Different Seasons: Four Novellas
A “hypnotic” (The New York Times Book Review) collection of four novellas—including the inspirations behind the films Stand By Me and The Shawshank Redemption—from Stephen King, bound together by the changing of seasons, each taking on the theme of a journey with strikingly different tones and characters.
This gripping collection begins with “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption,” in which an unjustly imprisoned convict seeks a strange and startling revenge—the basis for the Best Picture Academy Award-nominee The Shawshank Redemption.
Next is “Apt Pupil,” the inspiration for the film of the same name about top high school student Todd Bowden and his obsession with the dark and deadly past of an older man in town.
In “The Body,” four rambunctious young boys plunge through the façade of a small town and come face-to-face with life, death, and intimations of their own mortality. This novella became the movie Stand By Me.
Finally, a disgraced woman is determined to triumph over death in “The Breathing Method.”
“The wondrous readability of his work, as well as the instant sense of communication with his characters, are what make Stephen King the consummate storyteller that he is,” hailed the Houston Chronicle about Different Seasons.
This gripping collection begins with “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption,” in which an unjustly imprisoned convict seeks a strange and startling revenge—the basis for the Best Picture Academy Award-nominee The Shawshank Redemption.
Next is “Apt Pupil,” the inspiration for the film of the same name about top high school student Todd Bowden and his obsession with the dark and deadly past of an older man in town.
In “The Body,” four rambunctious young boys plunge through the façade of a small town and come face-to-face with life, death, and intimations of their own mortality. This novella became the movie Stand By Me.
Finally, a disgraced woman is determined to triumph over death in “The Breathing Method.”
“The wondrous readability of his work, as well as the instant sense of communication with his characters, are what make Stephen King the consummate storyteller that he is,” hailed the Houston Chronicle about Different Seasons.
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Community Reviews
I think I like Stephen King's short fiction better than his novels, but I am biases; I am a fan of short fiction above all else. Stephen King is a definite master of the art.
There are four novellas in [b:Different Seasons|39662|Different Seasons|Stephen King|https:images.gr-assets.com/books/1329662611s/39662.jpg|2248680] and I will briefly address each of them.
1. "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption". I'd seen (and loved) the movie, but never read the story. Having read the story, I immediately added it to my list of all time favorite stories. It's all about the voice, I think. There are elements that differ from the movie, but the voice is the same and I think it's the voice that made the movie as good as it was. Like all my "all-time favorites" it's the kind of story that I can and will read again with equal enjoyment. 5 stars.
2. "Apt Pupil". This was a horrible story--in the traditional sense--I felt a sense of horror reading it. I was in constant discomfort, uneasy. And that's because it was a well-told story. Despite my feeling that it was probably the weakest story of the lot, I still think King demonstrated his ability to make the reader feel something about the characters. 3-1/2 stars.
3. "The Body". I'm ashamed to admit that I've never seen "Stand By Me" from beginning to end, but now I don't have to. I liked the story, a kind of coming-of-age tale typified by King's ability at getting deep into a character and his or her surroundings. There was a nostalgia to the story that I didn't quite feel, perhaps because I grew up in the 70s and 80s and not the 50s and 60s, but despite that, I think some of that nostalgia managed to sneak through anyway. 3-1/2 stars.
4. "The Breathing Method". This story surprised me the most. It is the shortest of the stories, and while it's not the best story in the book, it is fair second. I loved the setting of the story, and the mystery surrounding the club (which in some ways reminded me of Asimov's Black Widowers). There was an unearthly quality to the story, and it is a story that I imagine could have been written by Jorge Luis Borges. It was perhaps the best page-turner in the book. 4 stars.
There are four novellas in [b:Different Seasons|39662|Different Seasons|Stephen King|https:images.gr-assets.com/books/1329662611s/39662.jpg|2248680] and I will briefly address each of them.
1. "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption". I'd seen (and loved) the movie, but never read the story. Having read the story, I immediately added it to my list of all time favorite stories. It's all about the voice, I think. There are elements that differ from the movie, but the voice is the same and I think it's the voice that made the movie as good as it was. Like all my "all-time favorites" it's the kind of story that I can and will read again with equal enjoyment. 5 stars.
2. "Apt Pupil". This was a horrible story--in the traditional sense--I felt a sense of horror reading it. I was in constant discomfort, uneasy. And that's because it was a well-told story. Despite my feeling that it was probably the weakest story of the lot, I still think King demonstrated his ability to make the reader feel something about the characters. 3-1/2 stars.
3. "The Body". I'm ashamed to admit that I've never seen "Stand By Me" from beginning to end, but now I don't have to. I liked the story, a kind of coming-of-age tale typified by King's ability at getting deep into a character and his or her surroundings. There was a nostalgia to the story that I didn't quite feel, perhaps because I grew up in the 70s and 80s and not the 50s and 60s, but despite that, I think some of that nostalgia managed to sneak through anyway. 3-1/2 stars.
4. "The Breathing Method". This story surprised me the most. It is the shortest of the stories, and while it's not the best story in the book, it is fair second. I loved the setting of the story, and the mystery surrounding the club (which in some ways reminded me of Asimov's Black Widowers). There was an unearthly quality to the story, and it is a story that I imagine could have been written by Jorge Luis Borges. It was perhaps the best page-turner in the book. 4 stars.
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