Author: Stephen King
Narrator: Frank Muller
Started: July 10, 2022
Finished: July 11, 2022
"Do you guys want to see a dead body?"
This single statement starts a weekend that will forever change the lives of four young childhood friends.
Ray Brower has gone missing and four young boys from Castle Rock, Maine know where to find him. Gordie LaChance, Chris Chambers, Teddy Duchamp, and Vern Tessio set out to find Brower's body along the train tracks. As they set out, the boys realize that their adventure is more than it seems. Through their hike, the boys combat the heat, hunger, leeches, and the juvenile delinquents who also want credit for finding Brower's body. At the end of their trip, they have seen a dead body and learned who they were as men.
I listened to this on audio and found the narrator fantastic at portraying older Gordie as he retold the story of finding a dead body with his three best friends. He brought genuine emotion and understanding to each character and displayed them in a way where the reader truly cares for them and wants them to succeed.
Originally part of a book of short stories entitled Different Seasons, this story was the basis for the classic 1980s movie Stand By Me. King does a magnificent job of telling the perfect coming of age story while incorporating details to invest the reader in the outcome.