A review by jclose
Different Seasons by Stephen King

5.0

This is a great collection of short stories, and can definitely recommend this to any King fans.


Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption - 5 out of 5

I have to admit, I didn’t know the film Shawshank Redemption was based on a short story and let alone a Stephen King one at that!

I loved this, the friendship between Red and Andy was thoroughly engaging, and the short story somehow manages to capture the institutionalisation of prison life while slowly giving us a prison break story that all felt so earned. There is a great cast of characters in this that kept the story moving forward at all times and while Andy’s perseverance and optimism sometimes seems impossible, it still felt rather inspiring.

Apt Pupil - 3.5 out of 5

Todd and Dussander are easily the most evil characters I’ve read so far in a book. It was a good read but my god was it heavy, Todds fascination with Nazi’s is disturbing and that in turn awakening Dussanders past life as an officer at a concentration camp is a horrible set up and that feeling carries on through the book. The last line of this story is chilling and stuck with me for a few days after finishing.

I felt there was perhaps a commentary here about peoples morbid fascination and interest in the taboo. As I was reading, I kept thinking that Todd seemed similar to all the school shooters plaguing the US.

A fascinating read, but one I wouldn’t recommend nor read again.

The Body - 4.5 out of 5

I really enjoyed this, I loved the film and actually the film is a really good adaption of this. The relationship between all the characters felt so real and it made me remember the stupid dangerous things I used to get up when I was 12.

It especially has some sad moments towards the end but what got me the most was Chris basically accepting his station in life when he encourages Gordie to get away from the town and his friends if he wants a good life.

Only mark down here was the Stud City section, was too long and just didn’t feel like it needed to be there.

Breathing Method - 4 out of 5

This was the only story I was going into completely blind on, it’s also the shortest one of the lot. The story of Sandra Stansfield was really engaging, it felt a bit like a romance story between herself and Emyln and her practical approach to her pregnancy was fun to read. Of course, until I was smacked in the face with Kings sudden brutality. I also found ‘The Club’ setting quite intriguing and I do wonder if that or Stevens may reappear in other books.