August's SK Flavor of the Month - Different Seasons (Rita Hayworth, Apt Pupil)

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August's SK Flavor of the Month - Different Seasons (Rita Hayworth, Apt Pupil)

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1jseger9000
elokuu 3, 2009, 1:57 am

Hey folks!

I'm on vacation, so sorry the thread is late.

Anyway, for August we have Different Seasons. In order to give a break to those that want one, we've split Different Seasons up over two months. This month we are reading Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption and Apt Pupil.

I was thinking of starting a thread for each novella, but am not sure how much discussion either will generate. What do you think? Should we have two threads?

I remember back when I first read this book, Stand By Me was the only story to be adapted. I went in to Apt Pupil and Rita Hayworth not knowing anything about either story and was knocked out by each.

I also remember that in my copy of Different Seasons (which touts the Stand By Me movie) Stephen King wrote an introduction where he talks about how he became tagged as a horror writer. He mentions that he had two books that he was thinking of publishing as his second novel. One was 'Salem's Lot and the other was one that he gave a brief description of called Blaze. I wondered for years what he ever did with that novel.

2SirStuckey
elokuu 6, 2009, 4:01 pm

This is one of my favorites by King and I think some of his finest work.

Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption is a pretty great story and it's probably his most beloved adaptation (although a lot of people don't know the story exists). I really think Short Stories/novellas make better adaptations most of the time because they are short enough were the screenwriter can leave most of it in and not make it a 3 hour long movie.

Apt Pupil is probably the most disturbed I've been after reading anything by King (although I've only probably read half of his stuff). Instead of the good vs. bad scenario that we get in a lot of stories, we get a bad vs. bad scenario where its two evil people trying to get the upper hand on the other. As a reader you have no one to root for and you are certain there will be no end to this story that you will leave you feeling good. He took a risk and succeeded.

3Moomin_Mama
elokuu 15, 2009, 8:21 am

I started with Apt Pupil, because I was so impressed by it the first time round (many years ago, so I can't remember exactly what happens). So far it's holding up - Dussander's first wearing of the uniform is chilling, to say the least.

By coincidence, I caught a tasteless sketch yesterday featuring Boy George in prison, carving out a hole for himself in his cell wall behind a poster of some hunk - it was a "trailer" for The Wallwank Redemption. Very, very stupid but it amused me...

4Moomin_Mama
elokuu 21, 2009, 2:12 pm

Finished Apt Pupil, getting stuck into The Shawshank Redemption.

Apt Pupil was very good, but maybe not quite as good as I remember. It's incredibly powerful while it concentrates on Todd and Dussander; they have such an intense, unhealthy relationship and it is extremely claustrophobic. The hospital stay breaks the tension as the Jewish couple are so cartoony and silly, but then builds up as we encounter Rubber Ed again.

As I'm reading The Shawshank Redemption I'm hearing Morgan Freeman in my head. The story and film stick with you and are not forgotten once read/watched, and it is a rare case of the book and film being as good as each other. First time round the details of Andy's escape were a fantastic surprise, but I remember the story all too well so no twists this time round...

5Bookmarque
elokuu 21, 2009, 2:17 pm

Different Seasons was my very first Stephen King. I was probably 13 and I discovered it on a regular babysitting gig. Devoured it, but was upset by it as well. Apt Pupil did most of the upsetting. His view of his girlfriend and the incident with the cat threw me more than did his sniping and vagrant killing for some reason. I have read it a couple times as an adult and I think it still holds up as shocking.

You're right about Shawshank...I can't read it now without Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins, although picturing Clancy Brown isn't hardship duty. :)

6cal8769
elokuu 23, 2009, 10:17 am

I didn't remember much about this book. Shawshank, of course, Made me flash to the movie. (one of my favorites) I was glad that the changes that were made for the movie didn't ruin it for me. Usually I fixate on these and it takes away my enjoyment. I enjoyed the story more because of the movie, I think.

Apt Pupil....creepy, creepy, creepy. I didn't remember it at all and I think my mind blocked it out. Yikes! There are so many bothersome points in this book.

7Moomin_Mama
elokuu 27, 2009, 6:50 am

Finished Shawshank yesterday. Still think it's an amazing tale. It's only the second time I've read it, and I love the thrill of being in on the secret (the draughty cell and other clues). I really didn't see it coming first time round because the tale is so well written and absorbing. It is about Andy, Red, humanity and hope and you don't (or I didn't) see the twist coming at all, even though it seems so obvious once you know.

I think novellas suit King down to the ground; he can be a bit E.C.Comics in short stories, and can go off on too many tangents in his novels (mind you, when he gets either of the above right he's fantastic).

Bookmarque, I agree about the cat and girlfriend parts of Apt Pupil, the first because of the casualness of the violence (which wasn't possible with the vagrants), and the second because it showed how cold and inhuman Todd had become about all areas of his life. His torture fantasies/wet dream were as bad. It was all in the details with this story, and were it not for the hospital stay it would have been one of the bleakest things I've read.

Cal - I think the changes were just right, and why the film and the story are as good as each other. Anything left out wouldn't have translated as well to film; everything added fitted exactly.

8jseger9000
elokuu 28, 2009, 12:34 am

I've just started Different Seasons today and am already halfway through Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption (on a workday yet). I was worried that being in on the twist would spoil the story, but as Moomin pointed out, it is extremely well written.

I've just finished the Burning Court, a classic golden age mystery and think that Andy's mystery is just as compelling and more believable than the one in that book.

9jseger9000
elokuu 30, 2009, 5:24 pm

I finished Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption. Man, it is still powerful even when the ending is known.

I do remember the first time I read the story I was knocked out of my socks by the ending. It was the first of several Stephen King stories where he was able to keep one step ahead of me, keeping a key piece of information just out of my reach. (Similar with what he tried with the boiler in The Shining, referencing it several times, but calling it 'what was forgotten', but in that example it was pretty easy to guess.)

Now I'm on Apt Pupil. I think this is one of the darkest things Stephen King ever wrote.

I like how Todd is shown to be such an archetypal upper middle class kid with a perfect home life. This was a kid who would never fit into the Loser's Club. It makes him so much more monsterous to me.

Also, at first I actually felt a little sorry for Dussander (admittedly it didn't last long). The way their relationship is handled so far. It seems like Todd is responsible for Dussander's backsliding, but then you read that horrible scene with the cat and that offhand comment that he has done this before and you realize he's been a twisted bastard the whole time.

Speaking of the movies forever coloring the story, I keep seeing Ian McKellen as Dussander (he did so scarily good in the movie), but at least it fits into the description Stephen King wrote.

10Moomin_Mama
elokuu 30, 2009, 5:59 pm

Todd and Dussander's relationship is so believably written. They are cold to the core but have such a devastating effect on each other that you can almost sympathise with them. You can imagine Todd, for all his advantages, being just as brutal as Dussander if he grew up in Nazi Germany.

11jseger9000
elokuu 30, 2009, 6:16 pm

I get the feeling that given the opportunity, Todd would be far worse than Dussander.

Dussander seemed to be an amoral monster taking advantage of his situation, but Todd seemed to have sparked to the idea right from the beginning.

12Moomin_Mama
elokuu 30, 2009, 8:35 pm

Actually you might be right, he's pretty twisted for one so young, a horrible piece of work. But by the end of the story I did feel they were pretty evenly matched - it's just that with Todd, you are watching as a horrible potential is realised, while Dussander, with his most evil moments behind him, is almost (but not quite) a spent force.

I can't think of a worse King baddie than either Todd or Dussander...

13jseger9000
syyskuu 2, 2009, 10:03 pm

Just finished Apt Pupil. I was more familiar with the movie version and had forgotten how the book ends. Wow, what a punch it had!

14PaperbackPirate
heinäkuu 30, 2017, 1:47 pm

A few years behind, but I'm going to read these stories in August. Anyone else want to join me?