Reviews with content warning for Suicidal thoughts - The Shining

Speechless. Barely know what to write (although I'll try). Just impeccable. I was immediately drawn in by the writing style, the characters, the setting, the psychological implications of various experiences, history. I love the movie for its ambiguity and thriller style but I EQUALLY love this book for its introspectiveness, its attention to detail, its story. I just...am a little lost for words. I just love it as a character study, about what our past can do to us in the future. I loved the paranormal aspects, the motif of the party and the masks. Brilliant! The breakdown of a family unit, the jealousy and heartbreak that can come from being loved. SO bloody great. I love the ending of the movie and I was kind of disappointed when I knew that that wasn't going to happen in the book BUT I was rewarded with a beautifully moving little moment that genuinely brought me to tears. Stephen King really did something here! And he wrote it so lovingly and/or so grotesquely too. Very excited to get more into King. I'm kind of intrigued by Doctor Sleep as a sequel (I mean the book never needed a sequel I don't think and neither did the movie - I've seen the Doctor Sleep movie but I barely remember it so I would be willing to give the book a go).

Content Warnings

lydiavsbooks's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Reread: raced through the first 200/300 pages much faster than i expected, and dragged my way through the last half, although I think that has more to do with my reading mood rather than the book itself.

On reread I think I appreciate the concept more, partly because of how much I love Doctor Sleep, and really just had fun with it and the commentary (for lack of a better word) on alcoholism, domestic abuse, the family structure etc that ran underneath these concepts of the Overlook and the shine.

The first time I read it I was irritated by Wendy, but this time I loved her. I thought Wendy was a brilliant, very real character with very real traumas. Danny and Wendy just feel so real, they're so well written.

I dis find that i wanted to be scared more than I found myself being. This was a reread, which might not help, but I don't really remember being creeped out the first time either. Obviously a very personal thing, but did find myself feeling a little underwhelmed by that if I'm honest.

The kind of book you can really just sink your brain into, and kill time thinking about, which I think says a lot

Content Warnings

ivana's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

itshardizzy's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was my first time reading Stephen King and I liked his writing style and how he describe certain things in a way that I wouldn't describe or that I wouldn't imagine being describe in the way that was. He plays really well with time gaping, intertwining past, present and future with an amazing facility. He really doesn't have a filter or a limit of how gruesome he can go with his characters/plot and that was at the same time nice as it was shocking.

The plot kinda reminded my of the Hunting of Hill house but way more violent. The hotel really takes your ugliest emotions and feelings and amplify it — which is a bad combination when encounters Jack, a very problematic character. Jack was an easy character to hate, because even though sometimes he showed the he wanted to change, other times he put himself at a victim place. He really thinks that he is a bad person because of the way he grow up – which is probably one of the reasons but don't change the fact that he is a shitty person.

King didn't hold back on showing his characters deepest feelings. We really went deep into their thoughts and emotions – specially Jack's. We saw the character without any filter even the most horrible thoughts that was very usual for him to have. And I loved how Jack was being manipulated by the hotel but didn't wanted to acknowledge it, because he wanted so bad to be ok and to believe he was ok that he turned a blind eye to all the things happening.

Danny is a really interesting character, so interesting as Jack. He is a child but at the same time he is so smart and has a deeply understanding of life than his parents. King did a good job with his abilities, he wrote it so well that it was almost like his abilities are something totally normal. And his compassion towards his dad is heart warming but at the same time heart breaking.

Wendy is another one that suffers a lot because of Jack. She is really strong and is as compassionate as her kid. She wants to believe that Jack can change but at the same time she know that he can't. And she has so much love for Danny, so much love that she is willing to do anything for him. She is the one that believes in Danny when he talks about his abilities and she is the one that tried the hardest to get them out of there.

And even when Jack is possessed by the house and trying to kill them, she tries to protect his image and explains to Danny that he isn't the Jack that they know, which was a very selfless act for someone who is a victim of domestic violence

I believe that this is a great book to start reading Stephen King and I'll definitely be reading more stuff that he writes.

Content Warnings

secondlastk's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark tense

Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This is the first time I've read a Stephen King book I enjoyed! It's also a fun one to compare and contrast with the movie adaptation, since it's different Enough. I found the building tension extremely compelling, in each scene as well as the entire book, even though I knew the ending.

Content Warnings

More...