Simon and Schuster book summaries

“Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.”

Andy Dufresne writes this in a letter to Red, expressing his belief in hope despite their imprisonment.

“I find I am so excited I can barely sit still and hold my pen. I am only a man, and I have no way of knowing if I am right, but I know that I have to write this down.”

Red's narration at the beginning of 'Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption,' setting the tone for his story.

“The most important things are the hardest to say.”

Gordie's narration in 'The Body,' reflecting on the difficulty of expressing deep emotions.

“I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?”

Gordie's closing reflection in 'The Body,' mourning the loss of childhood friendship.

“The man who has no conscience, no goodness, no understanding of the difference between right and wrong, is a monster.”

A line from 'Apt Pupil,' as Todd confronts the reality of Dussander's evil.