Rating: 
Summary: KING'S BEST COLLECTION BY FAR!!
Review: I remember reading this book when it was first released in 1982. I had graduated from High School the previous year and college was proving too boring. So I read. And read. And read. Three of the four stories in this collection are absolutely some of King's best writing ever. The last story, "The Breathing Method", is not one of my favorites. In fact, I don't like it at all but am quite thankful that it is the shortest of the tales. The other three stories make up for everything (AND MORE) that is lacking in this "Winter's Tale". The first story is "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption." It is not true horror (ala King) but rather is the story of determination and the will to live. This story (and one to follow) is perhaps the best story King ever got adapted to the "Big Screen". It is compelling, thoughtful and has a deeper meaning than just escaping from prison. Andy Dufresne is 'Every Man's Man"...a true survivor and conqueror. The second story, "Apt Pupil", is in my opinion the most disturbing King story ever published (a close second is 'Misery'). Those of us who are "Baby Boomers" remember clearly our parents and grand parents talking about WWII, the Nazis and the horrible things that were done in the Prison Camps. This story brings to the forefront of our minds how closely related "horrorable" and "thrilling" really are, sort of like the thin line between Love and Hate. Insanity comes when that line between being repelled by the thing of horror is replaced by an obsessive need to have that which "bad". And then there is "The Body". I don't think this is as good of a story as "The Long Walk" (written as Richard Bachman) but it certainly is an interesting look at "Boyhood". This story was also adapted for the "Big Screen" as a quality product and perhaps the screenplay was even better than the novella. Regardless, "The Body" once again brings to the surface hidden fears, and desires, that all of us have experienced both in our youth, and now in our maturity. For me, Stephen King has not necessarily improved with "age". But at least three of these stories will always be on my top 50 list for short Novellas. As an aside, I think that Stephen King has made the Novella an acceptible genre for writers...his latest effort, "Hearts in Atlantis", shows how a writer can interelate the Novella into a larger and more encompassing "Opus".
Rating: 
Summary: NOT A TRADITIONAL STEPHEN KING BOOK
Review: It is written in a slowly and tedious language, which is not the typical used by S.K.
I do not recommend it. I did not even finish it.
Rating:
Summary: My 1st. but not my last
Review: Different Seasons
was a good book , i have never read any of stephen kings work before and i don't think i will stop. I enjoyed this book alot, and if you are thinking about getting it i hope you do and enjoy.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Book
Review: This book was good. It was easy to get into at the start. I thought this would be a good book for anybody to read. I really enjoyed reading it.
Rating:
Summary: Stephen Kings most gretest masterpeices
Review: A great novel with unforgettible characters.I would also like to add that Rita Hayworth and The Shawshank Redemtion,that the movie is better and that you should see it first before reading it.I would also like to make some recomendations:Misery,Bag of Bones,Carrie,The Shining,Hearts in Atlantis,and The Talisman.
Rating:
Summary: One of his best
Review: Sometimes collections like this can be hard to judge. Most of the time the author will have ups and downs, with one story that may appeal to one audience and another which appeals to a different one. Different Seasons, however, manages to provide a good body of work that should appeal to just about everybody. To be clear on the content of the book, this is actually two novellas and two short stories--both Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption and The Breathing Method are both on par with such classics as "Bartleby the Scrivener." The format of the book is perhaps a little hokey--the stories follow the seasonal theme--but ultimately that artistic touch is irrelevant to the real appreciation of the book, at worst, and endearing, at best. The stories themselves are excellent, a fact attested to by the production of three major films based on the first three of these pieces. The first presented is Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, and of them all, it's probably the best on the whole. The characters in the story are well written and, all things considered, it's really just a fine story with a positive message that you might not be used to seeing in Stephen King's writing. Second is Apt Pupil, which is more reminiscent of King's usual subject matter and tone, but still manages to provide an engrossing and interesting view into the nature of evil and the parasitic relationship that a man can develop with it. The Body is probably the most endearing of all the stories in the book, even if it is the roughest in terms of production. With a reflective, old-man-on-the-porch-in-the-sunshine voice, King is able to relate this tale of the loss of innocence and the passage into adulthood. The final tale is actually reminiscent of other, older authors than King. The Breathing Method uses several old tricks of such superluminaries as Melville and Hawthorne in its presentation, and manages to wrap an entertaining story around an allegorical examination of the writing process. Taken as a whole, this collection is truly one of the most excellent efforts that King has ever put forth. While he still does tend to bloat a little (a complaint many have about his novels) in the middle two stories, all of them manage to create an atmosphere wholly their own and to take the mind of a reader away to another place, which, as King says in the afterword, is his first and highest goal. While little new ground is broken in the themes King analyzes, the themes themselves all still bear examination. His storytelling is at its height here, and this is a book that all readers should pick up at one point or another. It may not be horror, but that, in this case, cannot be said to be a failing, as King showcases his cross-genre talent. A truly fantastic book.
Rating:
Summary: WOW!
Review: Stephen King best short story collection. "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption" is an excellent story with a suprise ending. "Apt Pupil" is a scary novella aboutan old nazi war crimina; and a boy who uncovers his true identity. "The Body" is an exciting novella about four kids who go to try and find the body of a kid who was hit by a train, these three novellas were all made into movies.The last one "the Breathing Method" is bad enough for different seasons to lose points.
Rating:
Summary: The King Has Just Entered the Building
Review: I remember reading this book back in the eighties when I was in college. Then, as now, I was a big, big Stephen King Fan. I had all of his albums and had been to all of his concerts, so to speak. I kept telling my friends that Stephen King was more than a horror writer, and this is the book I used to convince them finally of how correct I was. I am not aware of how this book's sales compare to that of his other works, but the four stories in this collection, including the Breathing Method, are among the best "stories" of any genre in the past 25 or so years. I am not surprised that three of the four stories have been made into movies (two of them successfully).
Rating:
Summary: The best novel King has ever written
Review: Which is kinda funny considering that this isn't an actual novel, but a collection of short stories. The first stroy, "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank redempetion" is about an innocent man being sent to prison. It is told from another inmate's perspective and is quite good although not the best story in the collection. Apt Pupil is the next story, about an all american boy and an ex-nazi, who start a sick parasitic realtionship. There is alot of meaning to the story about how one cannot look into the abyss without the abyss looking back. The story is kind of spooky, and truthfully I didn't like it, but I appreciate it's exisytence all the same. The Body is the third story and it is about 4 boys who set of to find a dead body. It is a coming of age story. The character of Chris Chambers is totally unforgettable, and I could easily identify with Gordie. The story gives you a look into the lives of Chris and Gordie, that was very well written. This one is my favorite. The Breathing Method is the fourth and final story in the collection. It is about a woman who is pregnant and not married, in the first half of the century. She dies before giving birth, but I won't reveal anything more than that. I go through "seasons" with this book when one story is my favorite, each has had a turn. King is the worlds best writer. Here you have been invited to slip into 4 different worlds. Don't miss your chance. Buy this book.
Rating:
Summary: "Another good thing."
Review: Until I started reading King myself, I had always thought of him as a horror writer. The first book I read by King was IT. After reading that, I realized that he wasn't just a horror writer, but was a good writer who happened to write supernatural tales. Then I read DIFFERENT SEASONS and I realized that King wasn't just a good writer, but is one of America's greatest living authors. King doesn't write to impress the acadmia of America. Instead he writes to tell a story. However, like all great writers, he manages to tell his story, yet subtlely examines social issues all while exploring the different sides of human nature and without distracting from the story. I consider DIFFERENT SEASONS to be some of King's best work. Four novellas are contained within this book, each one examining a different season of the year and a different view of human nature: from the uplifting RITA HAYWORTH AND THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION to the terrifying APT PUPIL to the loss of innocence in THE BODY to the winter's tale of THE BREATHING METHOD. Each story offers a unique perspective at the nature of humanity. My favorite story in the collection is Shawshank and my least favorite is Apt Pupil. Many people do not like The Breathing Method, but that has to do more with the style than the story (out of the four tales it is the one that would be most difficult to turn into a film) and it is the only one with any supernatural undertones. Like all of King's writings, this was a fast read and quite entertaing. However, it is also the most enjoyable King work and one of his most thought-provoking. It's not just a "good thing", it's one of the best of things.
| 
