Pure brilliance!! (Different Seasons - Stephen King)

Member Name: kes33

Product:	Different Seasons - Stephen King
Date:	06/01/02 (2134 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Three excellent stories

Disadvantages: One mediocre

Different Seasons by Stephen King was the second book I received for Christmas, which I have just finished reading. This book is comprised of four long stories or 'novellas' as they are known. Different Seasons is a superb collection which I enjoyed thoroughly; it was first published in 1982 by Macdonald & Co.

CONTENTS:
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Hope Springs Eternal:

Rita Hayworth And The Shawshank Redemption.
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This is told from the perspective of 'Red', a lifer in Shawshank Penitentiary, Maine. Red, who is in for the murder of his wife is the man who can get his hands on anything for the other inmates, for a price, of course. Red does have a conscience though and draws the line at weapons or drugs; so it is with some reservation that he smuggles in a rock hammer for Andy Dufresne, who claims he wants it for his hobby of collecting and shaping rocks. Andy is another lifer, in for the murder of his wife and her lover, he claims he is innocent and for once, Red believes him.

The story centres around Andy's troublesome life in prison and how he eventually overcomes them and Andy?s extraordinary nature in general. I can't go into too many details of the plot without giving too much away but suffice to say, it is a superbly crafted tale. The characters are well-formed and believable, and the outcome to Andy's struggle is a lovely surprise, although there are clues along the way for you to pick up on and by the end you are in no doubt of Andy's character or innocence. For me, this would stand on it's own as a short novel as it is so enjoyable a read.
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Summer Of Corruption:

Apt Pupil
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This is the story of Todd Bowden; an all-American kid of thirteen who discovers his neighbour is a Nazi War criminal who was involved in the holocaust at Auschwitz and Patin. Rather than tell anyone who Arthur Denker, alias Kurt Dussander, is, Todd blackmails the old man into entertaini
ng him with stories of the atrocities he has committed, for which Todd has a fascination.

We see Todd's moral decline as he is drawn deeper into Dussanders web and it isn't long before his plans have backfired and there is no escape from his 'friendship' with the old man. This is another good tale, if slightly disturbing as we see how easily a young, impressionable mind can be corrupted by evil. Todd starts out as a straight A pupil and soon his schoolwork is suffering, he is having nightmares and can't concentrate on anything except the awful images in his head. Similarly, Dussander starts out as a harmless old man, but as he regales his evil tales to Todd, his old appetites begin to return to him.

This is available on video, I saw it when I went to the rental shop recently, but I couldn't say whether it is a decent film or not.
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Fall From Innocence:

The Body.
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This is a truly brilliant story, which again, could stand as a book (albeit short) in it's own right. Set in 1960's Maine, The Body is the story of four schoolboy friends; Gordie, who is the storyteller, Chris, Teddy and Vern. The boys all have problems within their families and the problems are all of a different nature. Gordie lives in the shadow of his dead brother, Dennis, and his parents barely notice his existence; Chris lives with his alcoholic father and brother, his father beats him regularly; Teddy's father was a second world war hero who went mad and injured Teddy so badly it affected his hearing and Vern is bullied by his elder brother mercilessly.

One day, the boys hear that a kid their age has gone missing whilst out picking berries and they discover the location of his body. They then set out on a mission to find the body, hoping to find a few moments of fame and be thought heroes.
The characters of the boys leap off the page, they are so vividly portrayed and the thoughts and feelings that th
ey have and hide are so familiar to everyone's childhood that you can't help but be drawn in. I only wish that Stephen King had spent more time on this and made it into a full-length novel, as I am certain it would've been a bestseller. This is a story I didn't want to put down and I also didn't want to end, it's not the first time I've read this story but it felt like it.

The body was adapted for film and a movie was made out of it entitled 'Stand By Me'. The film was very close to the novella and is also definitely worth watching as the characters come alive in the movie as much as they do in the book.
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A Winter's Tale:

The Breathing Method.
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This was my least favourite story in the book, the only one really along the lines of a true horror story. The Breathing Method is the story of a Doctor in 1935 who is visited by a young, unmarried woman who is pregnant. She is also an extraordinary young woman of unusual strength. The story is told by the Doctor in a mysterious club where story-telling, usually of the horrific variety, is a regular occurance.

This story is a kind of 'two for the price of one'. We have the story of the club itself, which I found more interesting than the story of The Breathing Method. The club is for Lawyers to get together and the motto is, it's not the tale but he who tells it; the butler, Stevens, is an unusual character who appears to run the club and is ageless. The mystery surrounding the club is not cleared up in the story, and as King had a similar story in Skeleton Crew, I tend to think he was hoping for a series or a novel out of the club.

As a stand alone short story, this was ok, but certainly nothing special; the story of the young woman is very ordinary too and I felt that King would've done better to leave this out of this book as the quality of the other stories may be what makes this one so ordinary.
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br>Conclusion:
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I would recommend this book to anyone. For any of the first three stories alone, it is definitely worth reading. Unlike Skeleton Crew, this is not a book strictly for horror fans; the only real horror is the last story. The Body and Rita Hayworth and The Shawshank Redemption are both brilliantly constructed stories and a must for anyone who enjoys a decent tale.

Thanks for reading.

© Kerry Downing 2002

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