Hearts in Atlantis

Hearts in Atlantis takes place in 1966 and is narrated by Peter Riley, who has just started at the University of Maine. He has been a good student before, but he is drawn to the interminable card game of Hearts that is going on in the communal room in the all-male dormitory where he lives.

The story explores how the university of the 1960s was an "Atlantis", an imaginary kingdom isolated from the troubles of the world. However, as more and more of the students become addicted to playing Hearts, their grades begin to suffer... and the only way they are escaping the draft for the Vietnam War is through their student deferments. If they flunk out of college, they will be drafted and sent to the war in Southeast Asia.

Peter Riley quickly falls behind in his studies, but even though he knows he might flunk out, he is unable to stop himself. Meanwhile, he meets Carol Gerber, Bobby Garfield's friend and childhood sweetheart from Low Men in Yellow Coats. Peter Riley falls in love with her, and with her help tries to cure himself of the addiction to Hearts. However, he is too self-involved and therefore unaware that Carol herself has become caught up in an escapist addiction of her own: student terrorism. As Peter Riley and his friends' self-destructive addiction to Hearts continues, the Vietnam War grows closer, drawing Carol into an activist group and taking part in bloody demonstrations.

To be completed...