The Shining (Stephen King)
I had seen the movie, so I knew the premise, but was still not quite sure what to expect. I had seen adaptations of SK novels before and none of them had the background and depth that he seems to paint to easily. This case proved to be no different.
The book is scary, yes. But not vampire scary or dead pets scary or even dolls coming to life scary - he taps into a fear that almost everyone has when they hear the house settle or something move out of the corner of their eye or hear a sound they may or may not have heard from the basement or attic. The fear of the unknown is the "scary part" of the book. Although effective for thrills, it does not touch the psychological part of the book.
The "hotel manager" uses Jack's battle with alcoholism, his guilt, his bitterness and his feelings of failure to destroy his son Danny (of whom the hotel is jealous? I am not sure what the motivation was). It does not, however, introduce anything new into Jack's mind - it simply intensifies it. I think that that is the real story, not ladies in bathtubs and animate topiary. It is Jack's battle with himself, his past, his wife, his son, his feeling of inadequacy, and worst of all his temper that is the backbone of the story. The imagery and inner thoughts are something that even the best actor could not portray. The writing sucks you in and you cannot help but internalize all the things he must be going through and the feelings he must be having.
I think what I love most about SK is that he does not write about creepy things, he writes about how the people in his novels react to these creepy things, and he is almost asking the reader to put herself into that situation. Being scared is almost a side effect; thinking about how you would react is the thing that kept me up at night, at least. All his protagonists (in the books I have read) are not bad people. They have flaws, yes, but we all do, and that it what makes the book effective as a thriller.
I would definitely recommend this book. The detail, the imagery, the characters, the fragmented writing style echoes how many people feel with they are trapped and allow their imaginations to wander. It does everything a good book is supposed to do - you enter the story not only as an observer, but, at times, as a participant. The characters and story stay with you long after you close the book.
Just don't read it when you are home alone. Trust me on this one.
The book is scary, yes. But not vampire scary or dead pets scary or even dolls coming to life scary - he taps into a fear that almost everyone has when they hear the house settle or something move out of the corner of their eye or hear a sound they may or may not have heard from the basement or attic. The fear of the unknown is the "scary part" of the book. Although effective for thrills, it does not touch the psychological part of the book.
The "hotel manager" uses Jack's battle with alcoholism, his guilt, his bitterness and his feelings of failure to destroy his son Danny (of whom the hotel is jealous? I am not sure what the motivation was). It does not, however, introduce anything new into Jack's mind - it simply intensifies it. I think that that is the real story, not ladies in bathtubs and animate topiary. It is Jack's battle with himself, his past, his wife, his son, his feeling of inadequacy, and worst of all his temper that is the backbone of the story. The imagery and inner thoughts are something that even the best actor could not portray. The writing sucks you in and you cannot help but internalize all the things he must be going through and the feelings he must be having.
I think what I love most about SK is that he does not write about creepy things, he writes about how the people in his novels react to these creepy things, and he is almost asking the reader to put herself into that situation. Being scared is almost a side effect; thinking about how you would react is the thing that kept me up at night, at least. All his protagonists (in the books I have read) are not bad people. They have flaws, yes, but we all do, and that it what makes the book effective as a thriller.
I would definitely recommend this book. The detail, the imagery, the characters, the fragmented writing style echoes how many people feel with they are trapped and allow their imaginations to wander. It does everything a good book is supposed to do - you enter the story not only as an observer, but, at times, as a participant. The characters and story stay with you long after you close the book.
Just don't read it when you are home alone. Trust me on this one.
posted by Deepa at 10:06 AM
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