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4.21 AVERAGE
4.21 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a 3.5 stars.
I think the story is too long and it drags you through the set up of everything for like 500 pages but picks up in the last 100 pages, but its the fact that its the last 100 of 680 pages. My brain cells were absolutely fried by the end of the reading. I do love that with Stephen King's writing I never lack detail or scenery, he always executes painting out the scene for me. I enjoyed the way he wrote for this book, because as he wrote a scene in the perspective of one character, he would mention what is happening with other characters or what they are doing at the same time the scene we are currently reading play out. It was also so fun to see the transition of perspective for Danny, imagine Stephen king trying to write like a 5 year-old. Only he could pull it off.
I think the story is too long and it drags you through the set up of everything for like 500 pages but picks up in the last 100 pages, but its the fact that its the last 100 of 680 pages. My brain cells were absolutely fried by the end of the reading. I do love that with Stephen King's writing I never lack detail or scenery, he always executes painting out the scene for me. I enjoyed the way he wrote for this book, because as he wrote a scene in the perspective of one character, he would mention what is happening with other characters or what they are doing at the same time the scene we are currently reading play out. It was also so fun to see the transition of perspective for Danny, imagine Stephen king trying to write like a 5 year-old. Only he could pull it off.
Reading Stephen King in October is like peanut butter & jelly. 4/5
Stanley Kubrick's The Shining is one of my favorite movies (horror or otherwise) of all time. I saw it at an impressionable age and its nightmarish images burrowed their way into my psyche. It occupies a place in my heart reserved for movies that had a profound affect on me.
I knew going into reading the source material that the movie differed from the book. I was well aware of King's disdain for the movie. I was prepared to be bored with the book.
How nice to be surprised. The bones of the overall plot are mostly the same: the Torrance family agrees to ride out the harsh, Colorado winter while caring for the ominous Overlook Hotel. The youngest Torrance, Danny, has psychic abilities and can detect a malevolent force in the hotel that begins to cross over from the imagined to the very real.
And while I still love the movie, I appreciated that there were layers in the book that were absent in the film. (The book is always better than the movie, right?)
No disrespect to Jack Nicholson, but the book takes you on a much deeper dive into Jack's madness. The movie draws its horror from some ambiguity that isn't present in the book. (To the question of: Is the hotel responsible for the macabre events, or is Jack merely descending into madness, King gives a fairly definitive answer: it's the hotel.) Another thing I appreciated about the book is that Jack and Wendy acknowledge the hotel's evil presence early on in the book. They aren't clueless... both are aware the hotel is having an effect on their family.
Knowing King's history, The Shining also dealt in some uncomfortable autobiographical qualities. Jack is:
-A struggling writer
-An alcoholic
-A teacher
He might as well be a stand-in for Stephen King.
One of the other major differences is how King mines the Overlook's ghosts for the horror aspect of the story. Again, the movie leaves it up to the viewer but King is pretty clear: these ghosts are here to cause harm. Apart from a few other differences the story is mostly the same.
One area the movie improved upon: the ending. Anyone who's read more than one Stephen King book knows he struggles with endings. The Shining is no exception. The story builds and builds to a climax that just kind of... happens. It left me asking, "That's it?" But... that's Stephen King for you.
All in all a great October read and despite many similarities between the book and the movie, I think each stands on its own for unique reasons. And that's the testament to King, considering someone like me (who loves the movie so much) can still glean enjoyment out of the source material.
Stanley Kubrick's The Shining is one of my favorite movies (horror or otherwise) of all time. I saw it at an impressionable age and its nightmarish images burrowed their way into my psyche. It occupies a place in my heart reserved for movies that had a profound affect on me.
I knew going into reading the source material that the movie differed from the book. I was well aware of King's disdain for the movie. I was prepared to be bored with the book.
How nice to be surprised. The bones of the overall plot are mostly the same: the Torrance family agrees to ride out the harsh, Colorado winter while caring for the ominous Overlook Hotel. The youngest Torrance, Danny, has psychic abilities and can detect a malevolent force in the hotel that begins to cross over from the imagined to the very real.
And while I still love the movie, I appreciated that there were layers in the book that were absent in the film. (The book is always better than the movie, right?)
No disrespect to Jack Nicholson, but the book takes you on a much deeper dive into Jack's madness. The movie draws its horror from some ambiguity that isn't present in the book. (To the question of: Is the hotel responsible for the macabre events, or is Jack merely descending into madness, King gives a fairly definitive answer: it's the hotel.) Another thing I appreciated about the book is that Jack and Wendy acknowledge the hotel's evil presence early on in the book. They aren't clueless... both are aware the hotel is having an effect on their family.
Knowing King's history, The Shining also dealt in some uncomfortable autobiographical qualities. Jack is:
-A struggling writer
-An alcoholic
-A teacher
He might as well be a stand-in for Stephen King.
One of the other major differences is how King mines the Overlook's ghosts for the horror aspect of the story. Again, the movie leaves it up to the viewer but King is pretty clear: these ghosts are here to cause harm. Apart from a few other differences the story is mostly the same.
One area the movie improved upon: the ending. Anyone who's read more than one Stephen King book knows he struggles with endings. The Shining is no exception. The story builds and builds to a climax that just kind of... happens. It left me asking, "That's it?" But... that's Stephen King for you.
All in all a great October read and despite many similarities between the book and the movie, I think each stands on its own for unique reasons. And that's the testament to King, considering someone like me (who loves the movie so much) can still glean enjoyment out of the source material.
The book has A LOT more character development than the movie. Obviously. But I have watched this movie 1000x and have always loved it. The ending. Completely different!!!!
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
(Segunda vez que escribo esta review porque la primera Goodreads y/o mi wifi se rallaron y no la publicaron)
Tengo sentimientos encontrados con este libro. Quizá sería más un 3.5 que un 4. No ha estado mal, pero supongo que después de que mucha gente lo pusiera por las nubes no superó mis expectativas. En mi opinión personal, no es ni de lejos el mejor libro de Stephen King (al menos no entre los que me he leído yo, que por supuesto no son todos). No digo que sea malo, pero la historia no me pareció la gran cosa, y los personajes-a parte de Danny-tampoco me encantaron. Eso sí, es la primera vez que un libro me asusta hasta ese punto, aunque solo fuera en dos momentos puntuales, así que eso hay que dárselo. Para más inri, me esperaba un final apoteósico, y tampoco fue así. No sé, no digo que sea malo, porque es el primer libro que me ha provocado pesadillas y me ha tenido bastante enganchada la mayor parte, pero me esperaba otra cosa. Y como le pasa muchas veces a Stephen King, podría ser más corto.
Lo dicho, sentimientos encontrados.
Tengo sentimientos encontrados con este libro. Quizá sería más un 3.5 que un 4. No ha estado mal, pero supongo que después de que mucha gente lo pusiera por las nubes no superó mis expectativas. En mi opinión personal, no es ni de lejos el mejor libro de Stephen King (al menos no entre los que me he leído yo, que por supuesto no son todos). No digo que sea malo, pero la historia no me pareció la gran cosa, y los personajes-a parte de Danny-tampoco me encantaron. Eso sí, es la primera vez que un libro me asusta hasta ese punto, aunque solo fuera en dos momentos puntuales, así que eso hay que dárselo. Para más inri, me esperaba un final apoteósico, y tampoco fue así. No sé, no digo que sea malo, porque es el primer libro que me ha provocado pesadillas y me ha tenido bastante enganchada la mayor parte, pero me esperaba otra cosa. Y como le pasa muchas veces a Stephen King, podría ser más corto.
Lo dicho, sentimientos encontrados.
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really hope I don't get blacklisted from the app for preferring the movie's plot to the original way king intended it
dark
tense
medium-paced
It was so scary that I had to put it down several times. I'd say it's the best Stephen King Book I've read so far.