Despite what Google says, this short story is not horror. Stephen King branches out with this one writing a coming-of-age story. Following a 12-year-old boy and his three friends as they decide to go on an adventure to see a dead body.
Rating: 3/5
In 1960s America, four young boys go on a journey to search for the body of a boy killed by a train. As they travel, they discover how cruel the world can be, but also how wondrous.
Despite what Google says, this short story is not horror. Stephen King branches out with this one writing a coming-of-age story. Following a 12-year-old boy and his three friends as they decide to go on an adventure to see a dead body.
Going into this, I highly doubted it was actually horror. I had not even seen the movie ~ Stand By Me, yet. Now I have though! I had read the synopsis and heard about it from my mom that it was more of a coming-of-age story. Not at all horror. And this is my mom’s favorite story by Stephen King. So I was curious why it was labeled as horror when you googled it. So I kept that in mind when starting it.
Despite what Google says, this short story is not horror.... I had read the synopsis and heard about it from my mom that it was more of a coming-of-age story. Not at all horror.
As short stories go, I thought this was actually a little long honestly. We see the point of view of Gordie writing down this story of the adventure to see the dead body, We occasionally see parts that are almost completely unrelated as well, this was of the future and two short stories that Gordie has published when he was older, probably as an adult. I felt that these additional short stories within this short story were completely unnecessary. More the first one, than the second, as the second was Gordie telling a story to his friends. I just didn’t see why I needed to read these short stories by Gordie. I really just wanted to see what happened during the adventure to see the dead body.
I just didn’t see why I needed to read these short stories by Gordie. I really just wanted to see what happened during the adventure to see the dead body.
So in regards to those parts, I felt this one didn’t flow as well as some of King’s other short stories. Especially like The Mist, which is written in a similar manner, a writer sharing a story that they experienced and witnessed. I enjoyed The Mist much more than The Body.
That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy reading about these boys’ adventure. When I was actually reading about their journey along the train tracks, it was very entertaining. Shortly after I finished reading this, I watched the movie with my mom and it was even more entertaining to watch what I read. I thought the movie was very well done in comparison to the book. There were some minor changes, as to be expected. But overall I thought it faired well.
Overall, I thought this was a cute fun coming-of-age story. I liked that we also got to hear what happened to everyone at the end when they all grew up and went their separate ways. I think this is a short story anyone would enjoy especially if you enjoy coming-of-age stories.
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