The Body

I was riveted in a world of young boys searching for more than just a body. So much of coming-of-age stories delve deep into the minds of these kids as they navigate both the familiar and unfamiliar. I was lifted to a time and place that resonates with my desire for nostalgia.

At first blush, I wouldn’t necessarily associate Stephen King with YA fiction, but this beautifully written novella is one of my favorite coming-of-age stories. I really like the idea of placing young adult characters into very adult situations and allowing them to work their way through.

And the first-person point of view of the narrator, reflecting on a transformative episode from his past, drew me in immediately, along with the simple yet authentic dialogue that breathes life into this eclectic cast of characters. 

I first saw the movie that this book was adapted into, Stand By Me, and the book works every bit as well.

When I was a kid, I had a deal with my parents that I could watch R-rated movies if I read the book first, but for some reason, this was one of the rare exceptions that was turned the other way around.

It’s just such a compelling read, and I wanted to start it over again as soon as I finished it.

In my opinion, Stephen King is even better at crafting coming-of-age tales than he is at horror, and The Body might be his best.

I love how this book portrays the adventures of childhood—being chased by dogs, walking the train tracks, puffing cigarettes around a fire as the night sets in—as being totally unique and new, exciting experiences. This story, in my view, is the perfect template for any good childhood adventure story. 

The Body is Gordie’s odyssey into imagination. As we would be inclined to do, he wants to see the dead boy out of morbid curiosity. He also wants to be the hero who found the body. The odyssey tests and reveals Gordie’s character and that of his three friends. As with the boys, we bear some lonely disappointments and pains. We’d be going to see the dead body merely so we could think to ourselves, at least that’s not me. Perhaps that’s what motivates them too. Who doesn’t do that? Yet their quest doesn’t lead only to an unknown dead… show more.

Often when I read a book, I don’t see up front what other people see. There’s plenty of intrigue in The Body. There’s also plenty by way of an examination into the boys’ coming of age. But what I really saw was a bunch of kids hanging in a small town like how I remember my childhood. The Body is no different from many of Stephen King’s works, a clear, lucid window into the strangest of things. But it has a warmth and texture for something lost in time that comes from, I think, how the writer remembered parts… show more.

I watched the faithful movie adaptation, Stand by Me, before I read this novella. The movie was amazing, and I didn’t see how the short novel could compete. However, this is one of those cases where the book is better than the movie…and an even rarer case where the book is better than a really good movie, as Stand by Me is an excellent film. If you’ve seen the flick and enjoyed it, definitely check out the novella. I think the four kids that King writes about are some of his best-developed characters, and that’s saying a lot as… show more.