Different Seasons - Stephen King

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 ...
...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 ...

kirstymack80 16.08.2004 · Read full review
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Review of Different Seasons - Stephen King

...publication and look for a different copy. If you can't find any other publication - then either read without looking at the back, or try eBay for an older copy. Lastly, despite its very few shortcomings, I do recommend this book to all Stephen King fans. It's an excellent study into the different aspects of King's writing - his styles, imagination and idea's. This is not such a good book for people who want to begin reading King as the styles are ...
...I would direct you to King classics, such as 'The Stand', 'Christine' and 'IT'. As with many of his shorter stories, one of the main advantages is that they do not contain the unnecessary padding that appears in some of King's works - these novellas are intelligent, concisely written masterpieces. Have a read, it's well worth it. ...

Sam_Garland 17.07.2006 · Read full review
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Review of Different Seasons - Stephen King

...King's favourite genre, his book Different Seasons shows that he can turn his hand to anything, with this collection of four short novels as good as his previous (and later) works. Different Seasons contains four very different stories, each worthy of being a stand-alone novel in its own right. Three of the four stories in this collection have been made into well-known and critically acclaimed films, with The Shawshank Redemption the most recognisable. ...
...though of course in very different ways. Their lives are interlinked by this longing, with King focusing mainly on their relationship with each other. This tale is very disturbing but utterly compelling, with the film version not a patch on King's novella, with the detail and characterisation that King uses lifting the story onto a different level. Apt Pupil really is first rate. 3. The Body After the dark and brooding Apt Pupil, King lightens ...

bigmike33 03.02.2007 · Read full review
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Review of Different Seasons - Stephen King

I received Different Seasons by Stephen King 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: ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Hope Springs Eternal: Rita Hayworth And The Shawshank Redemption. ~ This is told from the perspective of 'Red', a lifer in Shawshank Penitentiary, ...
...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 ...

Kes30 25.01.2002 · Read full review
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Review of Different Seasons - Stephen King

...still read it, only for different reasons. King has struggled over the years to be taken seriously as a writer; if you write ‘horror’ you must be friends with the devil, in league with the red-horned one, and ain’t no way you can be a ‘literate’ writer as well. King even refers to this in his lengthy (nine pages) afterword in this book, and this was still early in his career. I don’t know about you, but I’ve ...
...had read several years before, Different Seasons. A collection of four novellas, and probably King’s first venture (published) into more mainstream work, although all the stories contain threads of real horror in them. During a subsequent clearout of the loft, I emerged from the chaos, triumphantly clutching said copy, just as pleased as a mutt that’s pulled his head out of a dustbin, covered in slime and chicken bones and who knows what ...

Crazy-Christian 24.09.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Different Seasons - Stephen King

A natty title that ties in to the contents. The four (different) seasons each have a (different and infinitely spooky) story written, therefore this has four separate stories. See if you can spot which of the tales became a hollywood film... "Hope Springs Eternal - Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption." This is a tale about the lives of prison inmates inside Shawshank Prison, and focuses on one in particular. He is Andy Dufresne. Andy's time ...
...narrator, telling us about Andy, the type of guy he was, the crime he'd been found guilty of despite his consistent denials of involvement, and his love of Rita Hayworth. He loves Rita so much that he asks Red to smuggle a poster in for him, which Red duly obliges him with. But just how does the poster figure so importantly in the book? Guess what? You're gonna have to read it to find out! "Summer of Corruption - Apt Pupil." My particular favourite, ...

Salgirl 11.03.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Different Seasons - Stephen King

...others may have already said, Different Seasons is King's finest example of literature outside the horror genre. He has been marked out as a horror writer for years and this really shows me can do almost anything. I think by far the best short story in here is Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, the tale of a man wrongly sent to jail for 2 life sentences. Loads more people have seen the brilliant movie starring Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins ...
...exellent read, they must read it themselves. The writing is great, with respect to detail and twists in the plot. The characters are well defined, you really get to feel for the them. The book has the strange ability to wrench the heart while at the same time constantly make you giggle to yourself, as it is peppered with King's trademark humour throughout. It's really just a story of Hope("Hope Springs Eternal) and how it can strengthen a person ...

jovialduke 27.05.2007 · Read full review
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Review of Different Seasons - Stephen King

This book contains 4 of Stephen King's shorter stories (novellas). The first is Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, on which the Shawshank Redemption is based, a prisoner in Shawshank prison, Andy Dufresne, plans to escape after finding out who really committed the murder he was charged with. Aiding him in his escape are various posters which changed from time to time but were always there, covering the hole in the ceiling he worked hard to ...
...to freedom. Next is Apt Pupil a story about a boy who discovers that a nazi war criminal lives near him and starts to talk with him about the war. Eventually the talking about the past gets to him, and he reverts back the first of his victims being a cat. This also happens to the boy and his first victim is then a wino. The man gets caught while in hospital after a hert attack as his roommate just happens to have been an inmate of Patin while he ...

jesushairdo 13.08.2000 · Read full review
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Review of Different Seasons - Stephen King

The book is a collections of four short stories... They are "special" in their gender because their not long enough to be romance, and their not so short how the same author writes at the end of the book... I have to say that I liked very much the way Stephen King writes, but I didn't read other books of him, because I don't like so much horror gender (too much scary I think)... This book in fact is not horror oriented, but very full of themes and ...
...always accompanied by a light of hope(in the Shawshank Redemption), friendship (in the body) and life(in the breathing metod). I think you can see how the main characters in every story grow up, what is their walk and this is valid for every story: either with kids or adults. The title is because every story is representative of one season: Hope Springs Eternal, Summer of Corruption, Fall from Innocence, A Winter's Tale. There are three films ...

katychan 03.01.2006 (04.01.2006) · Read full review
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Review of Different Seasons - Stephen King