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4.21 AVERAGE
4.21 AVERAGE
In order of excellence:
Apt Pupil
The Body
The Shawshank Redemption
The Breathing Method
What a dark little collection of novellas. Apt Pupil, in particular was uniquely insidious. I enjoyed it thoroughly. Shawshank was the first book I've ever read that I thought was improved upon by the movie. Still worth the read, though. The Body was a great coming-of-age story, with universal principles and even while it was set half a century ago, it still has a narrative and characters that everyone can identify with. The Breathing Method was different. A smooth, sad, story with an ending that I'm still not sure how I feel. It didn't touch the other three IMO.
Apt Pupil
The Body
The Shawshank Redemption
The Breathing Method
What a dark little collection of novellas. Apt Pupil, in particular was uniquely insidious. I enjoyed it thoroughly. Shawshank was the first book I've ever read that I thought was improved upon by the movie. Still worth the read, though. The Body was a great coming-of-age story, with universal principles and even while it was set half a century ago, it still has a narrative and characters that everyone can identify with. The Breathing Method was different. A smooth, sad, story with an ending that I'm still not sure how I feel. It didn't touch the other three IMO.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
There are no words that can explain how incredibly amazing this collection of short stories (novellas) was. Different Seasons is a whole other level of brilliance!
Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - a great start to an incredible collection of stories. This story was unputdownable and much better than I expected.
Apt Pupil ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - this probably would have gotten 5 stars if it wasn't for that horrific cat scene! Nonetheless, an engrossing read that was extremely disturbing. Apt Pupil was the most gruesome story in Different Seasons.
The Body ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - an adventurous tale about childhood friendship. This story was the main reason I picked up Different Seasons, I love the film Stand By Me, and The Body is even more incredible!
The Breathing Method ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Wow, what a way to end this incredible collection of stories. The Breathing Method was a slow starter, but the ending was intense; I was on the edge of my seat.
Overall, Different Seasons is the best short story collection I have read. There was not a single story I disliked and they were all remarkable. Different Seasons is just another reason why King is the master at storytelling!
Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - a great start to an incredible collection of stories. This story was unputdownable and much better than I expected.
Apt Pupil ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - this probably would have gotten 5 stars if it wasn't for that horrific cat scene! Nonetheless, an engrossing read that was extremely disturbing. Apt Pupil was the most gruesome story in Different Seasons.
The Body ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - an adventurous tale about childhood friendship. This story was the main reason I picked up Different Seasons, I love the film Stand By Me, and The Body is even more incredible!
The Breathing Method ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Wow, what a way to end this incredible collection of stories. The Breathing Method was a slow starter, but the ending was intense; I was on the edge of my seat.
Overall, Different Seasons is the best short story collection I have read. There was not a single story I disliked and they were all remarkable. Different Seasons is just another reason why King is the master at storytelling!
Overall, I really enjoyed this collection and gave all four novellas 4.5-5 stars. It's not really a horror collection - more thriller - but each story does those King horror elements that he just can't seem to stop writing (in a good way). The Body is (at least for right now) my favourite tale of the four, but my favourite character in the set is from The Breathing Method.
Rita Hayworth & The Shawshank redemption gave a really nice commentary about the American justice system and I liked the discussions around the psychology of the prisoners and how it is impacted in the face of regained freedom in the "outside" world. I also really loved the friendship within it.
All of the content warnings for Apt Pupil, but found it really interesting that it's told from the perspective of the bad guys, and you're just rooting for the main characters to get caught and wondering how it will play out.
The body ~ my favourite ~ was just really endearing and heartbreaking, and just a really well written tale of how four boys (all from dysfunctional or abusive families) basically grew up overnight.
The Breathing Method was the slowest to start but as soon as the real ~tale~ started I just fell into it. And I loved the character of Jane Smith. I will say though, I wish the King fed us more about the mysteries of the gentleman's club as well in which The Breathing Method tale was told. It is strongly hinted that things are strange, but the mystery never revealed.
Rita Hayworth & The Shawshank redemption gave a really nice commentary about the American justice system and I liked the discussions around the psychology of the prisoners and how it is impacted in the face of regained freedom in the "outside" world. I also really loved the friendship within it.
All of the content warnings for Apt Pupil, but found it really interesting that it's told from the perspective of the bad guys, and you're just rooting for the main characters to get caught and wondering how it will play out.
The body ~ my favourite ~ was just really endearing and heartbreaking, and just a really well written tale of how four boys (all from dysfunctional or abusive families) basically grew up overnight.
The Breathing Method was the slowest to start but as soon as the real ~tale~ started I just fell into it. And I loved the character of Jane Smith. I will say though, I wish the King fed us more about the mysteries of the gentleman's club as well in which The Breathing Method tale was told. It is strongly hinted that things are strange, but the mystery never revealed.
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
Currently reading "The Body" for my Filmed Novel class. The movie version is a classic - Stand By Me. I'm not much of a King fan, so it'll be interesting to see how this goes...
Update: I liked it well enough, but it was really hard for me to read it without picturing the movie. Since the point of the class is to study the adaptation from book to film, I guess that's a good thing, but I dunno. I liked some things about it, but I'm just not a big fan of King's writing.
Update: I liked it well enough, but it was really hard for me to read it without picturing the movie. Since the point of the class is to study the adaptation from book to film, I guess that's a good thing, but I dunno. I liked some things about it, but I'm just not a big fan of King's writing.
Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption - 5/5 !!!!!! exceptional.
Apt Pupil - 5/5
The Body - 4/5
The Breathing Method - 3/5
Apt Pupil - 5/5
The Body - 4/5
The Breathing Method - 3/5
Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption is great. Apt Pupil is kinda gross, not a favorite. The Body and Breathing are ok.
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character