October Stephen King Tribute Day 27: The Body

The Body, or Fall From Innocence, is a novella that was originally published in the 1982 collection Different Seasons.

Warning, this review does contain spoilers.

Ray Brower has gone missing while picking berries, believed to have been hit by a train. Vern Tessio overhears his older brother talking about the location of the boy's body. Vern, and his three friends, Gordie LaChance, Chris Chambers and Teddy Duchamp, tell their parents they are going camping. Instead, they go on a journey to find the body of Ray Brower.

They face many challenges along the way: beings chased by a dog, nearly getting hit by a train themselves and an attack by leeches. The boys also learn a lot about each other. Chris decides that Gordie will become a famous writer one day and that the rest of them will not amount to much.

The foursome finally find the spot where Ray Brower's body lies. They are confronted by Ace Merrill, the local bully, and his gang show up surprised to see the four friends there. Chris diffuses the situation by pulling his father's gun and threatening Ace directly. The older boys leave with threats of revenge. The boys decide to call in the location of the body anonymously.

Ace and his friends beat the boys up as promised. The boys do not tell the police who was responsible and the episode is over. Gordie goes on to become the famous author. Vern is killed in a house fire after a party. Teddy dies in a car crash taking several others with him. Chris studied hard and was planning to attend law school when he is stabbed to death trying to break up a fight.

This is one of Stephen King's most powerful stories. It is a coming of age story for the four boys. Each has his own problems at home and know that there is not much they can do to change the situation. The search for the body is a chance to escape their home lives and yet learn about each other's problems.

There are short stories within this novella that are all narrated by young Gordie LaChance. The overall story is narrated by the older, famous author Gordie LaChance. The story flows smoothly, with the occasional shift in timeline when Gordie remembers a certain thing from his childhood.

This novella was made into a hugely successful and popular film, Stand By Me. The cast includes many successful actors including Richard Dreyfus, River Phoenix, Wil Wheaton, Corey Feldman, John Cusack and Kiefer Sutherland. The movie was directed by Rob Reiner. Stand By Me is my favorite big screen movie adaptation of a Stephen King work.