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loves_nurse's review against another edition
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Early Stephen King's writing really blossoms with this book. However the casual use of the N-word is jarring to read in modern age.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Cursing, and Racial slurs
kyleevoyce's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
christopherthyberg's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
5.0
lauraborkpower's review against another edition
5.0
So creepy and terrific! Don't be fooled by the film, though. Although it's excellent in its own right, the two are very different and should be regarded as so.
mcloonejack's review against another edition
5.0
While I (I think deservedly) give King a lot of crap for being uneven from book to book, WOW is The Shining a high watermark. Like ‘Salem’s Lot, when this man is clicking, his ability to scare you half to death and back is unmatched.
The pacing of this book is terrific, building from a nice family overcoming problems to you watching a man unspool before your very eyes and all that entails. It’s got a pretty good mystery at its core, too.
A particular high point of this book is King’s ability to write conflicting internal monologues, which is good because the vast majority of this book is people thinking. That style of writing is hard to pull off (ask King himself; he’s less successful with it in other books) but is perfect here. His writing in particular of Danny as well, while maybe a bit to high-level for a five-year-old, isn’t actually that far off when you also consider his shine, plus is used in important ways throughout.
Wendy is also one of King’s better female characters that I’ve read so far (a low bar), especially just on complexity and a role in the plot beyond needing to be saved.
The real highlight of character, though, is Jack himself, who is as conflicted a main character as I’ve seen written (and a much deeper character than in the film). The conflicting internal monologues are strongest with him, and they tease out the story of a man who really was trying to be a good father, but was subsumed by past trauma, alcohol addiction and then darker forces. So much of the terror of this book is knowing that he can change moods on a dime, and that the changes and moods become more violent as it goes on.
The actual supernatural elements, as they start to leak in, are downright horrifying. While a lot of attention is given in pop culture to the woman in room 217 (since that made it to the movie), the hedge animals are some of the most terrifying beasts I’ve ever read.
For all its positives, this wouldn’t be a Stephen King book of a certain era without the magical negro trope/some really overwhelming use of the n-word. Obviously wouldn’t fly today, and I’m not entirely sure how it flew then, so I’d be wary of that.
As someone who only knew mostly of the movie before reading (but hadn’t seen the whole thing), there are major differences between the two. I’m definitely looking forward to watching the movie, but for those that are looking to go the opposite direction, I highly recommend. You don’t have the whole story, or at least a version of it.
The pacing of this book is terrific, building from a nice family overcoming problems to you watching a man unspool before your very eyes and all that entails. It’s got a pretty good mystery at its core, too.
A particular high point of this book is King’s ability to write conflicting internal monologues, which is good because the vast majority of this book is people thinking. That style of writing is hard to pull off (ask King himself; he’s less successful with it in other books) but is perfect here. His writing in particular of Danny as well, while maybe a bit to high-level for a five-year-old, isn’t actually that far off when you also consider his shine, plus is used in important ways throughout.
Wendy is also one of King’s better female characters that I’ve read so far (a low bar), especially just on complexity and a role in the plot beyond needing to be saved.
The real highlight of character, though, is Jack himself, who is as conflicted a main character as I’ve seen written (and a much deeper character than in the film). The conflicting internal monologues are strongest with him, and they tease out the story of a man who really was trying to be a good father, but was subsumed by past trauma, alcohol addiction and then darker forces. So much of the terror of this book is knowing that he can change moods on a dime, and that the changes and moods become more violent as it goes on.
The actual supernatural elements, as they start to leak in, are downright horrifying. While a lot of attention is given in pop culture to the woman in room 217 (since that made it to the movie), the hedge animals are some of the most terrifying beasts I’ve ever read.
For all its positives, this wouldn’t be a Stephen King book of a certain era without the magical negro trope/some really overwhelming use of the n-word. Obviously wouldn’t fly today, and I’m not entirely sure how it flew then, so I’d be wary of that.
As someone who only knew mostly of the movie before reading (but hadn’t seen the whole thing), there are major differences between the two. I’m definitely looking forward to watching the movie, but for those that are looking to go the opposite direction, I highly recommend. You don’t have the whole story, or at least a version of it.
lauraborkpower's review against another edition
5.0
Without being hyperbolic I think I can say that this is the scariest book I've ever read. I've read it before--a couple of times--and I always forget that it really is just that scary. But it is.
About halfway through I started to try to identify why it's so scary and I think I have narrowed it down to two of King's techniques: pacing and parentheses. The way the story unfolds is just perfect and, true to the Overlook's boiler, it creeps. We know up front who and what Danny is, but it's the Overlook and Jack that are revealed to us slowly, slowly, slowly, of course as they become one entity.
And King's use of parentheticals pushes the reader into the story without a second thought. And oddly enough, although they seem to interrupt the narration, these parentheses don't really interrupt at all, but make the story move more quickly as we are constantly seeing multiple sides of the characters' thought processes. We're getting to know their regular reactions and thoughts but also their fears and phobias that creep just under the surface in those parentheses. It's really a terrific narrative tool.
So read it, in a busy place in the middle of the day when the sun is at its highest. And then wait a few years and read it again.
About halfway through I started to try to identify why it's so scary and I think I have narrowed it down to two of King's techniques: pacing and parentheses. The way the story unfolds is just perfect and, true to the Overlook's boiler, it creeps. We know up front who and what Danny is, but it's the Overlook and Jack that are revealed to us slowly, slowly, slowly, of course as they become one entity.
And King's use of parentheticals pushes the reader into the story without a second thought. And oddly enough, although they seem to interrupt the narration, these parentheses don't really interrupt at all, but make the story move more quickly as we are constantly seeing multiple sides of the characters' thought processes. We're getting to know their regular reactions and thoughts but also their fears and phobias that creep just under the surface in those parentheses. It's really a terrific narrative tool.
So read it, in a busy place in the middle of the day when the sun is at its highest. And then wait a few years and read it again.
hall2020's review against another edition
5.0
I do not feel a review is necessary considering how many there already are so back in the freezer you go.
jedwards97's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Certainly not your average horror story. King manages to weave horror, mystery, psychology, family, trauma, hope in such a beautiful yet terrifying way. I found myself questioning the supernatural elements in comparison to the psychology of the characters which unravels masterfully as the plot continues. It’s incredibly hard to put down, the more you read the better it is reflecting on the previous actions of the characters and the more foreboding and bleak the future becomes. It gave me the sense of horror in between the lines, the portrait of the overlook is painted so well that it feels as if what’s recounted by the Torrance’s is only a portion of what’s actually happening, like even when they aren’t aware there’s some terrible presence lurking in the atmosphere. I couldn’t recommend this enough.
thriller_buffet's review against another edition
5.0
My favourite Stephen King novel so far.. I enjoyed every minute of the audiobook and cried my head out for Jack Torrence