Related
Stephen Kingsurprised readers in 1982 with the release ofDifferent Seasons , a collection of four novellas that had a far more striking knack than the horror write he had become know for . With each account linked through their subheadings that represented the year ’s four time of year , three out of four of these novellas wereadapted into popular Hollywood films . While there ’s something special about every tale in this aggregation , the truth was that some were better than others and have achieve far more cultural relevance in the decades sinceDifferent Seasonswas released .
Different Seasonswas one ofKing ’s most acclaimed works , as itsfilm adaptations likeStand By MeandThe Shawshank Redemptionstand as some of the author ’s well - known and well - loved works . feature genre - bending stories that bring together coming - of - age high-mindedness , thrilling psychological repulsion , and an iconic prison dodging tale , this assembling play up the sheer diverseness of King ’s talent and his power to wiretap into endless emotion and themes . As a defining work from one of the heavy writers of the innovative age , Different Seasonswasessential take for King sports fan .
4The Breathing Method
Subtitle: A Winter’s Tale
WhileThe Breathing Methodwas not a bad account by any measure , it was the least memorable of the four included inDifferent Seasons . With a setup involving a attorney invited to a unknown gentleman ’s order , much of the tale affect the older medico Dr. Emlyn McCarron telling the unbelievable tale of his affected role Sandra Stansfield , who was driven to give birth to her outlaw tyke despite money problems and societal disapproval . AlthoughSandra was decapitated on her style to the hospital , she was still capable to go through with the birth through Dr. McCarron ’s strange external respiration method acting .
As the only level inDifferent Seasonsnot to be made into a Hollywood feature film , The Breathing Methodlacks the popular cultural relevance of the rest of the collection and was the watery of the crowd . With a chilling termination that brought to mind the disgraceful twists get a line in serial publication likeThe Twilight Zone , this story contained the supernatural and horror elements reader had come to carry from King , which were miss from the majority of the collection . WhileThe Breathing Methodwas packed with fascinating ideas , it just was n’t as fully actualize as the others .
3Apt Pupil
Subtitle: Summer of Corruption
Stephen King fully comprehend his creepy-crawly side in the dark psychological storyApt Pupil . assure the storey of the teen Todd Bowden and his connection with the aged Nazi war deplorable Kurt Dussander , who was live secretly under the name Arthur Denker , Todd uses his noesis of Dussander ’s horrific past times to blackmail him and even force him to march on command in his SS Oberleutnants uniform . With slowly unfolding terror , both main lineament in this chilling floor were just as condemnable as each other .
Apt Pupilwas the only story inDifferent Seasonsthat was told in the third person , and this disconnect between the reader and the characters made their flagitious acts all the more grisly . As Todd and Dussander descend further into twisted corruption , Apt Pupilrevealed itself as a character cogitation into the depth of adult male ’s capability for evil . While this narrative had a lot of interesting points to make , it was also the most controversial and divisive aspect of the total collection , and , despitea film adaption asterisk Ian McKellen , it ’s not as well be intimate as some of the others .
2The Body
Subtitle: Fall from Innocence
One of the most darling novelette in Stephen King ’s total calling wasThe Body , which was magnificently adapted into the filmStand by Me . As a fall - of - old age tale about twelve - yr - old Gordie LaChance and his three friends venture on a pursuance to detect a dead body along the railroad tracks , The Bodyaddressed the red of naturalness , mortality , and the transition out of childhood . As an autobiographic write up , much ofThe Bodywas inspired by King ’s own childhood , let in a traumatic event that see him witness his friend being fatally strike by a train .
While the paper of death looms magnanimous overThe Body , it was also an astounding model of King ’s gift as a striking author and power to capture the idealism , inflammation , and dark sides of maturate up . Director Rob Reiner ’s photographic film adaptation has also helped bolsterThe Body’sreputation , asStand by Mestands as one of the greatest come up - of - years movies of all time . carry with King ’s signature common sense of humor , The Bodywas an essential reasonDifferent Seasonsstands as a classic , must - read collection .
1Rita Hayworth And Shawshank Redemption
Subtitle: Hope Springs Eternal
Stephen King truly surprise readers with the power , beauty , and timeless resonance ofRita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption , a short novella whose flick adjustment is widely order among the greatest movies of all time . As a prison story told from the perspective of the convict Ellis ' Red ' Redding , this prison house escape history attend Red encounter Andy Dufresne , a gentleman incorrectly convict of killing his married woman and her lover who conducts a plan to comprehend his way out of Shawshank State Penitentiary . With exemption as the force back theme of the report , Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemptionstands asperhaps King ’s greatest non - repulsion - ground story .
Different Seasonswas a collection that spanned many different styles and emotions , yet the persistence of the human spirit and the parkway to domesticise exemption at all cost were never more knock-down than inRita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption . While it ’s reliable that director Frank Darabont may have even improved upon this narrative in his movie version , it was King who laid the groundwork for that all - sentence slap-up feature of speech film with this tarradiddle . Anyone who dismissesStephen Kingas a disposable horror author need only read this tarradiddle to see his credentials as a author of serious literary natural endowment .
