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4 June 2014
itle
| The Body |
Author
| Stephen King |
Publisher
| Viking |
Publication Date
|
1982
|
Pages
| |
Genre
| Novella |
Blurb:
Gordie Lanchance and his three friends are always ready for adventure. So when a boy dies out in the forest, it's a chance to see something they have never seen in their lives: a dead body. But for the four boys, their journey will teach them as much about life as about death. As they face the dangers on their way, they begin to learn what it is to grow up - and nothing will ever be the same for them again.
This is one of four novellas published in King's book Different Seasons. The book is also available (see below) as Penguin Readers - simplified texts designed in association with Longman (educational publisher) to provide a step-by-step approach to the joys of reading for pleasure, also given an introduction and activity material. (above info taken from the book)
My review
Gordie Lanchanche is the narrator of this story, and he tells us about what's happened when he was 12, nearly thirteen years, in 1960, growing up in (the fictional) Maine town of Castle Rock.
Four boys go to look for a supposed dead body by the railway tracks. Gordie, Teddy, Vern and Chris hang out together, and each have their own problems. This will be an adventure they won't forget. Even though they go and will eventually find the dead body, it is not a horror story but about 'growing up'.
It is one of the books which I truly struggle to review. At a basic level, it's a story about four boys going on an adventure, but that doesn't even start to describe the depth of this story. Friendship, bereavement, bullying, mental health, feeling lost in the world, finding oneself, being born in the family of 'no gooders' and trying to better yourself. Beautifully written, it stayed with me for a long time. The ending is very poignant, and for me, has one of the best lines every written in book history:
“ I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anybody?”
(this quote is from the movie and slightly paraphrased from the book)
Many will be more familiar with the movie adaptation 'Stand by Me' - see above picture - and for me, this is the only movie adaption where I can say that the adaptation is almost better than the actual book. Sorry Mr King.
