Ranking the novellas in this collection.

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Wayoftheredpanda

Flaming Wonder Telepath
May 15, 2018
4,907
22,094
20
From least to best.

4:The Breathing Method; A very short and very bland novella, I would prefer a novella that focused more on the history of 249B rather than a tale within a tale that isn't that interesting except for the ending. 5/10

3:The Body; An exciting adventure that captures the esscence of boyhood at the start of the '60s. A very likeable tale with very likeable characters, an all around good story.
8/10

2:Apt Pupil; A horror story of a different sort, focusing on the very real evils of corruption and manipulation rather than shape-changing aliens or evil native-American burial grounds. A story that's crazy from start to finish and ends with quite a bang, Apt Pupil is the most King-like story in this collection. 8.5/10

1:R.H. and the Shawshank Redemption; An inspiring tale of a falsely-accused man who plans his great escape. With elements of hope, friendship, and determination, RHSR is a King story you can recommend to anyone. 9/10
 

GNTLGNT

The idiot is IN
Jun 15, 2007
87,651
358,754
62
Cambridge, Ohio
From least to best.

4:The Breathing Method; A very short and very bland novella, I would prefer a novella that focused more on the history of 249B rather than a tale within a tale that isn't that interesting except for the ending. 5/10

3:The Body; An exciting adventure that captures the esscence of boyhood at the start of the '60s. A very likeable tale with very likeable characters, an all around good story.
8/10

2:Apt Pupil; A horror story of a different sort, focusing on the very real evils of corruption and manipulation rather than shape-changing aliens or evil native-American burial grounds. A story that's crazy from start to finish and ends with quite a bang, Apt Pupil is the most King-like story in this collection. 8.5/10

1:R.H. and the Shawshank Redemption; An inspiring tale of a falsely-accused man who plans his great escape. With elements of hope, friendship, and determination, RHSR is a King story you can recommend to anyone. 9/10
....I agree with all except the rating of The Breathing Method.....I thought it was a hella good read, but like you-I wish he'd visit that club more often....ya know what?...that would be a hell of a collection of short stories if he chose to write more, using the club as the over arching setting.....
 

Rrty

Well-Known Member
Jun 4, 2007
1,394
4,588
For me, Apt Pupil is probably the best, but The Body is such a good tale of nostalgia and so different than Pupil that it is hard to compare them, as Kingricefan essentially implied.

I didn't really get into Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption. I don't think I even read the entire story. However, I remember reading enough to know that the writing was superb. The voice was super-compelling. In fact, as someone else said, these four stories are really incredible in terms of their powerful writing...and I don't mean powerful as in somber, or with gravitas...they had that, but the stories simply were fun to read. I mean that kind of power. If I recall, King said he wrote these after doing formal projects. I can see that. Whatever main book he was working on at the time probably was under contract and he had a deadline, so he didn't want to fool around...the writing on these stories seemed not to be bound by any obligatory, usual skill sets...they were just written to express ideas, and to amuse the author himself. At some point, though, King must have realized these were extremely marketable as a collection.

The Breathing Method is indeed a victim of its own awesome construction...you do want to know more about that club. Can someone get word to JJ Abrams to do a deal with Netflix to get a Club series going?...anyone?...
 

doowopgirl

very avid fan
Aug 7, 2009
6,946
25,119
65
dublin ireland
I have to put Rita Hayworth first. A perfect example of how prison doesn't work. The Body has to be second because it embodies the ideal of the friends you have when you're twelve and you're on the brink of teenage years. The choices you make and how they affect you. Apt Pupil because it tells how monsters hide everywhere. The Breathing Method started out good, but the ending was just blah. Like others we might have benefitted from a visit to the storytellers.