A review by kay_ne
The Shining by Stephen King

adventurous dark tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

First time reading a Stephen King book and went in without any knowledge about The Shining (never watched the film and didn't look for a blurb before reading as it was difficult to read the back of the book I own). 

The first few chapters were a slog to get through- was not really feeling the book until ch. 5 - Phonebooth where, for me, it got interesting. At the beginning it starts in medias res and then are given a lot of info and some background on Jack Torrence and the following chapters give insight to the Torrence family and their struggles. The middle was a lot, but it did build up the tension for the fast action at the end. 

Given when this was written and also with what I know up to know about the world, I  didn't understand the references made such as that fastball thing and W. C. Fields' sentiments about children (that was really something to look up and be surprised at when one of the first things that pops up was a quote - "Children should neither be seen or heard from - ever again."). But quick searches helped me understand the context I suppose but that was only sometimes. There were also uses of the N-word to describe Hallorann which threw me off when reading. 

My favorite characters were by far Danny and Hallorann. By the end I also liked Wendy, but not Jack. Though, I suppose he is an easy character to hate/dislike because of his flaws. I did like how SK wrote Jack's character and how he's been affected by his alcoholism. Halfway in the book and towards the end, I didn't like him and would skim or skip whenever he has inner dialogue and would go paragraphs about things which I found boring and unnecessary at times.

On that note, in my opinion, this book could've been like 300 pages as there are pages of inner dialogue (which I sometimes enjoy) but some I found wasn't necessary and could've been shorted into a couple sentences or not have been included at all.

The epilogue was really cute.

Tldr;
- 3.25 stars
- Plot was okay, some parts I liked and other parts I didn't. Skipped a lot of the pages in the middle and end because of the long winded descriptions. (There is unfortunately uses of the N-word in describing Hallorann which for me knocked this book down from a 4 star etc that I was going to give)
- Favorite characters are Danny and Hallorann with Wendy at a close second.
- Would I read this again? No it's too long and quite boring even tho I liked the plot. 
- I'll give the movie a watch when I have the time. Also will give the book's sequel, Doctor Sleep, a try because Danny. 
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