Customer Reviews

The Breathing Method

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This refers to the CD version of the book - but it is frighteningly and amazingly Stephen King at his best. I use audio books to help me on my exercise walks, and this one was so intense and so dripping with drama, I did extra laps just to see what would happen. Stephen King's extraordinarily ability to take the mundane and add the creep factor reigns supreme here. An unwed pregnant woman goes to her OB-GYN, at a time when unwed mothers were a huge taboo, and her OB-GYN is impressed by her strength and her fortitude and determination to go through with this birth. He is so impressed in fact, that he follows her carefully through each stage of her pregnancy. When it is at last time for her child to be born...well, then there comes a dark and gloomy night at a men's club, years later, where this certain OB-GYN proceeds to tell this tale. The club has been meeting for years, each member telling extraordinary tales, some old war tales, some cigar smoking tales, the usual, but THIS story, well this story is called "The Breathing Method", and the OB-GYN who chooses to tell the story begins by recalling that at the time of this woman's entrance into his life with her illegitimate pregnancy, he was just beginning to introduce the Lamaze technique (not yet called that) to his pregnant patients. He was adamant that it worked, and he was nearly called a fool because of the little pamphlets and booklets he encouraged pregnant woman to read and to try and use during labor. His unwed patient takes the breathing method to heart. So focused and so determined is she to use this method, it becomes almost a part of who she is. But I will leave you there, so as not to spoil the ending for you, however, I will say, the ending is shocking, and you will think about it long after you are finished this story. The reader, Frank Muller is perfect, just right for what Stephen King wants to say. Enjoy the breathing method, if you will, it's power will amaze you.

Listen to this on a dark night by the fire, or while driving out on a lonely road. Stephen King truly outdid himself on this one. The descriptions are exceptional -- the dark, snowy streets... the warm, cozy club... you can clearly picture every detail. The story itself is two-fold, one within the other. While the recounting within the book of a young women's pregnancy gives the book its name, it is the experiences of the main character, an attorney, that are the truly terrifying part.

Deceptive as usual, King sets the hook with a story that starts off in "Normal" gear and races before you know it into "Spooky" and beyond into gruesome. The story is told in retrospect by an aged attorney who, during his career at a New York law firm, gets invited by a senior partner to join him at a private men's club. Members are greeted and served by the ubiquitous semi-sinister butler-type character. The club and its furnishings have some mysteries of their own that are tantalizing but never fully revealed. The main activity at the club is storytelling, which leads to King's central plot. Christmas time at the club was reserved for a scary story, and a doctor recounts a poignant and horrible tale from his past about a young woman patient "in trouble" in the mid-1930's. Surprisingly, (along with the revulsion) I was saddened by the intimate view of the way women were treated at that time.

Stephen King has written another attention grabber. I read, and listened, as I have both the paperback and the audio book. I found this book great, as it follows both the imaginary and the real sides of life. I found that as I read the book, I really would like to visit the library that is described in the book. This book follows down a strange path, emerging in what could almost be explained as a real story of fact in the past. I recommend this novel, and the audio book as the narrator does a great job, it will not dissapoint as "everything's eventual" did, in my opinion. Good luck and good reading! (Note: The audio version of this book is narrated by FRANK MULLER. Anyone who has listened to Stephen King Audio Books has sure to have been wowwed by Frank Muller. In this audio book recording, Frank Muller's voice is almost unrecognizable and amazing as he plays this roll. Frank Muller and audio books are truly like movies for your mind).

This is an excellent Stephen King story. It's written in an "old-fashioned" style, as though being told by an older, sophisticated man. It almost feels like a Sherlock Holmes story or at least "vedy British". The plot itself is summarized elsewhere, but suffice it to say that it is compelling, mysterious and that the climax is gory and fascinating. DIFFERENT SEASONS (the book from which this novella comes) is one of King's towering achievements, and this story is great.

Frank Muller is one of the best audio book readers around, and so the combination of King's great story and Muller's outstanding interpretation make this audio book VERY worthwhile. It is very highly recommended.

I finished the audio book earlier this week. In typical Stephen King fashion, he draws you along the story, twisting several plots into it. Surprisingly, it was not the main focus of the story that gave me chills, but the last 5 minutes when certain revelations are made, or at least hinted at.

I especially loved the iconography of the statue in front of the hospital, and the often repeated quote which basically said that there was no comfort without pain. Which I guess can be considered a message of hope, or at least a message that suffering is not done in vain. But again, it's one of those details that makes this whole story just a bit askew.

Overall, it was a great read. I really enjoyed the story, it was a bit predictable, but the pace of the words draws the listener along nicely. I would recomend this book to a friend, but not to my mother.

This has to be the best short stories I've ever heard! A must have!

Reader Frank Muller delivers this tale with aplomb. Taken from King's superb story collection, "Different Seasons," the action takes place in a tony Big Apple men's club where there are no membership dues. Membership rises and falls with the telling of tales.

Who can tell them better than King. This time out his subject is a woman who is bound and determined to give birth no matter what.

Scary? Of course. It's King, isn't it?

This story is really weird and cool, and listen to all the disgusting, scary, exciting words through ears, I think, is much better than to read them. I loved these tapes!!!

Veteran narrator Frank Muller provides a vivid recording - one of his last - in Stephen King's THE BREATHING METHOD, telling of an exclusive membership club based on a telling of tales. When one story turns into a nightmare for all listeners, chaos emerges in this fine chilling listen for any fan of King or stories with satisfying twists and turns of plot.