Different Seasons

I was very excited to read this collection of short stories again as it was one of the first books of his I read and it contains several of my favorite stories.  Again, people will recognize two of these for sure as they were both made into very successful (and I think well done) movies, with slightly different names; Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption and The Body (which became the movie Stand By Me). Apt Pupil was also a movie, not one that I have ever seen and I am not sure just how successful it was. Just as with Night Shift, I want to go through these one by one and give my opinion and insights into the stories.

Hope Springs Eternal - Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption

Most will be familiar with this story, a man is convicted of killing his wife and her lover, goes to prison, has some struggles and then finds out a way to make himself useful to the guards and wardens (probably too useful), this becomes a prison within the prison, and eventually he makes his escape by burrowing a hole through the wall (the hole is covered by Rita Hayworth and eventually other pin-ups) down into the sewer system where he crawls through a half-mile of shit to his freedom. The big difference in the book versus the movie to me is that in the book Andy takes over a fake identity that he set up before he went to prison along with the bank accounts under that name.  In the movie, he swindles the warden out of money that he helped him launder and embezzle. Personally, no offense Mr. King, I like the second version better as the source of his freedom.  However, the book as a whole is much better than the movie (aren't they always?) because it is not just about the terror of being sent to prison and innocent man - it is about the walls we build for ourselves and how we make our way in the world.  The means we use to escape and the patience that is necessary to see a goal through to the end.  I admire Andy Dufresne tremendously.

Summer of Corruption - Apt Pupil

Such a disturbing story on so many levels.  I will admit that this took me a while to get through as at parts it was just to morally appalling.  This is about a young boy, about 13, who discovers that a man who lives in his neighborhood is actually a Nazi war criminal who is hiding under an assumed name an identity.  Todd, the boy, tells Mr. Decker (Dussander) that he will expose him for his crimes unless he tells him everything about serving in the concentration camps, the torture, the experiments, etc.  Like I said, disturbing.  Todd is a young psychopath in the making who gets off on this tales. Mr. Decker is an old man who would rather forget it, but eventually finds himself enjoying the memories as much as the boy.  Eventually they both are tormented by nightmares and find themselves linked by their own horrific fantasies about murder.  Which leads to real murder, more secrets, more blackmail, and on.

Fall from Innocence - The Body

I love this story, maybe more than I should, but this sums up all the joy, wonder, agony, and disillusion of childhood better than most anything else I have read.  It is a coming of age story in some of the worst possible circumstances and I am sure that I relate as I about the age of this kids in this story when I read it.  (The movie really helped confirm it's greatness in my mind).



A Winter's Tale - The Breathing Method

This is a story about love, plain an simple.  I am sure there is argument to that that it is a story about telling stories, or some other nonsense, but stripped to its most basic idea - it is love. This story is about a young pregnant unwed women who is a patient of a doctor who advises her to use the breathing method (later to be known as lamaze) to help her through the birth as she wants to do it all natural. She practices this religiously so she can be prepared and on the night that she goes into labor it is this method tat ultimately leads to her demise, and saves her sons life.  The story of this women is told at a secret club for men who get together and share stories.  Some disturbing, some funny, and some terrifying. To me, this story felt the most like an old Poe or something similar, which may be why I really enjoyed it.