Rush Call
"Rush Call" is a short story by Stephen King. Originally published in his brother's self-published newspaper Dave's Rag in 1960, it was later collected in the 2000 work Secret Windows.
| "Rush Call" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Short story by Stephen King | |||
| Country | United States | ||
| Language | English | ||
| Genre(s) | Short story | ||
| Publication | |||
| Published in | Dave's Rag | ||
| Media type | |||
| Publication date | 1960 | ||
| Chronology | |||
| |||
Plot summary
The story takes place on Christmas Eve. The "Scrooge-like" character Dr. Thorpe volunteers to attend the scene of a traffic collision, where a boy with acute appendicitis is trapped in a car. After successfully removing the boy's appendix in a four-hour operation, Thorpe gains an understanding of the "true meaning of Christmas".[1][2]
Publication
King wrote "Rush Call" at the age of 12.[1][3][2] It was originally published in Dave's Rag, a weekly neighborhood newspaper self-published by King's older brother David King in Durham, Maine using a hectograph, in 1960.[4] In 2000, it was collected in Secret Windows, unchanged other than spelling corrections.[1][3][5]
Reception
Rocky Wood describes "Rush Call" as "clearly juvenilia" but with "some sentences that are stunning when one considers a 12-year-old boy wrote them", noting "sophisticated thinking is evident".[1]
References
- Wood, Rocky; King, Stephen (2012). Stephen King: Uncollected, Unpublished. Overlook Connection Press. pp. 143–145. ISBN 978-1-892950-59-8.
- Spignesi, Stephen (2018). Stephen King, American Master. Permuted Press+ORM. p. 321. ISBN 978-1-682616-07-9.
- "Rush Call". StephenKing.com. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
- Rolls, Albert (2008). Stephen King: A Biography: A Biography. ABC-Clio. p. 4. ISBN 978-0-313-34573-9.
- Vincent, Bev (2022). Stephen King: A Complete Exploration of His Work, Life, and Influences. becker&mayer!. p. 99. ISBN 978-0-7603-7681-2.
