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A review by zinkognito
Different Seasons by Stephen King
5.0
I tried not to list compilation books, but this is far too good to ignore, and besides, these were NOVELLAS. Not only does it feature Apt Pupil and the story that inspired “Stand By Me”, it also had the original “Shawshank Redemption” story (Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption) and possible my favorite short story of all time from Stephen King, THE BREATHING METHOD.
It’s split into four parts, one representing each Season.
Part One is “Hope Springs Eternal”, The Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption story.
This is the story of inmates in a sadistic Prison, a man who can “get” things for you, a man unjustly accused of murder, but more than anything else, it’s about how having HOPE can motive you. A terrific story. The Tim Robbins film was pretty good too!
Part Two is “Summer Of Corruption”, “Apt Pupil” This was also made into a movie with Ian McKellen. This is the story of a boy who finds out a Nazi war criminal is living incognito in his town, and blackmails him into revealing all the dark memories he has, eventually corrupting both the Nazi and the boy.
Part Three is “Fall From Innocence”, the famous Stephen King story that inspired Rob Reiner’s Stand By Me, THE BODY. Four boys growing up make a trip to see a dead body, and encounter things that will change their lives.
Part Four is simple “A Winter’s Tale”, featuring the story The Breathing Method.
Man, The Breathing Method, what can I say. It is just fantastic. First there’s the setting. It’s set in this old English gentlemen’s club, and King takes the time to describe it quite vividly and spookily. The members of the club tell stories, from far flung to fantastic. I can’t explain it, but King describes this so well, each tale seems so eerie. And that brings us to the second good point: the tale that the story is centered around is ALSO fantastic. A great tale within a tale, a tale about a single pregnant woman practicing to give birth to her child using the at-the-time unknown Lamaze method.
I’m glad to say that The Breathing Method is the sole story in Different Seasons that hasn’t been made into a movie (yet), and for this we are truly grateful. I just don’t see how they could capture the wonder and eeriness of the story.
King followed this story up with another good short story called “The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands” which dealt with the same club and characters.
It’s split into four parts, one representing each Season.
Part One is “Hope Springs Eternal”, The Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption story.
This is the story of inmates in a sadistic Prison, a man who can “get” things for you, a man unjustly accused of murder, but more than anything else, it’s about how having HOPE can motive you. A terrific story. The Tim Robbins film was pretty good too!
Part Two is “Summer Of Corruption”, “Apt Pupil” This was also made into a movie with Ian McKellen. This is the story of a boy who finds out a Nazi war criminal is living incognito in his town, and blackmails him into revealing all the dark memories he has, eventually corrupting both the Nazi and the boy.
Part Three is “Fall From Innocence”, the famous Stephen King story that inspired Rob Reiner’s Stand By Me, THE BODY. Four boys growing up make a trip to see a dead body, and encounter things that will change their lives.
Part Four is simple “A Winter’s Tale”, featuring the story The Breathing Method.
Man, The Breathing Method, what can I say. It is just fantastic. First there’s the setting. It’s set in this old English gentlemen’s club, and King takes the time to describe it quite vividly and spookily. The members of the club tell stories, from far flung to fantastic. I can’t explain it, but King describes this so well, each tale seems so eerie. And that brings us to the second good point: the tale that the story is centered around is ALSO fantastic. A great tale within a tale, a tale about a single pregnant woman practicing to give birth to her child using the at-the-time unknown Lamaze method.
I’m glad to say that The Breathing Method is the sole story in Different Seasons that hasn’t been made into a movie (yet), and for this we are truly grateful. I just don’t see how they could capture the wonder and eeriness of the story.
King followed this story up with another good short story called “The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands” which dealt with the same club and characters.