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waphill1 's review for:
The Breathing Method
by Stephen King
This novela is often referred to online as the weakest novella within the Different Seasons book, but I absolutely loved it. The style very much reminded me of Edgar Allan Poe in The Fall of the House of Usher: the way the narrator discusses his vague feelings of unease about the gentlemen's club, the way he recounts the mysterious books on the bookshelf, the way he uses foreshadowing to hint something ominous is on the horizon. It's all superb.
It's a framed narrative in which the narrator is a member of a shadowy gentlemen's club that meets in a mysterious building to tell stories. The sparse details about the caretaker in charge hints that he is much older than he appears, almost as if he is supernatural or a ghost. The vague hints about the different rooms in the building make it seem like they might be never-ending. Eventually, after giving brief snapshots of previous stories shared at the gentlemen's club, the narrator gets to the main narrative in which a hyped up storyteller tells his first story: The Breathing Method. It's a tale about a OBGYN who is helping an unwed mother prepare to deliver her baby using the breathing method. It ends with plenty of vivid gore and supernatural elements to make it a true tale of horror.
However, the best part of the story to me was no the horror of The Breathing Method internal story, but the outer frame where the narrator gives the details of the club and his initiation into it. The language is just so captivating and the style really gives a sense of character to the protagonist that made it truly great.
It's a framed narrative in which the narrator is a member of a shadowy gentlemen's club that meets in a mysterious building to tell stories. The sparse details about the caretaker in charge hints that he is much older than he appears, almost as if he is supernatural or a ghost. The vague hints about the different rooms in the building make it seem like they might be never-ending. Eventually, after giving brief snapshots of previous stories shared at the gentlemen's club, the narrator gets to the main narrative in which a hyped up storyteller tells his first story: The Breathing Method. It's a tale about a OBGYN who is helping an unwed mother prepare to deliver her baby using the breathing method. It ends with plenty of vivid gore and supernatural elements to make it a true tale of horror.
However, the best part of the story to me was no the horror of The Breathing Method internal story, but the outer frame where the narrator gives the details of the club and his initiation into it. The language is just so captivating and the style really gives a sense of character to the protagonist that made it truly great.