That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is in French

"That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is in French"
Author Stephen King
Country United States
Language English
Genre(s) Horror, short story
Published in Everything's Eventual
Publication type Anthology
Publisher Scribner
Media type Print (Paperback)
Publication date 1998

That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is in French (referring to déjà vu) is a short story by Stephen King. It was originally published in the June 22, 1998 issue of The New Yorker magazine. In 2002, it was collected in King's collection Everything's Eventual. It focuses on a married woman in a car ride on vacation constantly repeating the same events over and over, each event ending with the same gruesome outcome.

Plot summary

As the story progresses, the woman begins to remember skeletons from the closet, starting as financially strapped newlyweds who went onto greater things with her husband's eventual success in the computer industry. It is implied, though never explicitly revealed, that the man and woman have been killed in a mid-air plane collision, and are suffering eternal torment.

See also