Quitters, Inc. (audiobook) by Stephen King






My Favorite Stephen King Story

Published by Phoenix Books in 2206
Read by Eric Roberts
Duration: 45 minutes.

It is true that with all of Stephen King's lengthy tales, my favorites are usually the shorter ones and Quitters, Inc. is probably Stephen King's shortest story. It was originally part of his book of short stories Night Shift and was one of three stories in the 1985 movie Cat's Eye.

Stephen King
The premise of the story is really cleverly simple. What if you went to a non-smoking clinic that was run by the mafia? Dick Morrison meets an old friend who has kicked the smoking habit who tells him that if he visits Quitters, Inc. they will get him off cigarettes and change his life for the better. Morrison laughs off the suggestion but eventually does go for an initial consultation out of curiosity about their methods.

 I cannot divulge any more about this very short story without introducing spoilers except to say that their methods are anything but AMA approved, but they do work.

 The story is read by Academy award nominated actor Eric Roberts. Roberts gives an understated performance, like a man telling a story at the end of a bar after a long night. But, it works perfectly with the characterization of the mobster counselor at Quitters, Inc.

 I rate this short story audiobook 5 stars out of 5.

 This audiobook can be found at Amazon.com here: Quitters, Inc.

 Reviewed on July 23, 2011.

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