Different Seasons featuring The Shawshank Redemption

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Different Seasons featuring The Shawshank Redemption (Different Seasons)

4.28 of 5 stars 4.28 · rating details · 77,267 ratings · 1,750 reviews

Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman star in The Shawshank Redemption, now a major motion picture from Columbia based on the novella "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption" in Different Seasons by Stephen King. A prisoner exacts a revenge and escape so meticulous, so brilliant, that no one suspects his plan. . . .

Mass Market Paperback, Tie-in edition, 507 pages

Published September 1st 1994 by Signet (first published August 29th 1981)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

Books With a Goodreads Average Rating of 4.2 and Above

56th out of 369 books — 101 voters

50 Books That Will Change Your Life - Chapters/Indigo

122nd out of 208 books — 457 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 3,000)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Jan 07, 2013 Nataliya rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, excellent-reads, stephen-king, 2012-reads, i-also-saw-the-film

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

Rita Hayworth and The Shawshank Redemption is subtitled 'Hope Springs Eternal' - and that perfectly sums up the soul of his book.

It's hope that keeps you going - even after everything horrible that you can ever imagine has already happened to you, even after life has knocked you down over and over again, even after there seems to be nothing left. Hope is the last thing to die, they say. Andy Dufresn...more

70 likes · like · see review

May 07, 2013 Seak (Bryce L.) marked it as to-read · review of another edition

This is a book of four novellas, three of which were turned into movies, and two of those three nominated for multiple Oscars. Incidentally, they're also the three novellas in this collection that aren't even King's typical fair, horror.

I haven't read a whole lot of King, but what I have I've loved. This set of books is supposed to be some of King's best writing and even with my limited experience, I can tell he's in top form.

I've been on a King kick lately and couldn't resist reading the inspi...more

16 likes · like · see review

Dec 02, 2010 Maciek rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Everyone

Shelves: owned-books, favorites, own-in-paperback, saw-movie

This collection is one of King's finest efforts. While the author has his ups and downs, and the reception of his novels and short stories varies, the readers have suprisingly little criticism for his collection of novellas. It seems to be the field where he is at his best; it's the cozy inbetween the novel and the short story, a place where a tale can be developed without faltering into overbloated, verbose work, maintain a mood and keep the theme that would be otherwise impossible in short fic...more This collection is one of King's finest efforts. While the author has his ups and downs, and the reception of his novels and short stories varies, the readers have suprisingly little criticism for his collection of novellas. It seems to be the field where he is at his best; it's the cozy inbetween the novel and the short story, a place where a tale can be developed without faltering into overbloated, verbose work, maintain a mood and keep the theme that would be otherwise impossible in short fiction.

Rita Hayworth and The Shawshank Redemption is a classic, a piece equal to such tales as "Bartleby the Scrivener". Indeed, the comparison with Bartleby is more than apt; both tales deal with imprisonment, though the first much more literally. Both affect the reader in a completely different way, but touch the same thing: the strenght of the human spirit. While "Bartleby" is pessimistic and depressing, "Rita Hayworth..." is its complete opposite. Indeed, I think I'm not that far off when I say that it's one of the best and most beautiful testaments to the strenght of human will and devotion in seeking and reaching the goal. With the seasons theme King set for the book, it captures the motto perfectly: "Hope Springs Eternal".

Apt Pupil, which illustrates "The Summer of Corruption", is arguably the most disturbing novella in the volume and one of the most disturbing pieces from all of King's ouevre. A 13 year old boy discovers that an ex-nazi lives in his neighborhood, hiding under an assumed name; He confronts the old man, who at first denies the allegiations, but eventually acknowledges his previous identity. In fear of being turned to authorities by the boy, he agrees to satisfy his demand: he starts telling him tales about his previous life and service in concentration camp. But the boy is not interested in turning him to the authorities and demands more and more detailed stories; soon the old man finds himself willing to tell them. Needing to indulge in the telling.
The story brings to mind the Nietzschean theme of the Abyss; The famous quote is well known: "If you stare into the Abyss long enough the Abyss stares back at you". But what if the there were two abysses opposite to each other? What would they see in each other, and what monsters would come out of them? "Apt Pupil" is a story tackling such a theme. Two abyssess stare at each other; two leeches suck at one another. Whereas the previous novella was about hope and the strenght of human spirit, this one is about the decay of it.

The Body is the tale for th Fall, not hard to guess that it'll be "The Fall from Innocence". From all novellas collected in this volume, this one is propably the most endearing. It's not hard to imagine an older man, sitting on the porch of his house in the golden sunshine of an afternoon, rocking in his favorite chair and recalling the memory of the summer he and his three friends went to see a dead body in the woods. Not too far from works by Ray Bradbury and Robert McCammon, "The Body" manages to capture both the period and the adolescence surprisingly well on a small number of pages. King is excellent at writing from an adolescent point of view; I believe that a good deal of a 12 year old boy still remains in him (even if his heart is in a jar on his desk). But he is a grownup too; reflecting on his childhood, and how the trip has changed the boys, shaped their lives and impacted their future. "The Body" feels autobiographical, and it truly does recapture the essence of childhood and the maturing process into adulthood. I'd like to think of this novella as a fantastic warm up to King's later novel "IT", which captures childhood almost perfectly.

The Breathing Method is aptly subtitled "A Winter's Tale". While the previous three tales have a "contemporary" feel, this one is reminiscient of other, much older authors. Indeed, it is not very far from what Dickens might have written when he was in the mood for ghostly little books; but the most close comparison that can be made is that of Henry James and his "The Turn of The Screw".
Much like "The Turn...", "The Breathing Method" is also a story within a story. Dedicated to King's fellow writer and friend Peter Straub and his wife Susan, it is the sole tale of the volume with a touch of the supernatural, and the sole tale that could be classified (albeit very broadly) as horror. I'd rather say that it's more Gothic than scary - what's more gothic than a group of old men gathering around the fire and telling tales of the uncanny?
In my opinion, this is one of King's most underrated stories and the sole overlooked gem in this collection. I was surprised to see how many readers considered it the weakest; while I can't really choose the strongest tale in this volume, because they are all strong in different ways, this is certainly not the worst of them and most certainly deserves the appraisal and recognition the preceeding ones received. It's wonderfully atmospheric and chilling, even though it is not scary - and maybe precisely because of it. "The Breathing Method" plays on the all-familiat string of disturbance - the gentlemen's club with the creaking chairs, the members telling tales that they would never tell anywhere else, the mysterious, ominous butler, who's both encouraging and threatening...the club library with most strange volumes...
There is genuinely nothing not to love about this piece, and if I had to state a complain I would have only one: I wish it was longer. I wish to read more about the history of the club, about the members, about the rooms upstairs...but alas, it's not going to happen, which is better in a way; the civilized human spirit cannot get rid of the feeling of the uncanny, and "The Breathing Method" provides plenty of such feelings and is a perfect closure for this volume.

To conclude: I'd thoroughly recommend this collection for any reader who enjoys good fiction. If you dislike King's work because you think it's too scary or the horror aspect doesn't appeal to you, this could be a great way to discover the other side of his work - the emotional, sensitive one. It would make you think and reminiscence about things you though were long forgotten. All stories are utterly original and independent; even if you are a long time King reader and have read most of his work, you'll discover this volume provides a fresh breath of imagination without author intrusion or any hint of staleness and boredom. This is a work of a master storyteller at his absolute peak, and when you'll reach the last page it will make you want to flip it over and start again. A truly fantastic collection, worth a place on every shelf.(less)

15 likes · like · see review

Jul 21, 2012 Chris rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Ridiculous man in a pair of ridiculous sneakers. Such a ridiculous man hardly deserved to live. Todd touched the barrel of the .30-.30.

I haven't read any of these novellas for ages, and so have no idea how they would fare were I to wander their distantly familiar and nostalgically comfortable fictive roads at the present time. I suspect that they would do just fine, though I have to admit that I've no taste or desire for any of King's newer stuff and have found that some of his stories I've revi...more Ridiculous man in a pair of ridiculous sneakers. Such a ridiculous man hardly deserved to live. Todd touched the barrel of the .30-.30.

I haven't read any of these novellas for ages, and so have no idea how they would fare were I to wander their distantly familiar and nostalgically comfortable fictive roads at the present time. I suspect that they would do just fine, though I have to admit that I've no taste or desire for any of King's newer stuff and have found that some of his stories I've revisited over the past half decade have not aged all that well. But Different Seasons would have to remain a sterling work—in Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, Apt Pupil and, particularly, The Body, you have three of the strongest, most impressive and eminently readable stories that the prolific author has ever crafted, matched IMO only by the novels The Stand and It . The fourth part of this collection, The Breathing Method, in my estimation never possessed the storytelling chops to rank with its three page-bound brethren, but yet doesn't detract from the overall superlative quality of the whole. It might be that King is a youngling author, best read in those formative years when so many fictional tropes seem new and the verisimilitude and fertile creativity he can bring to his characters draws the reader in with effortless power. In any event, I freaking loved this book in my teens and read it over and again, held rapt by Apt Pupil and engrossed by The Body; and of the latter, felt that he captured those pivotal and yet precarious years of pubescent friendship in a signature frame, revealed as the compressed and solid spiritual core that will endure tests, trials, and, eventually, the irresistible pressures and forces brought to bear by time, death, society, force, and diverging lives. In those boxed moments, childhood friendships wend magical, every day eternal in that a world, an existence beyond seems unthinkable—unless you think upon it, look outward and inward, as do Gordie, apprehensively, and Chris, intuitively. Melancholic and nostalgic and even tragic, but a lingeringly wonderful sequential accomplishment all the same. Slipstream into spinning the bottle one-eighty, regarding the awaiting pursed lips as two quivering internal organs on ice, smashing a hammer down upon the bored play of rakes and abattoirs, and meditating fondlingly upon the erotic potential of mass murder and other gooshy stuff and you will have comfortably transitioned into Apt Pupil, where hope springs a leak altogether.(less)

12 likes · like · see review

Jan 21, 2012 Anthony Chavez rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: short-stories, the-classics

The four stories in "Different Seasons" are "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption", "Apt Pupil", "The Body", and "The Breathing Method".

Most readers can relate to Shawshank and The Body, which have been made into big hit movies, and somewhat with Apt Pupil which was also made into a movie, although it is not as well known. (For those unaware, The Body was titled "Stand By Me") Oddly enough, it was the fourth and final story of the collection that had the biggest impact on me, The Beathing Meth...more The four stories in "Different Seasons" are "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption", "Apt Pupil", "The Body", and "The Breathing Method".

Most readers can relate to Shawshank and The Body, which have been made into big hit movies, and somewhat with Apt Pupil which was also made into a movie, although it is not as well known. (For those unaware, The Body was titled "Stand By Me") Oddly enough, it was the fourth and final story of the collection that had the biggest impact on me, The Beathing Method.

The Shawshank Redemption centers around Andy Dufrense, a man who claims to be wrongfully accused of his wife and her lovers murder and is sent to prison. While in prison, due to his education, astuteness, and previous job on the outside as a banker, he becomes an asset to guards and warden and this gets him special privileges and affords him some protections that other prisoners don't get. Despite this, Andy dreams of ways to escape from the nightmare that is life at Shawshank. His story is told through the eyes of Red, the go-to man in Shawkshank to smuggle things inside, who through the course of the story becomes a friend of Andy's. Shawshank was an absolutely beautiful piece of literature, and a great movie. This, in itself, is strange when talking of King novels turned big screen. The movie followed the story very closely. The biggest difference is that the movie goes into more detail of the prisoners becoming "institutionalized" through the trials of Brooks, the librarian. For those who haven't seen the movie, where have you been? It's still the #1 movie on the Internet Movie Database. The are minor tweaks to the story, some things cut, others elaborated, which is true with most movies; however, this one turned out great in both versions.

The next story, Apt Pupil, is about a boy who has discovered the location of a World War II Nazi war criminal living in his neighborhood. Blackmailing the old man, he makes him tell him stories of what the war, internment camps, and his job during the war were really like, every gory detail. Together they both rely on each other to keep secrets and keep them both from harm. The two develop a relationship which leads to some very dark, disturbing things occurring. It's a good story, but in my mind the lesser of the four.

The Body is a story of young boys who, upon hearing the location of the dead body of a kid their own age, set out to find it. It is filled with adolescent angst and the trials of trying to fit in with each other and their differently abusive families. Each of the four boys have a totally different family background, which I think makes for a great story. Gordie, the narrator, manages to have the reader relating to each of them. Gordie, however, has an essentially anonymous homelife. The boys fears, hopes, dreams, and other emotions come out as they look for the poor boy who has nothing to hope for anymore. The actual event of finding the body is sort of anti-climatic, the story is more about the journey to get their and the dangers they encounter and risks they take.

The final story really isn't much of a story, but it left the biggest impact because of King's writing. It is the tale of a man who has been asked to join a "club" by his boss, (everything is quite secretive and there is an unspoken rule not to talk about certain things) where the main function is telling stories. Especially exciting are the stories told around Christmas time and the narrator uses this story you and I are reading to specifically tell the story of the "breathing method" which is told by one of the members, who is a doctor, and is about a young unmarried woman pregnant with her first child. In this story, the motto is.... "It's the tale, not he who tells it." This story, combined with the afterword in my opinion, make a strong statement on King's works, and give us an insight into King's thoughts on his own writings. King has been stereotyped as a horror writer, in fact while reading this I was in a doctor's lobby and when they called me in the doctor said, "what is it you are reading?" and when I turned the book cover around for her to see she jumped and said, "oh no, that is much too scary for me, all of his writing is," but he is just a brilliant, diverse writer. Is it so much what he writes, or the tale that he tells? I'll leave that to you to decide.

The characters in all of these books were well written. My favorite of course was Andy and Red in the Shawshank Redemption. I felt particular loathing for all of the characters in Apt Pupil, but I suppose that is what King was trying to get out of the reader as no one was a very likeable in it. The boys in The Body were ok; most of their lives were pitiable but I never really felt any real connection to any of them. The characters in The Breathing Method were nice, but nothing special and there wasn't enough about them to make you interested in their lives.

Kings writing was fabulous in all the books. His books are very mature in theme though and this particular one includes gore, sex, rape fantasies, racial slurs and other potentially offensive material. Most specifically, Apt Pupil was very sickening and had loads of explicit material in it. The most mild would probably be The Breathing Method. I would have liked King to expand more on this story as he had an interesting side story, but it wasn't fully fleshed out and what could have been a marvelous idea, was cut short. All in all this was a great read especially for King fans.
(less)

12 likes · like · see review

May 04, 2008 Ashley rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: mature teens and adults

Recommended to Ashley by: my grandma

Shelves: by-stephen-king

In the Shawshank Redemption, several different stories are combined together to produce a novel, which is basically a different season for each story.

Hope Springs Eternal- The first story, Rita Hayworth, is about a man by the name of Andy who is Shawshank Redemption, a prison, on a false charge of murder. But in the end, his brain outsmarts the warden and guards. What he does his stunning... but I cant say what it it... you will just have to find out.

Summer of Corruption- The second story, Apt...more

8 likes · like · see review

Jun 19, 2007 Lindsay rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: anyone who likes Stephen King, or anyone who doesn't like horror (please see review)

Shelves: stuff-by-the-king

"Different Seasons" is a collection of 4 novellas by Stephen King. It is not typical King fare - none of these novellas fall into the "horror" genre that King is so well-known for.
The book starts out with "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption," which is absolutely superb. If you liked the movie, you will like the novella. It's one of King's best non-horror pieces, in my opinion; the film version is also (again, in my opinion) the best adaptation of any of King's work. "Rita Hayworth and th...more

6 likes · like · see review

May 02, 2011 A.J. rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

This is not a review for the entire collection, Different Seasons. I intend to read it at some point, but when I came across this audiobook I couldn't pass it up.

The enduring fame of Shawshank is in large part thanks to the film. I've found many people are surprised to hear that Stephen King wrote it. I'm guessing these are the same people that believe he's just a horror writer, and here you can almost hear the strained twang of elitism in the voice. But sorry, Charlie, Uncle Steve has a bag and...more This is not a review for the entire collection, Different Seasons. I intend to read it at some point, but when I came across this audiobook I couldn't pass it up.

The enduring fame of Shawshank is in large part thanks to the film. I've found many people are surprised to hear that Stephen King wrote it. I'm guessing these are the same people that believe he's just a horror writer, and here you can almost hear the strained twang of elitism in the voice. But sorry, Charlie, Uncle Steve has a bag and it's full of tricks. For my part, I sort of assumed before listening to the novella that sure, the story would be okay, but the film was obviously going to be a major improvement. You could say I was right and wrong about that.

Frank Darabont's 1994 film The Shawshank Redemption is one of the greatest films ever made. It's also one of the most watchable. Directed, casted, shot, scored, and scripted to near perfection, there's hardly a naysayer willing to show his face. Sometimes in a group project like filmmaking the parts just come together, and like a good symphony it creates something truly special. It's not surprising, then, that some folks might approach the novella with suspicion. It's a legitimate fear: how the hell could anything possibly compete with something that good, even if it is the friggin source material?

The bridge, I believe, is that the two were very close. Yes, the film had the opportunity to smooth over and rearrange the plot a little. The novella strikes me as slightly more plausible and realistic in retrospect, and seems more bent on character than a prison break story. There were a few minor alterations such as the character of Warden Norton––who is a composite of three characters from the novella––being given a more substantial role as a villain. But in general the differences were mild.

I enjoyed the reader. He captured the smooth rolling quality of King's prose, and even though he was attempting to compete in a sense with Morgan Freeman's Ellis Redding––or suicide, as I would normally call it––there weren't many times aside from the final monologue where I thought a change of cast was in order.

I once again stop shy of five stars because the novella, while a wonderfully engrossing read, was not quite as good as the movie. I reserve the sacred five star rating for things like the film, the unforgettable, the near numinous works of art that go unfazed by time and use. They were close, but there is a gap between them. And so I would say that while the film was an improvement, it was not a major one. Read the story, and be merry.

"I find I'm so excited I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it is the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope...."(less)

3 likes · like · see review

Jan 24, 2008 Beau rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: practically anyone

Recommended to Beau by: Adam

I first read this book when I was at a lousy college in Oregon. A friend of mine was into Stephen King, and I'd just discovered that I liked him, and I plowed through all of this guy's King books in a semester, including The Stand.

This book has stuck with me the most, and it is the one I keep returning too. While the fourth "Season" The Breathing Method, never did anything for me, the other three stories in it, Apt Pupil, The Body (Stand By Me), and Shawshank, are astounding. This is King befor...more

14 likes · like · see review

Nov 23, 2012 Lee rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012-gr-challenge

Four stories by my favorite author in one book, who could ask for anything more? Most of you are familiar with three of these stories because they have been made into movies. Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, Apt Pupil, The Body, and The Breathing Method.

This was a re-read for me, but I must say I didn't remember The Breathing Method at all. Previously I would have said The Body was my favorite of the four stories. The movie, Stand By Me is also one of my favorites. I must now change t...more

3 likes · like · see review

May 07, 2012 Stefan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This collection of novellas should easily be counted among King's best works. Of the four tales contained here, three have been made into successful motion pictures, two of which I would rank among my top fifty favorite films. Contained in this collection are: Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, Apt Pupil, The Body (better known from the film version titled "Stand By Me"), and The Breathing Method. The stories are all very well different and for the most part stray away from the horror genre...more This collection of novellas should easily be counted among King's best works. Of the four tales contained here, three have been made into successful motion pictures, two of which I would rank among my top fifty favorite films. Contained in this collection are: Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, Apt Pupil, The Body (better known from the film version titled "Stand By Me"), and The Breathing Method. The stories are all very well different and for the most part stray away from the horror genre for which King is most well known although all of them do contain something fairly horrifying at some point or another and I would consider Apt Pupil to be among some of his scariest tales.

Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption: This is a tale of the friendship between two men that happen to be incarcerated in Shawshank prison. this tale showcases King's strong character development skills and contains enough twists and turns to keep the storyline moving at a pace that keeps the reader interested. All in all an extremely enjoyable and well written story that translated into a great movie.

Apt Pupil: To be perfectly blunt, this one scared the bejeepers out of me. Not in a spooky scary sort of way, but in a holy crap the two main characters are truly evil sort of way. This "buddy" tale takes the notion of the evil that resides inside of each of us to an entirely new level as a young boy befriends an elderly gentleman who he believes is actually a Nazi war criminal in hiding. The resulting relationship formed between the two is truly chilling. I don't recall too much about the film version of this one, I guess I'll have to watch it again.

The Body: This coming of age story centers on a group of four boys on a journey to see the dead body of a boy that they all once knew. Their adventure takes place over a several day trek along the railroad tracks. Along the way, they all take a journey within themselves and an adventure that started out as something fun becomes instead a somber trek of self-discovery and maturing. The movie Stand By Me was made from this novella and follows the storyline very closely, I can't help but picture Will Wheaton, River Phoenix and the others from the movie cast when reading this.

The Breathing Method: This is actually a frame story in which an outer tale serves as the setting for a tale to be told within the story. The outer storyline focuses on a man who is invited to join an exclusive club of sorts by one of his coworkers. At the club, members take turns from time to time telling tales, the best of which are reserved for Christmas. The story of "The Breathing Method" is actually the Christmas tale for that particular year and is the strange story of a doctor and a pregnant unwed mother. Both the outer and inner tales contain an element of the supernatural. Some consider this to be the most well-written piece in the collection. While I don't necessarily agree with that notion myself, I did find it to be a fairly entertaining piece and a nice end-cap to a very strong collection.(less)

3 likes · like · see review

Oct 19, 2012 Melanie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Rita Heyworth and Shawshank Redemption is amazing - it's Shawshank! Though I've got to say I think I prefer the way the ending was reached in the film, though that's probably because I saw the film first (and several times) and so in my head that's the way it's 'supposed' to be. And I think I read the whole thing in Morgan Freeman's voice!

Apt Pupil was completely engrossing and quite chilling. A teenage boy unearths a terrible secret about an old man, and his actions drastically change both thei...more

3 likes · like · see review

Sep 28, 2010 Miss Kim rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: king-stephen, horror-or-mystery, 2010, story-collection-or-anthology

REREADING thru 2010

The Body - 5 stars - This is more of a commentary on the comparison between story and the movie. This short story is the base for one of my favorite movies, "Stand by Me". I first read it back in the day (shhh), before the movie came out. After I saw it, I couldn't decide which was better. The second read was just as good as the first!

I hold Gordy LeChance, Chris Chambers, Teddy DuChamp, and Vern Tessio, close to my heart as some of my favorite young heroes. They set out to se...more

3 likes · like · see review

Jan 14, 2013 Josiah rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The general consensus is that The Breathing Method sucks... to me Rita Hayworth was the worst.

2 likes · like · see review

Sep 25, 2008 Fabian rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This one is closer to the EXCELLENT side of the S.K. spectrum (THE GREEN MILE, CARRIE and THE STAND come to mind) than the MEDIOCRE side (INSOMNIA, BAG OF BONES). Yes, these tales are familiar: three of the four seasons have become immortalized on celluloid.

Not until the last Author's Note do his intentions and his themes finally converge. He wrote "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption", "Apt Pupil", "The Body" and "The Breathing Method" as unpublishable novellas right after the completion of...more This one is closer to the EXCELLENT side of the S.K. spectrum (THE GREEN MILE, CARRIE and THE STAND come to mind) than the MEDIOCRE side (INSOMNIA, BAG OF BONES). Yes, these tales are familiar: three of the four seasons have become immortalized on celluloid.

Not until the last Author's Note do his intentions and his themes finally converge. He wrote "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption", "Apt Pupil", "The Body" and "The Breathing Method" as unpublishable novellas right after the completion of one novel each "with just enough gas left in the tank." Wow.

More than any pop culture writer, King is almost never a boring or dull read. I need to read him sporadically because after reading 20+* of his novels I know where to go to be entertained. (*Ok, just for fun: I've read CARRIE, THE STAND, CUJO, CHRISTINE, PET SEMETARY, CYCLE OF THE WEREWOLF, IT, EYES OF THE DRAGON, MISERY, THE TOMMYKNOCKERS, DARK TOWER #4, THE DARK HALF, NEEDFUL THINGS, GERALD'S GAME, DOLORES CLAIBORNE, INSOMNIA, DESPERATION, THE GREEN MILE, THINNER, THE REGULATORS, NIGHT SHIFT, DIFFERENT SEASONS, FOUR PAST MIDNIGHT, NIGHTMARES AND DREAMSCAPES, CREEPSHOW, BAG OF BONES, EVERYTHING'S EVENTUAL, THE GIRL WHO LOVED TOM GORDON, CELL) But I am no expert nor can I say I subscribe to the King Collective Mythology. Sometimes all his characters share the same voice, regardless of sex. It is all Stephen King.

This time, these stories were all non-Horror 'cept one. "Shawshank" saw a better reincarnation as the Darabont film--the novella is short, gives a "Cool Hand Luke" vibe, is an impressive testament of life on the cell block (GREEN MILE is the epitome of these).

"Apt Pupil" was very morbid, an "American Psycho" meets "American Pastoral." The film is also better because Ian McKellen doesn't "come out of the closet", so to speak: he does not admit being part of the Nazi party in a long ago past 'til much later. The movie hints at his monstrosity...King just shows it with as little censorship as humanely possible(duh). In the book he is a ruthless killer (expected for a Nazi) AND so is the kid, the apprentice (SHOCK!). New Horror meets old school terror--very clever, almost poetic in its implications of suburban infiltrators that are not the boogeymen--they are the residents themselves. Also- the monster gene can resurface at any age with any generation.

"The Body", made famous by the ever-popular "Stand By Me" movie, is an idyllic tale that places the innocent naivete of childhood in the backwoods--where terror lurks. It is an obvious metaphor for growing up. Everything in childhood is fragile. The image of the dead boy, in sharp contrast to the robust lives of our four protagonists is quite intuitive for a fabulist like King.

Lastly, "The Breathing Method" is THE unexpected treat. It is so morbid and macabre... I had not been that shocked in a really long time. It is the exposed finger beckoning from the plumbing in the sink in NIGHTMARES AND DREAMSCAPES: an image that stays with you for years and years. If you are tired/superfamiliar with the aforementioned films, read the last 60 pages of this novella collection: totally worth it!

The four season motifs don't really fit the representative tales. "Hope Springs Eternal" for SHAWSHANK makes sense... you know this story will end well (after 27 years the dude escapes!). "Summer of Corruption" fits PUPIL except this story takes place over many DIFFERENT months, no particular season. "Fall from Innocence"---BODY occurs at the end of the summer (I guess that's not too bad a fit). "A Winter's Tale" is the forgotten gem of the book...METHOD is a story within a story (clever device indeed for the masterful storyteller).

King says "It is the tale, not he who tells it." This is incredibly true in this instance: the stories themselves, like the seasons, have unique flavors, have original themes; the stories are SO GOOD not even Stephen King could mess it up with his often-seen redundancy (none of that here!) or his mimicry of others' works (these are all 100% original).

This is one of his better ones. "It is the tale..." (less)

5 likes · like · see review

May 07, 2007 Carly rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

most people are surprised Stephen King wrote this. first, you can read this in 1 hour because it's a 100-page novella. Second, while most books do not translate well into film, with the exception of two minor character developments, this film is a REMARKABLE reflection of the book. If you liked the movie, read this. if you have not seen the film, read this first, then see the film. But wait a month or so after you read, then watch. because if you watch right away, you will be reciting lines in y...more

2 likes · like · see review

Jul 24, 2011 Lisa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'll do this by story.

Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption:
Not bad, but it lacked something that the movie had. The characters in the movie were so well portrayed and had so much depth. I didn't feel anything for them in the story. They could've been anyone. I'd recommend the movie instead of this.

Apt Pupil:
I saw the movie version years ago and from what I remember, this is much better. It also seemed to span more time than the movie does. When Todd first shows up on Dussander's porch, he...more

2 likes · like · see review

Mar 17, 2009 Jamie added it · review of another edition

I bought this to read Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption. Don't know if I will read the other novellas, since horror is not my thing.

Rita Hayworth was very good, but it's overshadowed by the excellent movie. I couldn't not hear Morgan Freeman as the narrator's voice.

2 likes · like · see review

Dec 30, 2012 J.S. Bailey rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shawshank and The Breathing Method were pretty good. I thought that Apt Pupil and The Body were a little long-winded.

2 likes · like · see review

Sep 22, 2012 Lisa Eckstein rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2010

This collection of four novellas was my first foray into Stephen King's writing.

I was sucked into "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption" as fast as I was into the excellent movie made from it, which I saw only a few years ago. I was a little sad as I read that I couldn't be surprised by what happens, but I did appreciate how knowing the ending allowed me the pleasure of picking up on the hints and foreshadowing as the story unfolds.

I hadn't seen the movie based on "Apt Pupil" and didn't know a...more

1 like · like · see review

Jul 14, 2012 Pamela Huxtable rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: pop-fiction

Anyone who pigeonholes Stephen King by classifying his works as just horror needs to read this collection. There are four novellas in this collection, each named for a different season. Much of this material is familiar, as three of the four stories have been made into mainstream movies.

Of the four novellas, "the Body" is definitely the standout. This story was the source material for the film Stand By Me. Achingly nostalgic for a time that no longer exists, it is a absolute first rate coming o...more

1 like · like · see review

Aug 19, 2011 Daniel Villines rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I was once a huge Stephen King fan. I've read the book about the people that were transformed into battery-starved aliens, the one where the family cat was brought back to life, his vampire novel, and others. Then I read Different Seasons, and specifically “The Body,” and something in my mind recognized how books could be a window into the human experience. King continued to publish longer and longer books after Different Seasons and I continued to read them, but the need and the opportunity to...more

1 like · like · see review

Nov 05, 2010 Bipin rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"There's guy like me in every state and federal prison in America,I guess -I'm the guy who can get it for you.Tailor made cigarettes,a bag of reefer,if you're partial to that,a bottle of brandy to celebrate your son or daughter's high school graduation,or almost everything else...within reason,that is."
So begins "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption".A novella written by Stephen King,it is about a man Andy Dufresne,who has been unjustly convicted for murdering is wife and her lover.The sto...more

1 like · like · see review

Jan 15, 2010 J. Alfred rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

One of my professors used to say that you can't judge between books and movies since they're different artistic mediums. In his view, saying "the book is better than the movie" is about the same as saying, for instance, "Blake's illustration of 'the Tyger' is way better than his poem", which is silly, in that there is no objective scale which covers both art forms in any comparable way. I find this proposition hogwash. Both mediums are telling the same story: to say that one is better just means...more

2 likes · like · see review

Jan 01, 2009 Robin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Anyone

I would have given this book 5 stars if Breathing Method was not part of it. I read this years and years ago and was discussing Shawshank and The body with a few others here on GoodReads and it got me itching for a re-read.

This is some of the best King there is - and the movie adaptations of the first 2 (Shawshank and The Body - Called Stand by Me in the movie) is just great writing. Of course these works were "different" for King at the time as they were not horror but it just goes to show what...more

1 like · like · see review

Jul 01, 2008 Heidi rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

I picked this collection of stories up because I was curious to see how various stories have been adapted to the big screen. It just so happens that the basis of two of the best movies ever made, The Shawshank Redemption and Stand By Me were based on the stories, "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption", and "The Body," both found in this collection. Another story, "Apt Pupil," was also made into a film, but I have yet to see it. After reading the latter story, I'm not sure I want to see the...more I picked this collection of stories up because I was curious to see how various stories have been adapted to the big screen. It just so happens that the basis of two of the best movies ever made, The Shawshank Redemption and Stand By Me were based on the stories, "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption", and "The Body," both found in this collection. Another story, "Apt Pupil," was also made into a film, but I have yet to see it. After reading the latter story, I'm not sure I want to see the film version; it's easily the most terrifying, but more on that later.

I won't summarize the more well known stories because most folks have see the movies (if you haven't, you must) and both stay incredibly true to the text, remarkably true, in fact. I had always assumed, apologies to Mr. King, that the movies happened to be great because of what the filmmakers did with them. This is partially true because each had an outstanding cast and was completely captivating, but Mr. King deserves the majority of the credit here. Andy Dufrane is a magnificently crafted character on screen and equally so in the pages of Different Seasons. There were, of course, the usual substitutions, omissions and additions in the film but the spirit is exactly the same as the written story. It was thrilling to hear Morgan Freeman's voice in my head as I followed Red's narration.

"The Body" was equally exciting to read and I found it dove a bit deeper than the movie, as the book allows for more of Gordie's thoughts than the movie does. This story is particularly good because King's attention to detail is incredibly evocative. Although I've seen the movie more times than I can count, reading this story repainted the images in my mind more vividly than the others did. Unlike "Shawshank," where my imagination was fairly set in its ways (since I've seen the movie uncountable times as well), "The Body" added new textures, sounds, and smells.

"Apt Pupil" is a terribly frightening/fascinating story about a young boy who becomes fixated on a reclusive old man living in his town. Only the boy has discoveed the man to be a former Nazi officer in hiding. It turns out that this old Nazi was no lowly officer either, but in cahoots with Himmler and Hitler, directly responsible for some ghastly horrors. The boy essentially blackmails the old man into telling him stories about his role in the Holocaust, continually asking for more detail and especially wanting what he calls the "gooshy parts." In turn, the boy tells no one who the old man really is.

For a long while it is easy to believe that this boy is simply young and naive about the real horrors of the world, and the Holocaust in particular, thinking it is all just a game. However, as his life becomes more entwined with the old man's, one begins to wonder who is more evil. The story evolves in an unsurprisingly, but unpredictably, violent way, making this story true horror.

The final story, "The Breathing Method," is as much an afterthought as its placement might suggest. It is however, the only story with any hint of the supernatural. It works well as a campfire story and is presented as such. It is short, vaguely interesting, and most certainly lacks the depth the other stories possess.

Reading these stories has given me new respect for Stephen King who, although typecast, has had his share of genius moments. The complexity of his characters is compelling and although the horror genre may put-off some, it's a brilliant mechanism for examining the human condition. Even if the stories in this collection are familiar via Hollywood, they are well worth a read. (less)

2 likes · like · see review

Oct 11, 2007 Joleen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The four novellas in this book are very diverse. Two of them, "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption" and "The Body" were superb. "The Shawshank Redemption" is one of my favorite movies, and the novella is probably one of my favorite stories. I was also excited that in the novella, you actually find out what crime Red is imprisoned for. "The Body" is a great story of friendship and adventure.

"Apt Pupil" is the main reason this book received only 3 stars. It was certainly hard to put down, b...more

2 likes · like · see review

Aug 17, 2007 John Wiswell rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Literary readers, King fans

Different Seasons is a collection of four short novels that prove the diversity of Stephen King’s writing. Apt Pupil follows an American teen who discovers an escaped Nazi lives in his town and antagonizes him until he shares what that time of hatred was like, unsettlingly showing that all the evil in the hearts of Germans sixty years ago can live in ours today. The Body is the other side of the coin, a story of friendship and bonding between boys who adventure to see a corpse before the cops co...more

1 like · like · see review

Jul 19, 2007 Lori rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2007july

Stephen King at his best.

This version contained an epilogue I either hadn't read or had forgotten. King talks about being pigeonholed as a horror writer (and being OK with that), but that he has non-horror tales to tell. Three of his best are in here.

There are a great, great many bad Stephen King movies out there. But two of the best -- Shawshank Redemption and Stand by Me -- come from the poignant tales in this book. Even if you think King writes pulp crap -- and he sometimes does -- you owe it...more

1 like · like · see review

Jun 11, 2008 Jhon(Original) added it · review of another edition

Shelves: advisorybookshelf

I thought this book was Ok. I am not a big fan of books that stay in one setting for the duration of the story. However, the point of the story was very well created. It deals with an inmate named Andy Dufresne and how he spends his time in prison. He makes aquaintences with different inmates, including a man named Red, who is known for smuggling contraband. What I thought the book was about was trying to regain innocence, and redeem oneself from the evil that they have committed and the process...more

1 like · like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 99 100 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
The shawshank redemption	6	37	Dec 27, 2012 06:04am
Stephen King Fans: Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption-DS	15	52	Nov 27, 2012 03:00pm
Book vs. Movie: Different Seasons	45	129	Nov 05, 2012 04:35pm
मम रमभगिनी, रिता हेवर्थ, कल्याणमस्तु, शुभं भवेत! धन्यामहम!	2	18	Sep 24, 2012 02:42pm

combine
Other Editions (90)

More editions...

Genres

Horror

1,139 users

Short Stories

290 users

Thriller

143 users

Mystery

71 users

Fantasy

68 users

Drama

62 users

Suspense

48 users

Classics

44 users

Literature > American

43 users

Adult Fiction

35 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

Creepshow
by Bernie Wrightson (Adaptor, Illustrator)
Five Great Novels
by Philip K. Dick
Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Complete Concordance
by Robin Furth
Nightmare At 20,000 Feet: Horror Stories By Richard Matheson
by Richard Matheson
The Damnation Game
by Clive Barker

About Stephen King

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Stephen Edwin King was born in Portland, Maine in 1947, the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. After his parents separated when Stephen was a toddler, he and his older brother, David, were raised by his mother. Parts of his childhood were spent in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where his father's family...more Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Stephen Edwin King was born in Portland, Maine in 1947, the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. After his parents separated when Stephen was a toddler, he and his older brother, David, were raised by his mother. Parts of his childhood were spent in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where his father's family was at the time, and in Stratford, Connecticut. When Stephen was eleven, his mother brought her children back to Durham, Maine, for good. Her parents, Guy and Nellie Pillsbury, had become incapacitated with old age, and Ruth King was persuaded by her sisters to take over the physical care of the elderly couple. Other family members provided a small house in Durham and financial support. After Stephen's grandparents passed away, Mrs. King found work in the kitchens of Pineland, a nearby residential facility for the mentally challenged.

Stephen attended the grammar school in Durham and then Lisbon Falls High School, graduating in 1966. From his sophomore year at the University of Maine at Orono, he wrote a weekly column for the school newspaper, THE MAINE CAMPUS. He was also active in student politics, serving as a member of the Student Senate. He came to support the anti-war movement on the Orono campus, arriving at his stance from a conservative view that the war in Vietnam was unconstitutional. He graduated from the University of Maine at Orono in 1970, with a B.A. in English and qualified to teach on the high school level. A draft board examination immediately post-graduation found him 4-F on grounds of high blood pressure, limited vision, flat feet, and punctured eardrums.

He and Tabitha Spruce married in January of 1971. He met Tabitha in the stacks of the Fogler Library at the University of Maine at Orono, where they both worked as students. As Stephen was unable to find placement as a teacher immediately, the Kings lived on his earnings as a laborer at an industrial laundry, and her student loan and savings, with an occasional boost from a short story sale to men's magazines.

Stephen made his first professional short story sale ("The Glass Floor") to Startling Mystery Stories in 1967. Throughout the early years of his marriage, he continued to sell stories to men's magazines. Many of these were later gathered into the Night Shift collection or appeared in other anthologies.

In the fall of 1971, Stephen began teaching high school English classes at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels.(less)

More about Stephen King...

Books by Stephen King

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About The Shawshank Red...

41 trivia questions

More quizzes & trivia...

Quotes from Different Seasons

“Get busy living or get busy dying.” — 5,227 people liked it

“The most important things are the hardest to say. They are the things you get ashamed of, because words diminish them -- words shrink things that seemed limitless when they were in your head to no more than living size when they're brought out. But it's more than that, isn't it? The most important things lie too close to wherever your secret heart is buried, like landmarks to a treasure your enemies would love to steal away. And you may make revelations that cost you dearly only to have people look at you in a funny way, not understanding what you've said at all, or why you thought it was so important that you almost cried while you were saying it. That's the worst, I think. When the secret stays locked within not for want of a tellar but for want of an understanding ear.” — 2,429 people liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: Different Seasons featuring The Shawshank Redemption
avg rating	preview: Different Seasons featuring The Shawshank Redemption Goodreads rating: 4.28 (77267 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/155403.Different_Seasons_featuring_The_Shawshank_Redemption?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1172260108l/155403.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/155403.Different_Seasons_featuring_The_Shawshank_Redemption?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Different Seasons featuring The Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King[/url]

Different Seasons featuring The Shawshank Redemption (Different Seasons)

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website