That was beautiful.

It was a moment that took my breath away. The scene before me was like a painting come to life. The colors were vivid and the details were exquisite.

I stood there, completely captivated by the beauty. It made me feel a sense of peace and wonder.

I wanted to hold onto that moment forever, to etch it in my memory.

It was a reminder that there is still so much beauty in the world, even in the midst of chaos and uncertainty.

I will always cherish that beautiful moment and look for more like it in the future.

I truly desire that Stephen King could pen just a single book that doesn't sexualize women. Just one solitary book that is devoid of a strange sex scene. I beseech this with all my heart.

It seems that in many of his works, there are often elements that involve the objectification or sexualization of female characters. This can be quite off-putting for some readers, myself included.

I understand that King is a master of horror and has a unique style, but I feel that there are other ways he could explore his themes and create engaging stories without relying on such tropes.

I long for a book from him that focuses more on the psychological aspects of horror, or perhaps on the relationships between characters in a more meaningful and non-sexual way.

Maybe then, I could fully appreciate his genius without being distracted by the unnecessary sexual content.

I don't know why, but for some reason, I just couldn't fully immerse myself in this. I truly wanted to, considering the film is one of my absolute favourites. However, try as I might, I just couldn't seem to do it. I found myself skimming through a significant portion of it and even skipping large chunks.

Nevertheless, I have to admit that it was still really well written. I am well aware that the story is a great one. So, I really have no clue as to why I couldn't get into it. Maybe the film overshadowed it to such an extent that it was difficult for me to see the book's merits on its own? Or perhaps there was some other factor at play? I really don't know.

But one thing that I did like was the fact that the ending provided more details about everyone's futures. It was quite interesting to see how the author had envisioned the characters' lives progressing. I'm still not entirely sure what rating to give it. I know for a fact that the storyline itself is excellent. But given that I really struggled with it, I don't feel like I can give it any more than a 3 or 4.

The most crucial things are often the most arduous to express. These are the very things that make you feel ashamed, for words have the power to diminish them. While they reside in your mind, they seem boundless and limitless. However, once they are uttered, they appear no larger than ordinary matters. But that's not the whole story. The most significant things are located perilously close to the deeply buried recesses of your secret heart. They are like clues that could potentially lead your enemies to a precious prize that they would eagerly steal. It is both difficult and painful for you to discuss these matters... and then people simply gaze at you in a strange manner. They haven't grasped what you've said at all, nor do they understand why you almost shed tears while speaking.

Stand by Me is truly the quintessential coming of age movie. And The Body - the book upon which the movie is based - surprisingly turns out to be an outstanding coming of age novel. Although it consists of only 136 pages, it is debatable whether it should be classified as a novel, a novella, or a short story.

In 1960, during the final days of summer, four 12-year-old friends embark on a multi-day adventure to witness a dead body. Along their journey, they encounter excitement, face danger, and share moments of laughter. The narrator, in particular, learns an abundance about life, himself, the world, friendship, fear, loyalty, and relationships. This adventure becomes a transformative experience for them all, shaping their understanding of themselves and the world around them.

6-stars


[NOTE: I like to provide a 6-star rating to a book when it has been able to keep me in a state of amazement and awe almost continuously for around 80% of its content.]


This was an incredibly super-reread after nineteen long years!! I firmly believe it may very well be among the absolute best coming-of-age stories ever penned in modern times. It's a novella of approximately 140 pages. What it managed to evoke within me was an overwhelming flood of all the nostalgia (and yes, even tears: never before has a book been able to draw such emotions from within me!) of my younger days spent with my close-knit circle of friends, and also some vivid memories from my school days. Reading the entire story was truly such a pure pleasure, indeed!! I would only read a few pages each day, perhaps just one or two scenes, and then spend the whole day, sometimes even two, reminiscing about that and relating it to my own warm and precious memories with friends.


Steven King does an outstanding job in his writing within this book. It's something that I simply wasn't able to fully appreciate back in 2001, mainly due to my lack of a good understanding of his prose at that time. But now, here, he has truly proven himself to be a master of the coming-of-age genre. (I first heard this from Mike, whom I recently started listening to about half a year ago. One can find his BookTube blogs here if interested. He is really good. Do check it out. :) King has this remarkable ability to completely get into the mindset of kids, which he does fantastically well here. There is absolutely no doubt about that! The four kid characters, all around the age of 12, are described with such precision and detail. The story is a first-person narrative from one of them, who is now older but writing his memoir. King's prose here is solid, and in some parts, even better than in many of his other books.


Another amazing aspect of the story is that it includes two sub-stories written by the narrating character (since he is a writer) and seamlessly interwoven within the storyline. This really stretched my thinking further, as I had to try and get into King's mind, wondering how on earth he must have managed to do that! Wow!!


And for all of these reasons, I would most definitely consider this book a masterpiece. It is very highly recommended to anyone who has a passion for this genre. :D

I initially picked this up from the library.

The reason being that I've been thinking of incorporating a dead body into my next book.

This was the first story with a dead body in it that sprang to my mind.

Surprisingly, I actually had never read "The Body" before.

However, I have seen "Stand by Me" (the movie adaptation) a half dozen times.

I was in search of something that had a distinct atmosphere.

Something that would evoke a sense of nostalgia.

And despite the criticism that Stephen King often receives, there is an undeniable brilliance in much of his work.

He is truly an incredible storyteller.

I absolutely loved this story about four boys who embark on a journey in the summer of 1960.

They set out to find the dead body of another missing boy in their rural Maine town.

There are some truly brilliant and beautiful passages within the story about writing and growing up.

The setting is so vivid and realistic that it feels as if you are right there with the boys.

I'm so glad that I took a break from the Pulitzer list to read this one.

It has been a wonderful and engaging experience.

Well, what can I truly say? This is an incredibly great coming-of-age drama. King is at his absolute best in this work.

When this story was adapted into a film titled Stand By Me, starring River Phoenix and Keifer Sutherland, I initially thought there was no possible way they could make the movie as good as the book. However, to my surprise, I was completely wrong. The film is also brilliant.

It manages to capture the essence and spirit of the story in a remarkable way. The performances of the actors bring the characters to life, making the audience truly engage with their journey.

The music in the film, especially the song "So darling, darling, stand, by me, oooooooh! Stand, by me...", adds an extra layer of emotion and nostalgia. It becomes an iconic part of the movie, further enhancing the overall experience.

Both the book and the film of Stand By Me are truly masterpieces that will be cherished by audiences for years to come.

\\tThe Body by Stephen King is a captivating story that revolves around four best friends residing in the fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine. There's Gordie Lachance, Chris Chambers, Vern Tessio, and Teddy Duchamp. One fateful day, as three of them are engaged in a game of cards, Vern bursts in with an astonishing question: “You guys want to go see a dead body?” (299 King) A boy had been tragically hit by a train, and as yet, no one had laid eyes on the body. The four friends, filled with a sense of adventure and curiosity, decide to embark on a quest to find the body and bring it to the authorities. It seems like a brilliant plan at the time.

\\tThey set off on their journey one afternoon, after informing their parents that they would be visiting each other's houses. However, in their excitement, they forget to bring any food. After walking along the train tracks for a while, they encounter the junkyard with the infamous crazy dog and its obnoxious owner. Someone has to go and get food, and it falls to Gordie. So, he purchases the provisions and returns. The four then continue their adventure along the tracks for a considerable amount of time. But the question remains: would four twelve-year-old boys really be able to locate the dead body of a kid? It seems like such a preposterous assumption!

\\tI have an absolute adoration for this book. While Stephen King is known for writing some rather strange and often disturbing works, The Body is a masterpiece on his part. He has crafted a book that beautifully portrays real friendship. It's not the kind of crappy friendship where kids say things like “Haha you suck and I hate you. Wanna be friends so we end up killing each other?” or “Hey she’s really pretty I bet we’d get popular for hanging out with her.” No. These four boys share an incredibly deep and meaningful friendship. “I never had friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve.” (This line is not exactly from the book but rather from the movie based on it.) This truly captures the essence of real friendship. The book is extremely well-written, despite the fact that the kids use a fair amount of swear words. And the touch of sadness that runs throughout the story only serves to enhance its beauty. “Chris, who had always been the best at making peace, stepped between them and was stabbed in the throat.” (435 King) His best friend, stabbed in the neck. He hadn't seen him in a while, and now he was gone. But it's precisely this hint of sadness that makes the story all the more powerful.

\\tI would, without a doubt, rate this beautiful book five out of five stars. I've always been in awe of the way it's worded, especially from the narrator's perspective. He makes everything seem as if it's going to be okay, but then things don't always turn out that way. Anyone who has a penchant for books about the strong friendship of young children should definitely read this book, unless, of course, you don't want to read a lot of swear words and about a dead body. But if you're completely cool with that, then go ahead and read this really unique and captivating piece of fiction! Do it now. Go.

Since I’ve stated my views of Different Seasons, I am now free to review The Body on its own merits.

In writing The Body, Stephen King managed to reverse his typical formula for writing in which humanity is primarily included to serve the macabre. Here, King fills the book with the humanity of four boys. They lived in a time and place that afforded them the true opportunity to explore life on their own terms. The setting is rural Maine. Downtown offers a few central streets of small shops, and everywhere else is filled with the possibility of self-discovery and adventure.

The Body tells the story of one of these adventures. The characters serve to define the true nature of youthful friendship. But they also show how these friendships are affected by differences that become more pronounced with time. While the plot may consist of a long hike to see a body, the story resides entirely within the characters that King creates.

I also enjoyed the internal speculation that King’s reversal in style created. Why did he choose to write about four boys, their friendships, and their lives? I think the answer lies somewhere close to the fact that the main character is described as a future and successful writer (not unlike King). And why was the story so good? Probably because it’s simply a story about kids growing up in rural Maine (not unlike King) in a setting where being a kid is the best thing in the world to be. It makes the readers easily relate to the characters and their experiences, feeling as if they were part of that small town and those adventures.

Stephen King firmly grasps adolescence and even early adulthood in this unwavering and brutally honest 'fake memoir' style novella. It tells the story of a young man recounting his experiences of growing up in a small, fictional town in Maine called Castle Rock.

Four young boys embark on a somewhat innocent adventure to see the dead body of a boy their age who went missing about a week earlier. What follows is, in my opinion, some of King's finest writing to date. It is sincere, heartfelt, and beautiful in its own realistic way. I truly wish King had written more books similar to this. It reminds me of "IT" in a sense, but it is more empathetic towards the trials, tribulations, and relationships that occur during the process of growing up.

You make friends, form bonds, and eventually lose those friends simply because you grow up and realize that your future doesn't have a place for everyone. You have to make choices that are good for you, and King brilliantly and subtly summarizes the agony that sometimes accompanies those decisions.

However, perhaps I have said too much. If I had to say one thing about this short novel, it would be this: "The most important things are the hardest things to say. They are the things you get ashamed of, because words diminish them - words shrink things that seemed limitless..." - Stephen King from "The Body"

A group of preteen children embark on an exciting mission. Their goal is to be the first to see a corpse that was hit by a train near the forest and has been the subject of a search for several days. By chance, they know the location of the corpse and strive to have their pictures appear in the newspapers as they are the first to reach it and report to the police.

This may seem like an ordinary story without much adventure or excitement, which is why I initially rated it two stars. However, after watching the film, I raised the rating by another well-deserved star. "Stand by Me" reveals the personalities of the boys at this age, what they think about, and what they look forward to. It uncovers their dreams, desires, feelings about their lives, and their future expectations.

It is the third story that represents the autumn chapter in a collection of diverse chapters.

"With a Little Help from My Friends" by The Beatles

The Beatles' song "With a Little Help from My Friends" is not just a catchy tune but also a profound exploration of friendship. The lyrics pose questions like what one would do if someone sang out of tune or when love is away. It emphasizes the importance of friends in getting by and finding support. The repeated refrain "I get by with a little help from my friends" underlines the significance of having comrades in life.

The accompanying text about friendship further elaborates on its essence. It describes friendship as being like the shining sun, a warm smile, and a precious gift. The story related to the text is said to be sobering yet touchful, teaching valuable lessons about being a good friend and a meaningful person in a short life. The author expresses a deep love for the short novel, highlighting its unforgettable characters and magnificent story that keeps drawing them back. It also mentions how the book has made the author remember a deceased old friend.

The quoted text beautifully sums up the idea that wonderful people, moments, and friends are all gifts from God. It emphasizes that friendship is precious not only in the shade but also in the sunshine of life, and that a greater part of life is indeed filled with the warmth of friendship.