A review by bevelynhugo
Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King

5.0

The story of Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption is one of my favorite stories of all time, and my ultimate favorite story where every character is a man. I don’t get how anyone can dislike it. It’s a story of hope and a story that makes you value your own freedom. And it makes prison seem like a small place where time is chipping away little by little. Which makes the character of Andy Dufresne unique, as he’s the only prisoner left who still had a sense of freedom. I love the book and I loved the movie. The movie did a great job of adapting the book, emphasizing certain parts that didn’t get much screentime in this 200 page novella such as the motif of the bird, the old man who worked in the grocery store and hanged himself (that part gets me every time), and how Tommy Williams got shot instead of transferred to a min security prison to keep his mouth shut. I think the biggest difference is that this book was told from Red’s perspective, and the movie was told in Andy’s perspective. I think that works really well respectively based on the medium. I do like the movie’s ending better because it makes you happy that Red and Andy find their way together again. But the book’s ending was very powerful too; it just left us on a bittersweet note. So anyway, if you’ve never heard the story of the Shawshank Redemption go watch the movie or read the book. Both of them are great. But this being a book review I can strongly recommend the book. It’s a quick read and Stephen King’s writing style is just so addictive. And I haven’t read much Stephen King but I think it’s safe to say this is one of his books that actually gets to the point instead of dragging on various subplots and going on about unnecessary character backgrounds.