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A review by aoki_reads
Misery by Stephen King
5.0
I don't care about what anyone has to say about this book because it was absolutely nothing short of brilliant, and I said what I said. My rating scale isn’t even equipped for this level of genius.
My boy’s last name is KING for a reason. He just knew that he was destined to create one of the most coveted pieces of horror writing ever. I both savored and devoured this novel. And when I tell you that Misery just became one of my top five novels of all time, I am so for real.
This story is about a famous author named Paul Sheldon, who is responsible for the eight best selling (but kinda cheesy) romance books featuring lead character— yup, you guessed it— Misery Chastain. But Paul is damn tired of writing about Misery and her love affairs set in Victorian-era England. He’s ready to retire her, so he decides to end the series and start on something fresh and more literary— an action-packed crime novel. Because he kind of detests Misery, he kills her off abruptly in the eighth novel. And me telling you this is not a spoiler, because killing Misery fills his #1 fan with dangerous rage.
And that obsessive fan is Annie Wilkes. A lonely, psychopathic ex-nurse living in Colorado on a huge, secluded property. Driving home one night, she sees a crash off the side of the road due to a snowstorm— and who is the man that just totaled his car, barely holding on to life?— yup, Paul Sheldon. She becomes his hero! She rescues him, wants to have the honor of nursing him back to health. This is a dream come true for Annie, but for Paulie? He will soon learn that this all becomes a horrible nightmare.
Why a nightmare, though? Well, because… Paul killed off Misery, my dear! And for a #1 fan, that’s just not acceptable. It’s never acceptable. Not for Ms. Wilkes. And this very same woman—the hero— quickly becomes our villain, while Paul Sheldon becomes prisoner. She wants Misery back, now. And she will hold Paul Sheldon hostage until he writes Misery into a new book that brings her back to life. Mind you, Annie goes absolutely BESERK. From forced substance abuse to food withholding— forced substance withdrawal to using axes as punishment.. it’s in here. I don’t want to say too much.
What a story. But wow, what an amazing storyteller Stephen King is. I shuddered, gritted my teeth, felt my stomach drop, and more while reading this. The atmosphere is absolutely incredible, so tense. You are a voyeur, peeping from behind Paul’s own eyes, witnessing the atrocities that take place in Annie Wilkes’ home. You read in absolute silence, afraid to gasp, in case Annie might overhear. You want to hurt Annie and you want to save Paul. I went through so many emotions reading this, and felt so in sync with our main guy. You easily feel his depression, his sinking, false hopes, and desperation. His slow descent into madness pulls at your heartstrings. His determination makes you root for him. And Annie? Just fall over and die, girl. An excellently written character, though. Such a raw depiction of an older woman with psychopathy and antisocial behavior. I was floored by the dynamics of these two characters.
And I loved all the tributes throughout this book on what it means to be a writer, and all of the insights on a writer’s life. The idea of merging this deeply disturbing story with what it means— and what it takes— to be a successful author, was a pretty cool inclusion. Paul’s backstory sometimes took the driver’s seat, and sometimes the passenger throughout the book. And I think this is why you feel so connected to Paul’s character and even more disconnected from Annie.
And then there is the power of writing, and how writing may have just save Paul’s life. There’s so much to observe in Misery, and I’m never gonna get over it. I have watched the film adaptation multiple times, which is excellent— but now I truly can’t understand why it took me so long to actually read it.
This novel is just so, so good. It just works. I want to make this required reading for all of you, and I’m very sad that it’s over. Just let me go cry in peace over the fact that I will never read this for the first time again. Stephen King rarely misses for me, but if you’re new to his work and there’s a book I could suggest, it’s this right here. Rating this a million stars, forget the Goodreads scale.
My boy’s last name is KING for a reason. He just knew that he was destined to create one of the most coveted pieces of horror writing ever. I both savored and devoured this novel. And when I tell you that Misery just became one of my top five novels of all time, I am so for real.
This story is about a famous author named Paul Sheldon, who is responsible for the eight best selling (but kinda cheesy) romance books featuring lead character— yup, you guessed it— Misery Chastain. But Paul is damn tired of writing about Misery and her love affairs set in Victorian-era England. He’s ready to retire her, so he decides to end the series and start on something fresh and more literary— an action-packed crime novel. Because he kind of detests Misery, he kills her off abruptly in the eighth novel. And me telling you this is not a spoiler, because killing Misery fills his #1 fan with dangerous rage.
And that obsessive fan is Annie Wilkes. A lonely, psychopathic ex-nurse living in Colorado on a huge, secluded property. Driving home one night, she sees a crash off the side of the road due to a snowstorm— and who is the man that just totaled his car, barely holding on to life?— yup, Paul Sheldon. She becomes his hero! She rescues him, wants to have the honor of nursing him back to health. This is a dream come true for Annie, but for Paulie? He will soon learn that this all becomes a horrible nightmare.
Why a nightmare, though? Well, because… Paul killed off Misery, my dear! And for a #1 fan, that’s just not acceptable. It’s never acceptable. Not for Ms. Wilkes. And this very same woman—the hero— quickly becomes our villain, while Paul Sheldon becomes prisoner. She wants Misery back, now. And she will hold Paul Sheldon hostage until he writes Misery into a new book that brings her back to life. Mind you, Annie goes absolutely BESERK. From forced substance abuse to food withholding— forced substance withdrawal to using axes as punishment.. it’s in here. I don’t want to say too much.
What a story. But wow, what an amazing storyteller Stephen King is. I shuddered, gritted my teeth, felt my stomach drop, and more while reading this. The atmosphere is absolutely incredible, so tense. You are a voyeur, peeping from behind Paul’s own eyes, witnessing the atrocities that take place in Annie Wilkes’ home. You read in absolute silence, afraid to gasp, in case Annie might overhear. You want to hurt Annie and you want to save Paul. I went through so many emotions reading this, and felt so in sync with our main guy. You easily feel his depression, his sinking, false hopes, and desperation. His slow descent into madness pulls at your heartstrings. His determination makes you root for him. And Annie? Just fall over and die, girl. An excellently written character, though. Such a raw depiction of an older woman with psychopathy and antisocial behavior. I was floored by the dynamics of these two characters.
And I loved all the tributes throughout this book on what it means to be a writer, and all of the insights on a writer’s life. The idea of merging this deeply disturbing story with what it means— and what it takes— to be a successful author, was a pretty cool inclusion. Paul’s backstory sometimes took the driver’s seat, and sometimes the passenger throughout the book. And I think this is why you feel so connected to Paul’s character and even more disconnected from Annie.
And then there is the power of writing, and how writing may have just save Paul’s life. There’s so much to observe in Misery, and I’m never gonna get over it. I have watched the film adaptation multiple times, which is excellent— but now I truly can’t understand why it took me so long to actually read it.
This novel is just so, so good. It just works. I want to make this required reading for all of you, and I’m very sad that it’s over. Just let me go cry in peace over the fact that I will never read this for the first time again. Stephen King rarely misses for me, but if you’re new to his work and there’s a book I could suggest, it’s this right here. Rating this a million stars, forget the Goodreads scale.