm and the wind kept wanting to change the pages on me. Yes I know, I was reading an actual book and not a Kindle.
"Snapshot" took us through the life of a young man who grew up predominantly with only his father. His mother was always off on a mission. However, Shelly Beukes became a mother-figure for him as she took care of him a lot of the time. Mrs. Beukes is introduced into the story in a state of confusion, as her mind appears to be forgetting many things. Therefore, it is hard to believe much of what she says. This is especially true when she mentions being followed by the Polaroid Man.
Our main character didn't know whether to believe her at first until he came across the stalker she was referring to. Accustomed to be being bullied, our Silicon Valley youth experienced more of the same when he first ran into the Polaroid Man at a gas station. While our stalker produced pictures on the spot, like polaroid cameras always did, he never seemed to have to load in more film. He then realized that the pictures were there to erase the memories of his subject.
The story continues even after this strange character is dealt with but the mystery remains. Our main character continues to find out more about his own life and discovers something horrific about the camera that the Polaroid Man was using. Hill's writing style, combined with my imagination, allowed me to see the neighborhood and the people within this neighborhood very clearly. It was almost as if it was my own memory!
