688 pages
English language
Published June 26, 2012 by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
The Shining is a 1977 horror novel by American author Stephen King. It is King's third published novel and first hardback bestseller; its success firmly established King as a preeminent author in the horror genre. The setting and characters are influenced by King's personal experiences, including both his visit to The Stanley Hotel in 1974 and his struggle with alcoholism. The novel was adapted into a 1980 film of the same name. The book was followed by a sequel, Doctor Sleep, published in 2013, which was adapted into a film of the same name. The Shining centers on the life of Jack Torrance, a struggling writer and recovering alcoholic who accepts a position as the off-season caretaker of the historic Overlook Hotel in the Colorado Rockies. His family accompanies him on this job, including his young son Danny Torrance, who possesses "the shining", an array of psychic abilities that allow …
The Shining is a 1977 horror novel by American author Stephen King. It is King's third published novel and first hardback bestseller; its success firmly established King as a preeminent author in the horror genre. The setting and characters are influenced by King's personal experiences, including both his visit to The Stanley Hotel in 1974 and his struggle with alcoholism. The novel was adapted into a 1980 film of the same name. The book was followed by a sequel, Doctor Sleep, published in 2013, which was adapted into a film of the same name. The Shining centers on the life of Jack Torrance, a struggling writer and recovering alcoholic who accepts a position as the off-season caretaker of the historic Overlook Hotel in the Colorado Rockies. His family accompanies him on this job, including his young son Danny Torrance, who possesses "the shining", an array of psychic abilities that allow Danny to see the hotel's horrific past. Soon, after a winter storm leaves them snowbound, the supernatural forces inhabiting the hotel influence Jack's sanity, leaving his wife and son in incredible danger.
He writes about breasts way too often and in an unsettling way. Also uses some offensive language he shouldn't have. Spooky, but overrated.
Like many, I came to this book already very familiar with Kubrick's film adaptation, which I regard as a masterpiece. It always troubled me that [a:Stephen King|3389|Stephen King|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1362814142p2/3389.jpg] was not a fan of the film himself, so I finally decided to read the book in hopes of understanding why this was the case. Admittedly, while I have enjoyed much of King's work in the past, I expected to conclude that the Kubrick film is superior to the source material.
Having finished the book, however, I am unable to say that I prefer one version over the other. Both are excellent works, perfectly rendered for their respective media.
The book is nearly flawless--what I mistook for a dragging pace in the beginning was merely my own impatience, driven by expectations set by the film's slightly different story arc. The film is more loyal to the book than I expected, but it's …
Like many, I came to this book already very familiar with Kubrick's film adaptation, which I regard as a masterpiece. It always troubled me that [a:Stephen King|3389|Stephen King|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1362814142p2/3389.jpg] was not a fan of the film himself, so I finally decided to read the book in hopes of understanding why this was the case. Admittedly, while I have enjoyed much of King's work in the past, I expected to conclude that the Kubrick film is superior to the source material.
Having finished the book, however, I am unable to say that I prefer one version over the other. Both are excellent works, perfectly rendered for their respective media.
The book is nearly flawless--what I mistook for a dragging pace in the beginning was merely my own impatience, driven by expectations set by the film's slightly different story arc. The film is more loyal to the book than I expected, but it's ultimately a subset of the details and imagery in the book, distilling the key elements of terror into a visual work that goes as far as it needs to, and no further. In the book, King had carte blanche to create whatever he wanted--as well as the room to fully develop family and hotel history--without the limitations of the screen, and the result is a brilliant story that is legitimately terrifying.
Kubrick was wise to pare down imagery that worked brilliantly on paper, leaving much up to the reader's imagination instead of recreating the book scene for scene, but perhaps some of the liberties he took were what chafed King? After all, his book was already a finished story and didn't need any further editorial revision. I can see this point of view, and I can respect it. But a perfectly true film adaptation of this story would not be as satisfying, and ultimately would not do the book justice.
And that would be far, far less than a masterful book like this one deserves.
I thought I read this book in my teens but the farther I got into it, the more certain I became that I hadn't. I would have remembered how well done Jack's descent into madness was. For me, that was the best part of the book. I did enjoy Danny's parts of the book, and Wendy's to a lesser extent, but the star of the show was Jack's changes and his growing connection to the hotel.
I think my biggest shock was just how different Kubrick's film is to the novel. I need to watch the movie again since I don't remember a lot of the details. That and the insane number of times the N-word was used. I wasn't expecting it and it really put me off.
I listened to the audio book and initially Campbell Scott's calm tone made me wonder if I wouldn't fall asleep while reading. …
I thought I read this book in my teens but the farther I got into it, the more certain I became that I hadn't. I would have remembered how well done Jack's descent into madness was. For me, that was the best part of the book. I did enjoy Danny's parts of the book, and Wendy's to a lesser extent, but the star of the show was Jack's changes and his growing connection to the hotel.
I think my biggest shock was just how different Kubrick's film is to the novel. I need to watch the movie again since I don't remember a lot of the details. That and the insane number of times the N-word was used. I wasn't expecting it and it really put me off.
I listened to the audio book and initially Campbell Scott's calm tone made me wonder if I wouldn't fall asleep while reading. Luckily, he got down to business when the dialogue and more intense narration called for it. He did a really good job.
I don't know if it was just the audio book and there were clearer demarcations in the physical book, but I was throw off regularly which POV switches. There were a few times when I had to rewind to see if I either missed something or to figure out who was sharing info.
I'm glad I read this one. It won't end up on my all-time favorite Stephen King list but I enjoyed the story. 3.5 stars for me.
Having seen the movie (my favorite thriller of all time), I decided to read this before starting Doctor Sleep. Am I ever glad I did! The movie tells a completely different story! I would have been so confused with all of the references that Doctor Sleep makes to the first book. I haven't read Stephen King since high school, so I now respect him as the talented author he is. Absolutely amazing book.
