Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption a Story from Different Seasons Hardcover – Large Print, January 1, 1983

My recipient was so pleased with this book. Hard to believe a book of it's size could be so costly even in the used version. My used book came from a library but I think it could have been in a little better shape compared to the "good condition" description it was sold under.

This is the novella upon which the movie Shawshank Redemption is based. I enjoyed he movie very much. If possible, I liked this book more. The two works are similar and each recognizable as being related to each other. However there are also important differences which is common.As a reader, I tend to favor books over movies. There are exceptions. This is a very close call. Both are excellent. I think what is most significant to me is that this is my favorite work of Stephen King thus far. I have read some of Stephen King's works with mixed feelings. This work has made me a fan. I shall now make a point of reading more Stephen King. I am always grateful to be able to add to my list of favorite authors.I suppose that what this fine novella puts in me in mind of most is the sprawling epic novel, "The Count of Monte Cristo" by Alexander Dumas. That is a significantly longer work of course. I enjoyed both about the same. Obviously some readers don't enjoy the very lengthy novels. I like to vary between different length of works. Thank You...

The Shawshank Reduction is by far one of my favorite movies. It is a story that just draws you in. Whenever I see it on TV, I cannot stop watching it. When I saw I could read the original novel I was delighted. I was especially surprised to see that the story was by Steven King since I generally do not like his horror books. But when I began to read this book, I was impressed with his talents. It is difficult to imagine that it could be written better. You wonder how Steven King did it. It is a great novel, just like the movie. In fact, the movie and the book follow each other very closely, even to the dialog (like one of my favorite scenes in the movie when the inmates are tarring the prison roof and Andy Dufresne walks up to the toughest screw that ever walked a turn in Shawshank prison and says, “Do you trust your wife?” And the screw gets ready to throw Andy off the roof.) It is exciting to read the novel and find your favorite dialogue there.We have all seen the movie and loved it. Well the book is even better. I highly recommend that you get the book and read it because it displays a lot more depth than the movie and has a fuller character development. And it has a few surprises in it. Read it. You will enjoy it.

I must say again how pleased I am to continue reading King. He is so brilliant, more than I ever knew. I saw the movie version of The Shawshank Redemption and enjoyed it. But the book is more massively amazing in its intellect, in its deepening psyche of the nature of being imprisoned. Who would have thought that reading bits of a man's life in prison could ever be interesting, much less spell-binding? Only King could deliver such a story.

The film "The Shawshank Redemption" has been shown on TNT and AMC at least 1000 times.I never knew it was all from a book written by Stephen King.The original story isn't even a novel. It's part of a collection of novellas written by King in a book called Different Seasons. The story is only 71 pages long, yet the movie is almost identical. 90% of the story is the same, and I swear over half the dialogue is verbatim from the book. King wrote the story so well, and with so little extra fluff, that the film script could be written with very few changes. It didn't need almost any additions or abridgments.I've seen the T.V. version so many times that I couldn't read the book without hearing Morgan Freeman's voice the whole time. It was awesome.This book is thought provoking. It takes you through justice, mercy, hope, kindness, as well as hate, disgust, intrigue, and the abuse of power.We get a small glimpse of what it must be like to be in prison for 30 years, and how hard it would be to re-enter society. It helps us understand those who don't express their emotions the same way as we might. It shows the horrible things we'll endure, and even laugh at, if it's all we have.This story can be read in a few hours, I recommend it.

I can't believe it took me this long to discover this novella, especially since The Shawshank Redemption is my all time favorite movie. Hearing the story from Red's gentle and detailed perspective was intriguing. Red has a great sense of humor throughout the book. He tells the story in a way that allows you to see the passing of time. This is not as evident in the movie version. Although short, this book gives the reader something to hope for in their own life. I also loved the peek into the prison world. It's hard to imagine the living conditions that some prisoners face. Best of all I think was that Red was a murderer. That may seem irrelevant. However, I feel that Red did change. He made a mistake, but that mistake was not the entirety of his existence. He was a man with deep emotion, skill, trustworthiness, and he was Andy's friend. This bond between two strangers is one of my favorite tales ever told.