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"Finn" is a short story by Stephen King, first published on Scribd on May 25, 2022. It was collected in King's 2024 book, You Like It Darker.

Plot summary

Finn Murrie, a young Irish man, experiences frequent bad luck while growing up, including having a little toe blown off by an errant cherry bomb at the age of five, breaking his arm by falling from monkey bars at the age of nine, and suffering a concussion from a lightning strike at the age of 14. His grandmother tells him that God will give him two bits of good luck for every bit of bad luck.

At the age of 19, while running home from his girlfriend's house, Finn collides with a similarly dressed young man. After he resumes running, he is bundled into a van by several men and tranquilised. He awakens in a cell, where he is tortured via loud music continually playing. Later, he is brought before a white-haired man, Mr. Ludlum, who believes that Finn is actually "Bobby Feeney". Rejecting Finn's protests that it is a case of mistaken identity, Mr. Ludlum quizzes Finn as to the location of a briefcase. After Finn continues to protest, Mr. Ludlum slaps him, then gives him a crudely written pamphlet titled "World-Approved Techneeks [sic] for Advanced Interrogation". Later, Finn is waterboarded by Mr. Ludlum's men, with Mr. Ludlum now demanding the location of a bomb factory and blueprints.

After Finn is brought before Mr. Ludlum again, Mr. Ludlum offers him a full Irish breakfast in return for Finn naming three songs by Elvis Presley. Mr. Ludlum's men "Doc" and "Pando" take him to a kitchen where a plate of food awaits, but then drag him back into the van. Doc and Pando tell Finn that the mushrooms in the breakfast were poisoned, and mention that most of Mr. Ludlum's men have abandoned him. Several hours later, Doc and Pando eject Finn from the van in his hometown, giving him four thousand euros "for your trouble".

While walking home, Finn passes Pettengill Park, where as a child he broke his arm and enjoying playing on a playground slide known as the "Twisty". Remembering the story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" by Ambrose Pierce, Finn wonders if he has really been set free, or if he is imagining his emancipation while drowning from a waterboarding or while having fallen into a coma after being knocked over by Feeney. Climbing to the top of the Twisty, Finn rationalises that "Either I'll still be here when I get to the bottom, or I won't be", then begins to slide down.

Publication

"Finn" was first published on Scribd on May 25, 2022 in ebook and audiobook format. It formed part of Scribd's "Scribd Originals" program, which saw Scribd commission and publish original works; King received a flat fee and retained the rights to adapt and expand the work. "Finn" was exclusive to the Scribd platform until 2024, when it was collected in King's book You Like It Darker.

Reception

Writing in USA Today, Barbara Vandenburgh described "Finn" as a "darkly funny, unsettling tale". Also writing in USA Today, Brian Truitt described "Finn" as a "playfully quirky mistaken-identity piece". Reviewing You Like It Darker, SFX described "Finn" as "wonderfully odd". Writing for CemeteryDance.com, Bev Vincent described "Finn" as "a tale inspired by an Ambrose Bierce classic". Writing for LifeIsStory.com, Josh Olds described Finn as "an evocative story, told in the typical King fashion a recognizably King short story that begins and ends without much fanfare either way". A less positive review was received from Jenn Adams (writing for Bloody Disgusting), who described "Finn" as one of the less developed stories in the collection, stating that it "present ominous ideas, but offer little more than snapshots of larger terror".

See also

• Stephen King short fiction bibliography

References

1. King, Stephen. "Finn". StephenKing.com. Retrieved May 29, 2024.
2. "Stephen King to publish new short story with Scribd on May 25". PR Newswire. April 27, 2022. Retrieved May 29, 2024.
3. Vincent, Bev (2020). Stephen King: A Complete Exploration of His Work, Life, and Influences. becker&mayer! books. p. 225. ISBN 9780760376812.
4. Nawotka, Edward (September 8, 2023). "Scribd Originals gains traction". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
5. ^ Olds, Josh (May 23, 2022). "Finn – Stephen King". LifeIsStory.com. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
6. "You Like It Darker". StephenKing.com. 2024. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
7. VanDenburgh, Barbara (April 26, 2022). "Exclusive cover reveal: Check out Stephen King's unsettling new story 'Finn' on Scribd". USA Today. Retrieved May 29, 2024.
8. Truitt, Brandon (May 21, 2024). "Review: Stephen King knows 'You Like It Darker' and obliges with sensational new tales". USA Today. Retrieved May 29, 2024.
9. "You like it darker". SFX. May 15, 2024. Archived from the original on May 31, 2024. Retrieved May 31, 2024 – via Readly.
10. Vincent, Bev (May 20, 2024). "Bev Vincent explores You Like it Darker by Stephen King". CemeteryDance.com. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
11. Adams, Jenn (May 20, 2024). "Stephen King's 'You Like It Darker' finds beauty and hope in nihilistic horror". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved May 31, 2024.

External links

• "Finn" at StephenKing.com

• 2022 short stories
• Horror short stories
• Short stories by Stephen King
• Short stories set in Ireland