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A review by courtneydoss
The Shining by Stephen King
5.0
Pretty much everybody knows what The Shining is about. A man, his wife, and their small son living in a closed down hotel over the winter, far removed from the rest of civilization and left with no way out. Of course, the hotel is haunted by a series of misfortunes, but Jack Torrance and his wife Wendy are also haunted. They bring with them their own ghosts, shadowy pasts filled with demons that assist in building a creepy, atmospheric tale of haunting.
Because I have not lived under a rock at any point during my life, I have seen Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of this book, and I expected that it would come out the same way. I sat through the tense final chapters expecting the ending to be what I had seen on film, and I was incredibly relieved to discover that it was not so. Stanley Kubrick was telling a different story when he made the film version of The Shining. The story that Stephen King was telling was, to me, far more compelling and believable.
Without spoiling too much, I found that I actually really liked Jack Torrance. His descent into madness is well known, the classic "Here's Johnny!" axe against the bathroom door scene an absolute staple of pop culture literacy. However, King's version of Jack is far more nuanced and complex. His struggle to remain sober is only one of the weapons that the hotel uses against him. We see his struggle against being like his father, while simultaneously being driven through madness into the same behaviors that his father was known for. We see his desire to be so much more than he has turned out to be, and how the Overlook preys on this desire to lull him into a sense of security. The Overlook makes him feel special in a way that he has been lacking, and so distracts him from its true motives; to get at his son, Danny.
I was very impressed with the way that King crafted such a flawed character, made him commit terrible acts, and yet was still able to make him lovable. I was particularly captured in the latter portion of the novel, when Jack is roaming the halls of the Overlook in a rage, driven mad by the hotel, attempting to murder his wife and son. At the same time that I was chewing my nails in anxiety about Danny and Wendy making it out unscathed, I was hoping against hope that somehow Jack would make it out too. That they could get away from him without killing him, that he could be redeemed. It's hard to love a roque mallet wielding psychopath, but I did. I wanted him to succeed in fighting his demons, and I wanted them all to be a happy family at the end.
Wendy, too, was much more likable to me in print than on film. I don't remember much about her in the film, but I do know that she was far less bad ass than the Wendy Torrance of the novel. The way that Wendy summons her strength to fight against her husband, protect her child, and do what needs to be done in the ending portion of the novel was awesome. Sure, she made a couple dumb mistakes throughout the novel, but what character doesn't make mistakes that are crystal clear from the vantage point of dramatic irony? I liked her. And of course, Danny Torrance is a godsend. Precious cinnamon roll too good for this world.
I definitely look forward to reading the follow up novel to this one, Doctor Sleep, just to catch up on what happened to Danny.
Because I have not lived under a rock at any point during my life, I have seen Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of this book, and I expected that it would come out the same way. I sat through the tense final chapters expecting the ending to be what I had seen on film, and I was incredibly relieved to discover that it was not so. Stanley Kubrick was telling a different story when he made the film version of The Shining. The story that Stephen King was telling was, to me, far more compelling and believable.
Without spoiling too much, I found that I actually really liked Jack Torrance. His descent into madness is well known, the classic "Here's Johnny!" axe against the bathroom door scene an absolute staple of pop culture literacy. However, King's version of Jack is far more nuanced and complex. His struggle to remain sober is only one of the weapons that the hotel uses against him. We see his struggle against being like his father, while simultaneously being driven through madness into the same behaviors that his father was known for. We see his desire to be so much more than he has turned out to be, and how the Overlook preys on this desire to lull him into a sense of security. The Overlook makes him feel special in a way that he has been lacking, and so distracts him from its true motives; to get at his son, Danny.
I was very impressed with the way that King crafted such a flawed character, made him commit terrible acts, and yet was still able to make him lovable. I was particularly captured in the latter portion of the novel, when Jack is roaming the halls of the Overlook in a rage, driven mad by the hotel, attempting to murder his wife and son. At the same time that I was chewing my nails in anxiety about Danny and Wendy making it out unscathed, I was hoping against hope that somehow Jack would make it out too. That they could get away from him without killing him, that he could be redeemed. It's hard to love a roque mallet wielding psychopath, but I did. I wanted him to succeed in fighting his demons, and I wanted them all to be a happy family at the end.
Wendy, too, was much more likable to me in print than on film. I don't remember much about her in the film, but I do know that she was far less bad ass than the Wendy Torrance of the novel. The way that Wendy summons her strength to fight against her husband, protect her child, and do what needs to be done in the ending portion of the novel was awesome. Sure, she made a couple dumb mistakes throughout the novel, but what character doesn't make mistakes that are crystal clear from the vantage point of dramatic irony? I liked her. And of course, Danny Torrance is a godsend. Precious cinnamon roll too good for this world.
I definitely look forward to reading the follow up novel to this one, Doctor Sleep, just to catch up on what happened to Danny.