The Shining by Stephen King

Ah!  The Shining!  Everybody knows the title and the horror it represents.  Everybody has heard of it at least once.  The first thing that comes to mind is the scene where Jack Torrance tries to bring down a door with an ax while his wife screams helplessly on the other side.  And that's the image people who haven't seen it get upon hearing the name.  Those that have seen it, like myself?  We recall the cascade of blood from the elevators, the ghost in the bathtub, the twins, the creepy hotel... and of course, REDRUM.


What about the book?  The book was WAY better than the movie.  But I will only review the book for now.




The book is widely known by almost everybody.  It is as famous as the legendary mind behind it, Stephen King.  Long story short, it tells the story of Jack Torrance and his family.  Jack, a recovering alcoholic and aspiring writer takes the job of caretaker for the Overlook Hotel in Colorado, where he is to do maintenance and care for the hotel, which will be empty for some time because of winter.  Soon, Jack, his wife Wendy and his son Danny, will be snowbound in the colossal, empty hotel.  Madness slowly sets in, being isolated from the rest of civilization until the snow clears.  Danny, who possesses a special psychic ability known as the "shining", will slowly come face to face with the past horrors and dark secrets the hotel holds.  Soon, Wendy and Danny find themselves in mortal danger when Jack slowly descends into madness.  Something evil is roaming he halls of the Overlook, and it wants Danny.

The book shifts from Jack, as he slowly descends into madness, and Danny, his five-year-old son, as he witnesses his father's descent.  Add a hotel with a bloody, dark past and you have a disaster waiting to happen.

Turns out that Danny Torrance has special, psychic abilities called the "shining" that makes him a target for the Hotel.  He can have visions, even though he can't interpret them, and he can also "feel" the emotions of people, specifically his parents and their complicated marriage, even though he has no idea what really is going on.  He doesn't know why he's getting these visions (or that they are, in fact, visions) and he doesn't understand the changes around him.  We all remember Redrum:

Jack Torrance, on the other hand, has much bigger issues.  The stress of his aspiring writer career, the isolation and his family, it all leads down to a very dark path.  We have a character that slowly darkens, slowly loses his mind and becomes a danger to himself.  You see him go down that path and you can't stop him.  The only thing you can do is watch, and hope for the best.  The thing is, deep down, you know it's going to get worse from here.

Much, much worse

And nobody is safe

My experience?

The book is relatively long (like all of Stephen King's books).  That being said, it was my first Stephen King Novel.  Imagine that.  I was overwhelmed with the thickness of the book and the unique style of King, yet he made a fan out of me since then.  By then, I hadn't seen the movie, so I was open to anything that came my way.  I had no idea how it would end, which made the reading experience much more enjoyable.

The book took me a while, but I enjoyed it immensely.  Even though it's not my favorite Stephen King book, it's one that should be considered a timeless masterpiece.  People find it scary, to me, it's somewhat disturbing and unsettling.  But an excellent book altogether.

It's a slow read at first, in my opinion.  It took a while to hook me, but it didn't let go when it did.  I find Danny's segments fascinating and unsettling, which, to me, is the character that keeps the whole story together.  Jack's descent into madness was done brilliantly, and Wendy, the wife, was a very interesting character as well, unlike the movie (I'm sorry Shelley Duvall, but it was a little cringe-worthy).

The book picks up when the Torrance family moves into the hotel, and it takes a while for the actual "hauntings" to take place.  But you learn a lot about the characters mindset, and how the energy of the hotel connects with Danny.  When madness finally sinks in, you're on the fast lane for the rest of the book.

Stephen King's books are unique when it comes to the narrations.  The voices change (something not many authors can pull off), and the characters practically come alive from the pages.  I am a huge fan of King's way of describing the surroundings.  He practically places you there!

Honestly, it was a great read!

Would I recommend it?

Well, as much I love this book, I would only recommend this to adults or older young readers.  Honestly, I would tell everybody to read it, but not everybody would enjoy it like I did.  Oh Well.

It's quite long, at least to me.  Stephen King is quite... er... descriptive, so some scenes come off as unsettling (again, something I love from his books).  It's a book intended for adults so, well, no minors.

It's also inclined to everything horror and scary, so if you love that kind of genre, this book is for you!  I recommend it for Stephen King fans who haven't read it, or people wanting to start reading his books.

It's a memorable, iconic book, one EVERYBODY should read, at least once.  And besides, it's written by STEPHEN KING! Enough said.

***

Thanks for reading!  Hope it was informative!  Comment below if you want to share ideas and opinions.  They're welcome!  Tell me if you agree with this or my other posts.  Happy Reading!