The Breathing Method, by Stephen King (Audio Review)

Oh. My. Goodness. This three-hour audio punched me in the face and I loved it. This is the Stephen King that makes your knees buckle from the horror, and I was victim to it. Good gracious. Reeling, I am.

The Breathing Method is the final story in the collection by Stephen King, entitled Different Seasons. It is released separately in audio, and is under 3 hours.

Gathering in an unofficial club, gentleman share stories of their lives and experiences. One evening, a doctor tells a story of a young patient from many years before, who was extremely determined to give birth to her baby, no matter what. And while the doctor has a sense of foreboding about the upcoming event, he isn't quite sure what will happen. After all, the young mother is healthy, smart, and dedicated to planning and doing everything correctly, including following his advice on the appropriate breathing that must be done to help with labor.

This is the Stephen King many are familiar with. Horror through and through. Each moment is written in that simple and genuine way only King can do, and it was difficult to hit the stop button. Thankfully, as total audio time is less than 3 hours, it was a snap to listen to in one sitting.

But be warned.  This is NOT for the faint of heart, especially with one scene. *shudders*

Audio Notes: Click here to listen to the 5 minute audible.com sample. (I'm not sure if you need to have a membership to listen, so maybe try here from iTunes, but they only give you 30 seconds.) The narrator is Frank Muller and he. is. DIVINE. I could spend a lot of white space here scribbling about how incredible he was in all capital letters, but that might be a bit much. But, it's true. Yet another man's voice that will not put me to sleep. Thank goodness. Frank Muller, you are my new best friend, sir. I am anxious, ready for the next audio to listen to with you at the helm!

There's not much more I can say except that I would encourage you to listen to the audio version versus reading it, simply because Frank Muller perfectly captures the unsettled and shaky sense of the events. He keeps it suspenseful, brings you to the edge with his emotion, and you are ultimately left a bit dazed.

Publisher: Penguin Group
Release Date: 04/1/2010
Audio Time: Under 3 hours
Narrator: Frank Muller

Others said:
I didn't find another blogger in my Google Reader who had listened to or read it, but if I missed your review, let me know so I can link to you here. I'd love to see what others thought, so let me know!

About the Author

Stephen King is the author of more than fifty novels, including The Stand, The Dark Tower, It, The Shining, oh...what more can be written that one doesn't already know? So here you go, click here to visit this cool author's official website.

The Stephen King Project. This is my first selection for the challenge that Kathleen and I are hosting, The Stephen King Project. It was a perfect start! The reviews for January 2012 from project participants can be found here.

The 2012 Audio Book Challenge. This is my second selection for the Challenge hosted by Teresa.