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Different Seasons [Paperback]

Stephen King (Author)
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 560 pages
  • Publisher: Hodder Paperbacks (8 May 2006)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0340899077
  • ISBN-13: 978-0340899076
  • Product Dimensions: 17.2 x 11.2 x 4.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 201,121 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
    #62 in  Books > Horror > Short Stories

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Stephen King
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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

Different Seasons is a collection of four novellas, markedly different in tone and subject, each on the theme of a journey. The first is a rich, satisfying, non-horrific tale about an innocent man who carefully nurtures hope and devises a wily scheme to escape from prison. The second concerns a boy who discards his innocence by enticing an old man to travel with him into a reawakening of long-buried evil. In the third story, a writer looks back on the trek he took with three friends on the brink of adolescence to find another boy's corpse. The trip becomes a character-rich rite of passage from youth to maturity.

These first three novellas have been made into well-received movies: Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption into Frank Darabont's 1994 The Shawshank Redemption, Apt Pupil into Bryan Singer's 1998 film Apt Pupil, and The Body into Rob Reiner's Stand by Me (1986).

The final novella, Breathing Lessons is a horror yarn told by a doctor, about a patient whose indomitable spirit keeps her baby alive under extraordinary circumstances. It's the tightest, most polished tale in the collection. --Fiona Webster --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

'One of the great storytellers of our time' (Guardian )

'A writer of excellence' (The Sunday Times )
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Customer Reviews

27 Reviews
5 star:
 (19)
4 star:
 (8)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
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Average Customer Review
4.7 out of 5 stars (27 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Four out of four, 11 Aug 2006
By Jane Aland (England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   
This review is from: Different Seasons (Paperback)
Different Seasons is a collection of 4 novellas, and is notable for seeing King beginning to stretch away from writing just horror tales, though there is certainly enough macabre moments contained here to keep the more bloodthirsty fans happy. `Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption' tells the story of a wrongly convicted murderer and his escape from prison, seemingly a tale told so many times there's nothing more to add, but King transforms this into a beautifully moving character study. `Apt Pupil', while containing no supernatural elements, is certainly close to King's horror territory, being a disturbing a tale about a young boys blackmail of an ex-Nazi concentration camp commandant. A trifle overlong perhaps (this `novella' is around the same length of King's debut novel Carrie) but the bizarre double-blackmail relationship between the two characters is compulsive, and the dispassionate finale is memorable. `The Body' is undoubtedly the highlight of the collection, and certainly one of the best things King has ever written - a thinly-disguised childhood reminiscence fictionalised as a successful authors thinly-disguised childhood reminiscence - it captures brilliantly the coming of age from childhood to adulthood, and features some of King's best prose. Finally `The Breathing Method' is a back to basics old-fashioned horror story - all the basic tropes are familiar genre favourites: the mysterious gentleman's club where Lovecraftian things slither out of sight in upstairs rooms; the Victorian-style Christmas fireside ghost story - but King injects some modern-day grand guignol splatter horror to keep things fresh - slightly ridiculous, but good fun.

With four long stories in different genres, and every one in it's own way is successful, this is an excellent collection, and one of King's best books.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Marvellous Storytelling., 20 July 2006
This review is from: Different Seasons (Paperback)
I recommend Different Seasons for all non Stephen King fans. All his `constant readers', like myself will read any of his work regardless and therefore be able to taste this books sheer brilliance. For all those who believed Stephen King to be another `pulp horror writer' please pick this up and be proven wrong. There is nothing Horror about this book. Different Seasons not only exemplifies talented writing, each novella evokes the true essence of what storytelling should be; original ideas captured brilliantly in the short space of a couple of hundred pages. So before you set on your seasonal holiday and go for yet another `sex and shopping' or `who dunnit' manufactured and contrived `bestseller' stop and rethink; here is a writer who takes care of his readers, here is a writer who would write even if he hadn't made a heck of a lot of money from it. The book holds a journey for everyone, just as people enjoy different seasons of the year, just as people like to laugh, cry or be serious: but the end result will be the same, you will not be disappointed.

A quick note; some of his novellas in Different Seasons have become blockbusters they you may or may not have seen. Despite them being good movies they do say the book is better for a reason.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A spectrum of emotions in four short stories..., 14 Aug 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: Different Seasons (Paperback)
I picked this book up a couple of years ago with the intention of using my own imagination to re-structure two of my favourite films, Shawshank Redemption and Stand by me. However, on finishing the anthology, I was struck by, as a first time King reader, the man's extraordinary gift of involving his audience, both spiritually and emotionally. Shawshank proved better than its celluloid counterpart, with a greater sense of character evoked in both Andy and Red. The Breathing Method proved a revelation, a tightly maintained and chilling tale. Admittedly I found Apt Pupil a little long winded, I felt that the story lacked the same superior character driven element as the other tales. For me the real triumph was The Body. As someone who has lost a dear friend, I'm not ashamed to admit that I cried when reading King's description of Chris's death, as it's poignancy and sensitivity was beautifully crafted and handled. Buy this book now...
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Birthday Present
I bought this book for my son as he was having to reveiw Shawshank Redemtion for his Standard grade. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Mrs. C. Grant

4.0 out of 5 stars Book Review
Not the first of Stephen King's books that I have read, definetly one that is easier to read though. It's split in to 4 novella's, compelling as ever.
Published 12 months ago by WJR

5.0 out of 5 stars different seasons
What a cracking book (4 stories) with APT PUPIL being my favourite.
Once you start reading you dont put it down and this book would make a wonderful gift for anyone who... Read more
Published 17 months ago by marcus

5.0 out of 5 stars Masterful
Any writer would give their eye teeth for for just one of these story ideas. It's a mark of King's genius that he can almost throw them away as short novellas (though he does... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Jeffrey M. Black

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing
This is one of my favourite books.
We have four short stories, each around a bit more than 100 pages long and corresponding with the four different seasons. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Zoe A.

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible Collection
Different Seasons is a collection of 4 novella's, each rather different but all incredibly well written. Read more
Published on 15 Aug 2008 by J. Vale

5.0 out of 5 stars Art of the Novella
Different Seasons is a collection of 4 novellas, each set in a different season. The stories do not interlink except for a few minor references to each other here and there... Read more
Published on 11 July 2007 by D. Thompson

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Novellas
If you are in any doubt about the quality of these stories, consider the fact that 3 out of the 4 have been made into films. Read more
Published on 26 July 2006 by S J Buck

5.0 out of 5 stars The greatest King book of all and it isn't horror!
King at his best! This book is actually four short stories and begins with the wonderful, clever and beautiful story of "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption", perhaps one... Read more
Published on 4 Jun 2006 by Mr. Gerard Mcnamara

5.0 out of 5 stars Want to silence a King critic? Give him Different Seasons
For all those who doubt the fact that Stephen King is one of the all-time great masters at the craft of writing, there is Different Seasons. Read more
Published on 31 Oct 2005 by Daniel Jolley

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