scrob 's review for:

Different Seasons by Stephen King
3.0

I know am in the minority with this opinion, but this novella collection was one of my least favorite of Mr. King's books.

"Rita Hayworth and the Shashank Redemption" - This was a great story, but my enjoyment of it was slightly dampered due to the (gasp) movie being better. To be honest, I feel that film was the superior medium for this story. That being said, it was an excellent read.

"Apt Pupil" - Interesting story. I enjoyed it, but felt that it could have used some tightening up. However, I very much enjoyed the ending.

"The Body" - Much to my surprise, this was my least favorite story in the book to a significant degree. It just seemed to drag, and went off on some really annoying and random tangents (the story within a story involving Chico was one such digression.) Additionally, I just never felt invested in this story, and with the 3rd act, I felt frustration that the big confrontation with the local hood wasn't really built up well, and the ending made me shrug my shoulders with a feeling that I had wasted my time.

"The Breathing Method" - I definitely have mixed feelings about this story. Overall, this was my favorite story of the collection, but I was really annoyed with the long-winded opening frame story that holds this gem of a story hostage. This story had the best characterization, and was a rollercoaster of emotions. It's the only story I wouldn't mind re-reading at some point, and is very underrated among King's works.

So. overall I found this to be a pretty mixed bag. On a side note, I highly recommend the audiobook read by Frank Muller. It was the best audio narration I have ever heard - he was an absolute genius!