Book Review: The Shining by Stephen King

 The Shining by Stephen King
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

One thing about books like The Shining that people talk so much about is that it leaves me anxious if it will live up to my expectations. This has been especially true with this book because I watched the Stanley Kubrick version on reel first. I loved the movie. It is a classic and will remain so and I was much excited and anxious to get my hands on the book and when I picked up the book on an afternoon, I simply had to push myself to put it down once in a while, so that may be I could, blink? The 4 days I couldn't read the book as my reading app crashed were torturous.

I like the book. It is well narrated, gripping and it successfully transports you to the Overlook Hotel that wishes to consume the lives of an already broken family of a recovering alcoholic trying to pick themselves up as caretakers of the hotel which is closed for the winter. Trapped from the world, it becomes truly tragic when the person you hope would be the protector, surrenders to the greed of the dark forces of the hotel which deems to use the "shine" of the little boy to survive in a world where they don't belong.

Stephen King conveys the story from the point of view of each of the characters in a way that makes you experience the story as one of them. You feel the terror, the hopelessness, the tragedy. At times there's a lump in your throat for the failed Jack Torrance, or there is a protective aura in your head for the wronged Danny, or there is sympathy for the helpless Wendy Torrance. More than anything, I like the way Jack's dilemma, his tumultuous mental debates and the final surrender is penned down. Rather than the horror, I love the human emotions this book enclose.

As I mentioned earlier, I watched the movie first. I couldn't help but compare though I'd prefer not to do it here. They are very different though the story line and the characters remain the same. Stanley Kubrick's amazing visualization and story telling lays down the fact that cinema is a director's fact. "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy", the scene from the movie where Wendy Torrance is forced to gulp down the fact that they are doomed and the elevator scene with blood splashing in from all the side are master pieces. But I liked Stephen King's version of the characters better. I loved how the story progressed in the book, but I was more impressed by how the climax was in the movie than the book. The book and the movie are very different and I don't want to come to a decision on which is better. I find them equally wonderful and appealing.

This is a good read, that is for sure. Highly recommended as a good first time horror read by a first timer in the genre.


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