I Thought Stephen King Learned His Lesson from Co-Op City in The Dark Tower.

"Graduation Afternoon" is supposedly one of the best stories in Just after Sunset. Problem is, it's a story that's heavily reliant on geography...and the geography here is totally wrong.

(You can read what I've read here. Spoiler alert: I'm told the Google Books edition is missing two key pages of AWESOME.)

Those not familiar with Connecticut, like Stephen King apparently, should refer to my customized and bitchy Google Map.

View Graduation Afternoon = Shenanigans in a larger map

1. At one point, it is implied that the story takes place within the vicinity of New London. At another, it's implied that the story takes place near "Route 219". Connecticut may be the nation's second smallest state, but these two landmarks are not near each other...and Route 219 is nowhere near the all-important-to-the-story Long Island Sound. Different towns, different Stop and Shops, different school districts, different newspapers, different counties.

2. New London is absolutely not close enough to Manhattan to be seen from a patio, much less for office windows to be visible. I'm not sure it's visible from Westport, CT, which is a hell of a lot closer. I know it's sometimes visible from the Tappan Zee Bridge. The map above gives that point of reference.

3. While Janice can technically "go to State," no one would refer to it that way. If she means the University of Connecticut, that is simply UConn. If she is referring to a school in the Connecticut State University system, she would think of it by the popular abbreviation of its name. The only school in the system with a program in journalism is Southern Connecticut State University, which is referred to as "Southern." I could see that sounding a little off in a story about Connecticut, where very little is Southern, but changing Janice's aspirations to fit WestConn is small potatoes.

4. No matter where you live in Connecticut, even if it's Hartford or New Haven, New York City is "the city." Not "NYC." No, no, no.

Now I need to go read the rest of the story so that I can get Connecticut-apocalypicky on that, too.

Comments

[Laura Ellen Scott]

I am most convinced by the points you make in #3. however, I still don't understand why this is not a blog post about your runner up status in the Pank chapbook contest. (unless of course, you are really pissed about that)

congratulations!!!!

[Erin]

I spent much of last night bitching about the subject of this post in IM, and then eventually realizing I should just throw it on the blog. By the time the PANK announcement came out, I was too tired to do much more than like it on FB. Will be fixing that before the day is over!

Of course, now I'm so tempted to write about how I'm pissed off, I almost wish I WAS.

[twitter.com/jessiepoet]

Congrats on the runner up status for PANK! that is awesome :)

It does irk me when people right about an area you know and just make up stuff for no apparent reason. The silliest I can remember was when my small home town had a murder trial going on. Now, ok, you don't film there (even though it would have been cheap) but when you put up a still shot of the alleged courthouse you use one that isn't even remotely like the one in town? WHY?

Good rant!