Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption

Grant A. Morgan (morgang@sage.ee.byu.edu)
Mon, 8 Apr 96 8:24:52 MDT

> I loved the Shawshank Redemption movie, and seeing you quote from it
> prompted me to ask if you could send me the name of the book that contains
> the story upon which it was based. I believe it is a short story right?

"Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption" is in King's first collection of
novellas, *Different Seasons*, along with "The Body," which was the basis for
the movie *Stand By Me*. He calls them novellas, but if you go by the strict
definition (a short story is less than 7,500 words, a novellette is between
7,500 and 15,000 words, a novella is between 15,000 and 30,000 words, and a
novel is longer than 30,000), I think that all four of the stories in
*Different Seasons* are probably short novels.

At any rate, I highly recommend *Different Seasons*, just for "Rita Hayworth
and Shawshank Redemption*. The other three stories are also good, but I think
Shawshank Redemption is probably one of the best works King has done, and the
others do suffer a little in comparison.

One little bit of trivia that I think is interesting to note: back when Card
was writing book reviews for the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, he
reviewed *The Tommyknockers* by Stephen King. Card did not think much of that
particular novel, and I'd have to say that I agree with his opinion. However,
before he got around to panning the book, he spent about a page praising King
in general, pretty much saying that King is the Mark Twain of our time, and
that people will be reading his works in classrooms a hundred years from now.
I just found it interesting that one of my two favorite writers has such
admiration for the other of my two favorite writers.

Grant Avery Morgan