The Shining, a horror novel written by Stephen King and published in 1977, is kind of disappointing. The book starts off quite slow, giving a lot of background information on the characters and how they got into their current situation which has them living in a hotel. As you get further into the chapters, the plot begins to unfold, describing more of the horrors and strange occurrences in the family's everyday lives. Even though The Shining has an engaging and chilling climax that shocks the readers, I found the exposition that is given to the readers to be excessive and thought that it was quite slow-moving at the beginning. I started reading this book thinking that I would be scared from the start but felt disappointed when the book began by describing each character in vivid detail. I think that if you go into reading this book with extremely high expectations, thinking that you will be chilled to your core from the start that you will be underwhelmed by the writing.The Shining follows the life of Jack and Wendy Torrance who live in the Overlook Hotel with their supernaturally gifted five-year-old son Danny. While living in the Overlook, Danny begins to experience strange and cruel visions with themes of violence and murder. These visions are described as a power that is possessed by Danny called the shine, hence the title The Shining. As the Torrance family spends more time in this hotel, they begin to uncover the chilling events that have occurred in the Overlook. While Jack and Wendy are learning more and more about this hotel, Danny experiences more frightening visions that are now related to the hotel. It is later discovered that these visions are the spirits of the hotel trying to posses Danny, however, he is too powerful and fights them off resulting in the spirits moving on and attempting to possess Jack. Jack who is weak due to his alcoholism becomes easily possessed by the hotel and begins to wreak havoc upon his family, putting them in danger. These reoccurring possessions of Jack lead to a fight between Jack and the rest of his family which ends in Danny and Wendy safe and away from the Overlook.
Overall, I think that this is a great book and showcases Stephen King's ability to write novels that are so detailed that the reader feels as though they are in the book. However, my only complaint about this would be that it was too slow-moving at the beginning. I found it difficult to read the novel at the start, just because there was so much background information given on the characters and the hotel. I would have liked for there to be a faster buildup to the climax but found that the wait was worth it.
I would recommend this book to those who enjoy horror, psychological thrillers, and suspense novels as well as to people who have enjoyed the movie adaptations of Stephen King's novels like IT. This book is not a short read, so I would recommend making sure that you have a lot of spare time when you begin reading so that you can fully understand what's happening throughout the chapters.
-Andrea Torelli
Great Review, I appreciate how candid you are about this novel, especially because it was written by such a renowned author. I think we can get lost in the fact that the writing of the "greats" is supposed to be some of the greatest we read. Your review shows even full time authors can make mistakes. I think maybe it is important to describe each character and the setting in detail at the beginning of the story, so you can feel like you are really in the story. You said at the end he does a good job of making the reader feel immersed, so maybe you subconsciously went back to the information presented exposition from time to time while reading the book. Overall, I'll have to check it out when I get the chance. I've always wanted to read a Stephen King novel.
ReplyDeleteI am very happy that some one finally wrote a review of this book. I like how you clearly explain to the reader of your blog the purpose of the slow beginning and its purpose in the book because the slow beginnings in Stephen King's novels are why a lot of people are cautious to go deep into any of his novels. Another part of your review that I like is your description of the story and characters. You give the reader of your blog enough information to help them decide whether or not they are interested in the book without giving away the entirety of the novel. In summary, you have written a concise, well written review.
ReplyDeleteNice review! I, for one, wouldn't be able to even read the summary, but I can understand how writing that immerses the reader into the story would be worth the horror. I also understand how it feels when a book is slow in the beginning. I applaud you for sticking with the book until the end. Your summary was descriptive without giving away spoilers and you give opinions without fully discouraging or encouraging a reader to check it out, giving them a choice after presenting your experience.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your honest review! I remember reading parts of this book and experiencing something completely different than I was expecting. I suppose it is harder for books to give you a sudden or jarring scare, so it's more important for them to have slow moving concepts that chill the reader to their core rather than a jump scare. However, I definitely agree that this book takes a while to get into the creepy stuff, and is not what one might expect out of it after watching the movie adaptation of The Shining.
ReplyDeleteGreat review! I have never read The Shining, but I have heard of it and read other horror stories by Stephen King. In my experience reading horror stories, I have found that they generally start out slowly at the beginning, especially in Stephen King's stories. I thought your summary was helpful and concise, and you did a good job explaining what you like and don't like about the book.
ReplyDeleteSuper good review! I've heard a lot of good things about Stephen King as an author, and, while I've never read any of his books myself, I have watched the movie based off of IT, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I've never actually read a "horror book", but I really enjoy watching horror movies, so I may give it a try. Your description of the characters was really in depth, and they sound like King really put a lot of thought into them. I definitely want to read this book now!
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame the book starts slowly, since the plot seems really compelling. I'm glad that the buildup was worth getting through. Though I haven't read many horror novels, I feel like this book is one that I could enjoy. You did a good job in stating the book's pros and cons and making your opinions clear.
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