I haven’t read any Stephen King books for years, and I mean years! However when I spotted this brand new book for a mere English pound, it had to be purchased! I read the back and had been absolutely delighted to see that it had one of the short stories I’ve been wanting to read for a very long time – ‘The Body’, plus an extra three tales.

* Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption *

Ahh yes, you remember the film, right?! Me too, and I only saw it fairly recently and little did I know until the credits rolled that it was based on one of Mr King’s short stories.

Red is our storyteller. He’s been resident in Shawshank prison for many years after fixing the brakes on his wife’s car. He’s quite upfront about the fact he killed her, and sorry that his wife had stopped to pick up the neighbour and her child. For his wife’s act of kindness, Red has received three life sentences, to run one after the other.

Red’s the guy who the cons go to if they ‘want something’. Red can get them anything – chocolate, books, even women’s panties! So when Andy Dufresne appears at the prison in 1949 and asks for Rita Hayworth to be smuggled into prison, Red says it won’t be a problem.

Andy and Red’s friendship is slow to develop. It takes seven years for them to become more than acquaintances who just nod at each other. Andy has always maintained his innocence over the murder of his wife and her lover – and Red believes him. And Andy’s determined that one day he will be free …

* What’s good *

This is a very clever story and one with an unusual twist. At 102 pages, it won’t take long to get through and can easily be read in one sitting as it’s quite gripping right from the start. King has set the whole story entirely around the prison and yet it's never boring. Red tells his tales of prisoners that he’s seen come and go over the many years he’s spent at Shawshank, and he pieces together Andy’s story for us.

Enjoyable? Yes. As I’d seen the film I did know what was coming but it’s always good to read in more detail how the characters are feeling. I feel that is not always achieved when watching something on the big screen. The feeling of hope is there throughout, and it’s quite a touching ending, without being overly sentimental.

A special tale of friendship that lasts forever.

* Apt Pupil *

Todd Bowden, 13 year old model school pupil, has a big secret. He goes to visit Arthur Denker, a complete stranger, an old man. Arthur isn’t too pleased to see him, he has secrets of his own which he’s kept hidden since the war. But now it seems this child, this smiling golden boy, has uncovered his worst nightmare and a little bribery has become the order of the day ...

* What’s good *

Again two very central characters are the main theme. Arthur’s initial resentment of Todd eventually gives way to the story of his time in Germany and a story about war and prison camps emerges. At first I wasn’t sure about this but after a long first chapter of around 25 pages, the story was separated a little better and made it easier to read.

At around 200 pages, this was a story you could get your teeth into, rather than one that is far shorter and finishes before it’s begun!

However in this story the slow build up of tension and the gradual tormenting of the old man is a little unsettling for the reader. The balance of power shifts from one character to the other, each wanting to gain the upper hand. The man feels revulsion for the grinning boy, and yet still does whatever he asks, as he feels he’s being blackmailed – he even dons an old soldier’s uniform, just for Todd’s amusement.

Denker's inner demons are brought to the surface by a kid, and he has to fight with the knowledge of his past actions. Meanwhile Todd thinks he wants to know all the gruesome details, but soon his grades start to fall, he’s talking to himself, lying to his parents and his sleep is interrupted by cruel dreams. Just who is winning the mind games?

Nasty and disturbing. But compelling reading.

* The Body *

This is the one I’d been waiting for! Remember the movie ‘Stand by me’? Well this is the short story it was based on. Four young boys in the 1960s hanging out together, older brothers who seem so much more ‘grown up’ than them are overheard talking about a young boy’s body down at the rail tracks. The four boys, Gordon (our creative storyteller), Chris (the rebel with the troubled homelife), Vern (the pudgy one) and Teddy (the wild one) decide to go into the woods and be the ones to ‘find’ it. And so begins their adventure.

* What I thought *

I loved the way this one was told from Gordie’s point of view. His brother, recently killed in a jeep accident at the age of 19, and his parents are still raw. Gordie can’t possibly compete with his ‘perfect’ brother and his feelings of inadequacy sometimes slip through as he tells the story. The rest of the boys have problems at home, Gordie’s parents don’t like his friends and as a group they are a bunch of misfits who take comfort in each other’s presence.

The way King tells the story of the boys is realistic. They’re 12 years old, they’re wise guys, always trying to outsmart shopkeepers and each other. They see their adventure as ‘something to brag about’. They smoke, cook their own food around a camp fire and tease one another.

What I really enjoyed were Gordie’s stories. He invents tales for the others, which detracts from the reader’s main story and builds up suspense. One such story is the ‘Pie Eating Contest’ (which I still remember from the film). Gordie tells this story to the other boys while they sit in the woods – it finishes half way through and then the chapter ends. As the next chapter begins we see it’s been written in 1975, 15 years later, when Gordon Lachance is a published writer.

King weaves a clever story of frightened boys, kids that want to be accepted and want to be better than the ‘bigger kids’ but are vulnerable both physically and mentally. This is more than a tale of camping out - it’s the end of their childhood. And it’s funny and sad and I really didn’t want this one to end. As the boys would say – sincerely.

* The Breathing Method *

Our story teller is an older, sophisticated man who is introduced by his colleagues to a ‘gentlemen’s club’. Here, bizarre stories are told among the members ‘Old duffers, mostly, but some of them are good company’.

We’re taken back to 1935, an unmarried woman goes into a doctor’s surgery and is told she’s pregnant. The doctor introduces her to the ‘breathing method’, similar to the Lamaze method, which involves deep breathing through labour, rather than screaming and thrashing about.

{Titters}. Ehm, the Mack hasn’t squeezed a bambino out of her body but she thinks that this is asking the impossible. A silent method of giving birth? But I digress …

What then follows is an extremely grotesque tale about a woman determined to give birth, even through quite horrifying circumstances.

* What’s good *

This story is told in a very ‘proper’ way. The other three contained slang, Americanisms, this one is told almost in an old fashioned way, which was rather refreshing! It almost adds to the building suspense as to what is going to happen later on.

This is more the King that I remember. This one is macabre, it’s twisted and also clever. And the reader questions the two stories – the story about the strange club, and the story set further back in time telling the story of the pregnant woman. This is perhaps the most baffling story of the four, and the only one that a very brave man (or woman) should consider making into a film! ;-)

At 66 pages this can easily be read in one sitting. Perhaps it’s the weakest story - not from the storyline, but because it’s the shortest and the reader doesn’t really have time to get ‘involved’ with either the characters or the plot.

* Overall *

A very enjoyable book. It’s a long read (like this review) and at times I did begin to wonder if I’d plough through it all. At 551 pages (plus an ‘Afterword’) this is pretty lengthy to wade through quickly.

‘Apt Pupil’ did drag a bit. However just as I was beginning to lose interest, another character was brought into the story and it did begin to pick up as I found out I was curious as to where he fitted in. This was the one story that I thought I'd dislike but which surprised me by being so dark, with dream sequences and flashbacks.

My favourite story was, predictably, ‘The Body’. Having seen the film this was based on at a young age, this has always been a book I’ve wanted to read and it didn’t disappoint. King perfectly captured the thoughts and fears of the young boys and their big adventure.

So to the verdict. I have tended to avoid King’s books (especially his short stories) but I’m now convinced that I still like them, after a break of about 10 years. Admittedly this book is fairly old but the fact that 3 of the 4 stories were made into films will give you an indication that they are extremely readable, interesting and in some cases, decidedly creepy!

Just a couple of bad points, there are a few gruesome moments in ‘Apt Pupil’ and ‘The Breathing Method’ and quite a lot of swearing throughout. It’s still got to be 5 stars and a hearty recommendation.

But for the record – I don’t really think you’d have to be a fan of horror to read this. There was nothing overly frightening about this book, it's just not for the faint hearted!

What else can you get for one English pound? One pre-packed sandwich? Half a cup of Starbucks coffee? Or four short stories by Stephen King? You know what to do.

ISBN is 0-7515-0433-5
RRP is £7.99.

Thanks for reading {goes off to read something light and fluffy next}.