This collection contains four novellas, each corresponding to a different season. In Hope Springs Eternal, Andy Dufresne is a banker wrongly convicted of murder who orchestrates a meticulous decades-long escape from Shawshank State Prison. Summer of Corruption follows Todd Bowden, a teenager who discovers a Nazi war criminal living in his neighborhood and blackmails the man into sharing horrific accounts of the Holocaust. Fall from Innocence depicts four boys trekking through the Oregon woods to find a local boy’s corpse. Finally, A Winter's Tale centers on a pregnancy and a breathing method used during a surreal delivery.
The book targets readers interested in character-driven suspense rather than supernatural horror. It attracts those who value psychological tension and the grim realities of human cruelty or friendship. Readers finish the collection with a clear understanding of how ordinary individuals react to confinement, guilt, and the loss of childhood. It serves as a study on the endurance of the human spirit and the dark impulses that surface when secrets are unearthed.
Balanced in tone; a moderate read.
Best for readers like The Story Seeker. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 1982
- Language
- EN
Quotes by Stephen King
More →Books are a uniquely portable magic.
On Writing
The most important things are the hardest to say, because words diminish them.
The Body
