Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption

Well written. Engaging story. Turns out it is more uplifting than you think. It is a quick read. Definitely recommend.

What a good book Different from the movie but also the same I recommend this as a must read after the movie

The message of the book is really something and the story is just as good as the movie. I’m a big fan of the movie, so I decided to try the book. I was not disappointed even though there are some big differences.

One that continues the vision of Stephen King and Frank Darabont, the perfect cast of Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton and the others. The grace of Rob Reiner in allowing Frank's script and direction and Liz Glotzer's inspired suggestion for the ending that Frank ultimately used. It is in that spirit that I have written a script that can include contributions of all the original cast, one that includes the passions of Tim Robbins with legal reform and Mo Freeman's love of sailing. (Excerpt) The Pacific was as large and blue as in Andy and Red's dreams but would it scare them to death or truly set them free? "Some birds were not meant to be caged. That boat, that hotel, it wasn't too much to ask. I guess you can say I was no longer a skeptic. Hope wasn't a dangerous thing. Well, one thing you learn of the sea, things can change." The 30 year anniversary of this beloved movie is approaching in 2024. Florence Staples Dorr along with her husband Russell were the dedicatees of the novella and as an 8th cousin to the late Florence as a Staples and Dixon cousin in Eliot and Kittery Maine maybe what I put on paper was inspired more than I can know.

Good, easy reading. Each chapter makes you want to read the next. Although I have never been to prison; the description of life seems so real. You can almost feel the despair of prisoners and wardens alike in a prison environment. Reading this gives you an understanding as to why an imprisoned individual would learn to accept this life and be unable to cope with freedom. Makes you sort of understand why the freed individual would commit a crime to purposely get caught and return to prison.

One of the best. Definitely worth the read even if you've seen the movie.

A friend turned me on to the four Stephen King psychological thrillers without blood and gore, two of them now movies: Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption (made into a movie starring Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins), and Misery (made into a movie starring Kathy Bates famed for the line "Am accidentally can be an unhappy woman's best friend."). It's rare to be able to say that the book and movie versions are equally good, but it's true in both cases. It's also rare to be able to say that a Stephen King novel is less scary than another book, but I turned to Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption after The Measure by Nikki Erlick, in which every human on Earth receives a string that shows their life expectancy, became too much for me. Shawshank Redemption and Misery have happy endings. The happiness is that ordinary people are released from their jails, literal or figurative, and get to be free to live their lives. May we all be so lucky.

One of the best movies ever made. Great story line. Wonderful actors.

Fantastic book

Great novel. Having watched the movie itself, the voice of the characters really come to life.

Cover 3 / 5 If one knows the punchline the cover is quite effective. This rating is just for the Rita Hayworth Shawshank Redemption. I have yet to work my way through the rest of the book. Purchased as a contrast after Richard Flanagan's The Narrow Road to the Deep North and on a more cheerful note. Purchased this on E-Bay as a used copy of Stephen King's collection of novella length stories including Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption. As I read the novella of 113 pages memories of the film flooded back with the film being reasonably true to the book. I did not have to create new pictures as the film had already done this for me. I like the viewpoint of a story teller. Stephen King has expressed in various literary interviews and posts his like of the novella format but he is sad the format does not appear to sell well. The story here is well told tight and straight to the point without lots of padding. An excellent example for those writing to self publish. The story like The Narrow Road to the Deep North could have been expanded and told in 429 pages. My Amazon review against my own reading criteria for a good read:- *Engrossing and interesting - Despite knowing the story and punch line the book kept my interest as it is tightly written. *Enjoyment and entertainment - An enjoyable read bringing back good memories of the film. *Emotional - Reinforced my wish never to go to prison as confirmed in reading about 21st Century prison life in Jeffrey Archer's Prison Diaries and a hundred years earlier in Arthur and George by Julian Barnes. *Educational - Nothing to add from the film. *Ease of reading - The strong solid writing to fit the story into novella format has much to commend it. A refreshing change from King's other books where I often feel a full page of text could have been said in one sentence. One for my book shelves and I read on the other novella length stories in the book as new material. Incidentally I have another memory here of the amazing You Tube video of Rita Hayworth and Fred Astaire dancing to the Bee Gees Staying Alive. Something which often brightens up my days. My wife would love me to be able to dance like these two. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mz3CPzdCDws New comment added 25 2 15 Story two an Apt Pupil Oh dear a great idea but the story drags on and on ... no encouragement to read more of Stephen King here. I read on Alexander of the Allrighters and Ywnwab!

Bom

I only just found out that there was a book the movie was based on. The story is so good that almost nothing was changed for the movie.