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
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Genre(s)Short story
Publication
Published inDave's Rag
Media typePrint
Publication date1960
Chronology
 
"Jumper"
 
"The Cursed Expedition"

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]

See also

References

  1. Wood, Rocky; King, Stephen (2012). Stephen King: Uncollected, Unpublished. Overlook Connection Press. pp. 143–145. ISBN 978-1-892950-59-8.
  2. Spignesi, Stephen (2018). Stephen King, American Master. Permuted Press+ORM. p. 321. ISBN 978-1-682616-07-9.
  3. "Rush Call". StephenKing.com. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  4. Rolls, Albert (2008). Stephen King: A Biography: A Biography. ABC-Clio. p. 4. ISBN 978-0-313-34573-9.
  5. Vincent, Bev (2022). Stephen King: A Complete Exploration of His Work, Life, and Influences. becker&mayer!. p. 99. ISBN 978-0-7603-7681-2.
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