As of this year I have joined the ranks of constant readers making it a goal to read all of Stephen kings work. I have started with the cult classic the shinning which was a heavy hitter as far horror. So this past September I decide to go with a lighter story so I picked up Kings Short story The Body which was originally published in 1982 in a collection of king stories entitled different seasons, I stumbled upon it sold individually at target which was spectacular.
This is one of the few king stories that is not within the horror genre, in fact its a rather epic coming of age story. This story is one that transcends generations and for me really gives a more positive meaning to the term boys will be boy. In the body we follow four best friends living in the small town of castle rock. Each boy has his own personal battle at home between Long dead siblings, Drunkard fathers, and just the ever present fear that they will end up like everyone else in castle rock. When Vern , on his never ending search for his jar of pennies, overhears his older brother talking about finding the body of a boy who he presumes to be the missing child from the neighboring town. With this information the gang is off on a journey to see the body. The adventure these boy embark on while heart warming and child like lead to an ultimate end to their childhood that is heartbreaking. I found myself wanting to shield them from the harsh reality that seeing the body of a boy not much younger than each of them whose life had been cut short. If you are looking for a short yet powerful read I highly recommend this short story as long as you can over look some of the language used by king as we all know his Dialogue is not the most eloquent and really speaks to the setting and time of the story. I gave this short story a 4 out of 5 stars. While the message was one that resonated with me and the over story was enjoyable I just could not look past what I felt was an unnecessary amount of obscenities. So for that it did loose a star but all and all 100% recommend !