Hi friends, happy Friday, I hope you’re all doing well! Today I’m back with another King read in my Stephen King Project – his collection of novellas, Different Seasons.

I read this from March 5, 2023 – June 4, 2023 (3 months)

The Book (1982)

• Shawshank Redemption: This started off interesting, but then started to lose the reader as King took so many detours telling smaller stories inside this story. We meet our main character who has no name and another character, Andy; both are in for killing their wives. Interested to see where this goes and the point of it.
• Shawshank Redemption: We’re starting to see more characters in the prison and getting a very fleshed out landscape for what goes on. It’s reading sort of slow and the reader is wondering if it will pick up in the last half.
• Shawshank Redemption: The last half of this story really took off and that was where the heart of this story lied. The connection these two main characters form was really beautiful. The build up to it all was slow but really paid off. The reader enjoyed going on this journey, even if it felt a bit unknown in the beginning.

Final Thoughts: Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption: Red has been sent to Shawshank prison after killing is wife and their neighbour in a car accident, that wasn’t really an accident. While locked up he becomes the go-to guy who can hook you up. When Andy shows up, wrongfully convicted, he asks Red for a photo of Rita Hayworth and from there something forms. It’s not friendship at first but over time a bond between the two is created as Andy tries to find a way out of prison. This was such a beautiful story of an unlikely friendship in an unexpected place. This short story started off in King fashion, where he rambled and explained things for too long. We were left with so many details and not enough actual plot that it didn’t sound promising at all. That turned around in the last 50-70 pages when the plot truly took off and even though it was told to us, it was interesting and compelling. The way King wrote about the budding friendship between these two guys and how they inadvertently cared for one another was heartwarming to read. This ended up being such a worthy read for content and for character development and growth.

• Apt Pupil: This has had a very intriguing start. The set up is good because we’re left wondering why this 13 year old wants to know so much about an old Nazi. We’re also interested to see how his father plays into it too since we’ve seen parts in his POV. This is off to a good start, even if we don’t know where it’s going.
• Apt Pupil: For a short story, there is a lot of details in this; it’s good because it’s very visual, but also slows the reading down. This story is not going in a direction the reader expected. The old man is now pretending to be the kid’s grandfather and we’re learning how awful a person he is. Looking forward to seeing where this ends up.
• Apt Pupil: Again, this is really long for a short story. There are so many details and still no real direction for the plot. The reader doesn’t feel that invested in this story anymore. Filled with scenes that felt unneeded because it’s doubtful they will come back for any purpose; even the characters are feeling boring.
• Apt Pupil: New players have been introduced at this late stage in the game to hopefully give a full rounded ending. The reader can see how they relate to one of our main characters and we have a sense of how it will end. It has made it a little more entertaining and given a bit of life to a story that was getting tediously boring.
• Apt Pupil: Well, that was one way to end a long short story. The reader likes the way King tied everything up – the addition of the new character brought the story around and gave it some added leverage so things seemed more plausible. We got more long-winded scenes that didn’t feel needed, but we got a satisfying ending.

Final Thoughts: Apt Pupil: When young Tom Bowden learns of a Nazi war criminal living near him, he goes to investigate. Arthur Denker, whose real name is Kurt Dussander has been hiding in plain sight for years, until Tom shows up. Instead of exposing him to the police, Tom wants to hear stories from the war, but all these stories do is cause nightmares; the only way to curb them is to kill. Slowly Tom finds himself sinking lower and lower into a darkness he soon won’t be able to come out of. This short story was told over the course of four years, which was probably half the reason it felt so long; that and the fact that there were so many elements for this short story to keep track of that it fell apart in the middle. Most of the action, that was relevant to the story, took place in the beginning and at the very end. Everything else was just gruesome backstory that tried to give us character development, but all it really did was give us unnecessary prose. It made this drag and the reader wasn’t really liking it, it wasn’t until the end when King actually wrapped this up that the reader appreciated how it all came together. King is notoriously known for having bad endings, but this one (before the very final scene) was done so well. We got to see all the loose threads he created tighten and see how they all fit together; that was definitely where his writing was the strongest and why the reader ended up rating this story slightly higher than they were planning to. The characters weren’t ones you really wanted to root for or care about. Tom had redeeming qualities in the beginning, but as he slowly started to descend into madness he lost a lot of them and Dussander never had any to begin with. In the end, this wasn’t a bad story, it had merit, but it really lost its way in the middle, which was really disappointing. If there had been less happening, this could have read faster and been better.

• The Body: This has started much the same way the past two short stories have, with a lot of background on these characters, especially the main one. He’s really setting the scene for things to come; this doesn’t feel like it’s going to be a very fast-paced story, but more of a slow story time type. Even still, this has still been engaging so far.
• The Body: This is still moving slowly, but in a good way; we’re getting to see these characters be themselves doing what young boys do, learning things & playing with their buds. It’s very wholesome & the pacing works with the set up. The reader also likes the little nods to other King stories & being in Castle Rock feels like being at home in King’s world. We’re getting more depth to the main character too.
• The Body: Continuing at its slow pace, we’re really getting a feel for these characters & how they interact with one another. The friendship is so strong & loyal; it’s so beautiful & heartwarming to read. We get more of them just being boys, figuring life out, cheering each other on in the things they like. The reader is enjoying taking it all in before this comes to an end, which will hopefully be good.
• The Body: They finally find the body that they went out in search of. Of course it completely changes the tone of the book and how these boys have acted this far. The shift was gradual, which was a good way to transition to the end of this story since it was so slow paced. To have it change too quickly would have ruined the story and made it feel rushed, so the reader is happy with how this ended.

Final Thoughts: The Body: This was the story of four boys who hear of the death of a kid in their neighbourhood and decide to go out on a hunt to find it. The story itself sounds kinda boring, but this was such a good coming of age story. The reader really liked how slow the pacing was because it worked really well for this story. We got to know each of the characters pretty well as they went through different things together and through the stories they told about one another. The way these characters loved each other and wanted the best for each other was so beautiful to see. The way this ended was also really well done because it was a slow gradual shift in tone that didn’t feel abrupt and didn’t disturb the story. The way this was told in both the present when they were kids, but also from the the point of view of our main character in the future, which gave the story a well rounded feel. It was a little harrowing to read about what became of the other three boys; the reader wished this could have had a little more of a happier ending, but this was still a well-told and beautiful story.

• Breathing Method: This is a story within a story. The first 30 pages or so is set up to get to the inner story, which the reader didn’t mind, although it did start to drag a bit the closer we got to the other story; it could have been tightened a bit. The reader is curious where this story is going to go because we went from secret society to a woman having a baby. Not sure what King is going for, yet.
• Breathing Method: This story actually went in a direction that wasn’t seen coming at all and the reader really liked that. The build up, the suspense – it was so well done. It left the reader with an eerie sense the way it ended, like the story was a metaphor for the club. Really well told.

Final Thoughts: The Breathing Method: The story of a man who gets invited to his boss’ club and wonders if he’ll ever get invited back. Without waiting for an invitation, he goes back months later where one of the men start to tell the story called ‘The Breathing Method’; a doctor who was treating an unmarried pregnant woman in the 1930s, who wanted to give birth no matter the costs. This very short story took the reader by surprise with how well done it was. In such a short amount of time, King was able to set up a story with no extra words or characters or background scenes that had no purpose, it was just strictly the story. At first the reader didn’t quite get the connection between the club and the story being told, but as we move through, in the end it almost felt like the story was a metaphor for the club and the ambiguity of the ending left just enough suspense to keep the reader hanging on. There was no way to guess what this story would have been about and the way we move through, the pacing was great because it ebbed and flowed to match the mood of the story. This had just enough creep, where it didn’t feel super gruesome because there were wholesome moments to balance it all out. In the end, a well rounded and well written story.

The Movies:

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

 This movie was well done and definitely followed the short story faithfully. There were moments where we weren’t sure it was going to completely follow the book, since this took slight detours, but in the end it really worked out. There were added scenes and characters to fill out the movie, but it didn’t hurt the overall story nor did it change anything either. In fact it felt like it enhanced it a little more and gave the viewers something to see (since the whole story was narrated). Speaking of, they kept a bunch of the narration in, which worked really well in the movie. Sometimes narration can bog down something you’re watching because you can just show it happening, but it wasn’t the case here. It was just enough so the audience knew what was happening, but it wasn’t too much where Red’s character was telling us everything. Most of it was Red’s thoughts on Andy and life in the prison, which can be harder to show than actual visual description, plus it worked for his character because he’s supposed to be a quiet, keeps to himself guy, who only has inner monologues, so it makes sense they chose to go in that direction and keep a lot of it. Usually a scene would start with his voice over and that would take us in and it really worked beautifully; it really felt like a book come to life. Just like the short story, this was moving to watch these two become unlikely friends as this spanned decades. This ended slightly different from the book, but it worked well. The acting was really good too, an overall well done film.

Apt Pupil (1998)

This was much like the book in the sense that the content wasn’t entertaining because it was a gruesome plot to begin with. If it wasn’t for reading the novella, this film wouldn’t have been on this viewer’s radar. For what it was, it was interesting but it wasn’t something to gravitate to. This movie was different from the novella and the changes worked well for an adaption. For the most part it felt like the film tried to make this more of a psychological thriller than a horror story which is what the book was. The book was more gruesome and brutal, whereas this was only a fraction of how brutal the book was. The essence of the story was still there, but the movie was done in a way where it wasn’t as bad. The ending had a creepier feel to it because it left things open ended; they didn’t tell us what it was, but implied what it could be, which messed with the viewers head, whereas the book had a very closed ending and there was nothing left to question. The way they took a lot of the killing out and the unnecessary scenes out worked for this because it goes back to being less brutal and something you could actually watch. If all those scenes had been added it would have made it a terrible movie. Overall, this was watchable and tolerable but not very enjoyable. 

Stand by Me (The Body) (1986)

The film version of The Body, in which the movie was named after the song by Ben E. King. It’s an appropriate title, since these four boys are just starting to learn the meaning of friendship in their prime boyhood days. It also really speaks to the level of friendship these boys have for each other. Throughout the film we see them stick up for one another as they go through different events that really speak to each of their characters. Chris is probably the most compassionate and there for all them when they need it; you wouldn’t tell by looking at his tough exterior but he’s got a heart of gold. The film did such a great job of giving each of these characters a distinct feel; yes the novel did that too, but the film felt more fleshed out in a way that was different from the book. The story of four boys who go in search of a dead body of a boy they knew of. This followed the book to a T for the most part; the pacing and the order of how things came all followed the book, the ending was slightly different. You can tell that whoever created the film wanted more of a happier ending, although thinking about it, it might actually be a sadder ending because instead of all but Gordie dying, they all went their separate ways never to speak to one another again, and one of them dying. It brings into question the power of friendship, how strong our bonds are as kids, compared to as adults. This was such a beautiful coming of age story; whether you read the book or watch the movie, both are equally really well done and capture youth so well.

I also filmed my thoughts on the book if you’d like to check that out:

Up Next: Christine