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A review by malaikawrites
Misery by Stephen King
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
My first Stephen King book and I’m kinda shocked that I liked it? I always assumed his writing would be extremely pretentious… and I was totally right, but I found that I genuinely enjoyed it? It was very meta which was pretty cool and the whole concept was so interesting.
Despite my enjoyment I did have some issues with the book. The black man caricature was terrible, the use of the n word with the “er” was unnecessary, the use of sexual assault in metaphors was disturbingly graphic and the blatant hatred for women was a bit… yeah.
I think the whole last section could’ve been cut out. I hated the whole last epilogue like part from beginning to end. (note: the rest of this paragraph is a spoiler) The book could’ve ended with the second last section which concluded with Paul finding out that Annie was no longer in the room where he left her after he thought he’d killed her. In all honesty, the book not ending there solidified my lower rating because the last part was ridiculously anticlimactic.
Aside from those major irritations, I really did like this book and it’s convinced me to read more Stephen King in the future!
Despite my enjoyment I did have some issues with the book. The black man caricature was terrible, the use of the n word with the “er” was unnecessary, the use of sexual assault in metaphors was disturbingly graphic and the blatant hatred for women was a bit… yeah.
I think the whole last section could’ve been cut out. I hated the whole last epilogue like part from beginning to end. (note: the rest of this paragraph is a spoiler) The book could’ve ended with the second last section which concluded with Paul finding out that Annie was no longer in the room where he left her after he thought he’d killed her. In all honesty, the book not ending there solidified my lower rating because the last part was ridiculously anticlimactic.
Aside from those major irritations, I really did like this book and it’s convinced me to read more Stephen King in the future!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma, Confinement, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Gore, and Torture
Moderate: Car accident, Sexual assault, Addiction, Drug abuse, and Rape
Minor: Racial slurs and Animal cruelty