Different Seasons - Stephen King

This is the third work of Stephen King's I've read - after The Shining and The Green Mile. I loved the latter book, while most parts of the former too were quite successful in building his narration. But this collection of novellas has  the strength to dodge The Green Mile from the position of my favourite work of King- admittedly from a very poor lot of three, for an author who has written many a novel.

Here's a look at each of the novellas, briefly.

Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption :

“Remember that hope is a good thing, Red, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.” 

I don't recall any other instance, where the tight enclosure, breathlessness brought upon by the story's setting stifles the reader so much. Till I read this novella, I considered Green Mile, as his best effort. Enter, Shawshank Redemption, and it is easily the best work of his I've read. A narration, in which an individual keeps hope alive making him drive towards what was rightfully his, after he had hit the lowest point in life due to no fault of his own.

“Andy was the part of me they could never lock up, the part of me that will rejoice when the gates finally open for me and I walk out in my cheap suit with my twenty dollars of mad-money in my pocket. That part of me will rejoice no matter how old and broken and scared the rest of me is. I guess it's just that Andy had more of that part than me, and used it better. -Red”

I watched the highly acclaimed movie, "Shawshank Redemption", upon completing the novella. Much less graphic in detail the novella, it works at a different level, with a foot in philosophy at times.

The following quote present in both the book and the novel, is more apt to the background of the movie:

“It goes back to what I said about Andy wearing his freedom like an invisibility coat, about how he never really developed a prison mentality. His eyes never got that dull look.”

The Apt Pupil:

 “You see something for the first time, and right away you know you have found YOUR GREAT INTEREST. It’s like a key turning in a lock. Or falling in love for the first time.” 

Only, what took the interest of that adolescent Todd Bowden  took him down a path of evil, so monstrous and gory, that the reader finds it a challenge to endure through the graphic details  in this narration. Easily the book that disturbed me most since Rosemary's Baby - and that was a good 25 year or more.

At the start of their engagement Todd says;

“'Sure. The firing squads. The gas chambers. The ovens. The guys who had to dig their own graves and then stand on the ends so they’d fall into them. The . . .' His tongue came out and wetted his lips. 'The examinations. The experiments. Everything. All the gooshy stuff.' Dussander stared at him with a certain amazed detachment, the way a veterinarian might stare at a cat who was giving birth to a succession of two-headed kittens. 'You are a monster,' he said softly.”

Well, monster is an understatement. This book left me a troubled notion about the contagiousness of evil thought. But probably it works for the best because of the horror ( although at times one wonders if Todd could've  pulled it all off at that age), in the case of this novella.

The Body:

“Gordie: Do you think I'm weird?

Chris: Definitely.
Gordie: No man, seriously. Am I weird?
Chris: Yeah, but so what? Everybody's weird”

This is a story which reads like a memoir - it could very well have been inspired by his own life to some degree. This is a true coming of age novella, which centers upon four boys coming from four dysfunctional if not outright abusive families. One can't help the growing of an attachment to these characters, all four of whom King does justice to. Gordy, who later turns a writer and narrates this story, is ignored by his parents as they live out their lives mourning their dead elder son. Chris has never had a fair chance in life due to his family's criminal background, and is severely disliked by his teachers, although he's the smartest in the lot. Teddy has suffered most from his father, carrying life long damages but still hold his old man in high regard due to his military service. Vern suffers due to his rowdy elder brother. It is this troubled set who go out on a hike to "rediscover" the body of a boy gone missing a few days back - and their experiences make a fantastic reading. Especially the trestle bridge incident brings the reader  to a climax, although it is before of the main incident.


The Breathing Method:
  Of the four stories found in this book, this one is closest to being from the vintage King stock. More suggestive of horror than the other three novellas, this one suggests how the now liberal US of A looked down upon single mothers, denying them chance of even earning their keep, not so long ago. Although the novella has much to offer as a social commentary and the strength of a mother's love, I found that it doesn't live up to be the thriller it attempted to be. This is not to say that it is a weak story- not so. The strength of the other better three novellas, leaves this in a relative lesser poor footing.

Overall, this was a highly satisfying read. This one possibly offers more than what a reader of King may expects from him - and it is grand.  For the third time running, I've 'read' King audibly. I still have two books in audio format - Pet Semtary and It - but I have no visibility as  to when those will make "The listening seat".