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alys_griffiths97's review against another edition
4.0
Misery' is a gruesome story of obsession and addiction. It’s extremely well told and the characters are well developed. It’s especially amazing that for most of the book we only follow two characters, but King never managed to make the book boring. It's a real page turner and I finished it in only a couple of days.
We follow Paul Sheldon, a best selling author of a romance series in which he has just killed off the lead character, Misery Chastain. After finishing a new novel Paul has a car accident and awakes to find that his legs have been shattered, but that he's been saved by his self-proclaimed number one fan, Annie Wilkes. Unfortunately, Annie turns out to be more than just a little crazy, and when she learns that Paul killed her beloved Misery in the latest book she demands that he write a new one that brings back her favourite character. Held captive by a madwoman, Paul is almost helpless to resist the physical and psychological tortures she uses to get her way while insisting that it's really for his own good.
Annie Wilkes is the stuff of nightmares, and is one of the most captivatingly twisted villains I’ve read. King does a masterful job of trapping us in that room with Paul Sheldon and putting us completely at the mercy of Annie's shifting moods.
The tense atmosphere created permanent fear that continuously escalates, becoming more and more shocking, with horrifying revelations, actions, and torture methods. King creates a constant feeling of uncertainty for both Paul and the reader. Never knowing what comes next slowly eats away the mental sanity of the protagonist while Annie is spiralling further into her psychotic episode. As the reader, I felt we entered the mind of Paul as he slowly became more mad himself as he endured the torture.
Overall I really enjoyed this book, and is one of my favourites of Stephen King’s. I didn’t enjoy the use of rape and sexual assault as a metaphor, it was unnecessary and King certainly has the ability to create something better. That said, this was a gripping novel that showcased when obsession takes over.
kate_kd's review against another edition
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
kasvi_mavani's review against another edition
1.0
I was really put off by the constant use of sexual assault as a metaphor. It was repeated and I felt that it was extremely unnecessary and added no substance to the plot or character in any way. Did not like this, and the writing has made me lose interest in King’s other novels.
pampa98's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
burialshroud's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
mugsexton's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
crumb92's review against another edition
Couldn’t get into it. Very rarely don’t finish books but not worth the wasted time when a lot of reviews say if you’re not interested at the start it doesn’t change much
jenmangler's review against another edition
3.0
Annie Wilkes is the stuff of nightmares. King does a masterful job of trapping us in that room with Paul Sheldon and putting us completely at the mercy of Annie's shifting moods.
ffrank's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
lily_maym's review against another edition
challenging
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0