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thannnh 's review for:
The Shining
by Stephen King
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'd enjoyed the film for several years as a cult classic with friends around Halloween time. This year, I saw it with a friend at the Byrd Theatre. She and my wife began talking about all of the theories about time travel and Jack being imprisoned by the hotel... it caught my attention. These didn't feel very resolved to me in the movie, even as we watched it again. I bought the book. Being in the height of deer hunting season, I vowed never to read anything creepy while spending so much time traveling in and out of the woods at dark.
Fast forward to the February snow storms and it felt like the perfect time. It was. This book makes the movie feel like a 30 minute fever dream. Learning more about Jack and Wendy's history growing up and their parents was so enlightening to the story. Having a more in-depth understanding of shining felt imperative to an almost entirely seperate narrative engine, whereas it was only mentioned almost in passing in the movie. I felt entrenched in the hotel. I became, maybe worryingly so, a little bit obsessed. I loved it all.
The Shining was my first exposure to King's writing and I fell in love with it. Even outside of the main narrative of the story, he creates such a beautiful, nostalgic world. One of my favorite scenes was Hallorann traveling from the airport and needing to stop to make a phone call. The imagery reminded me of riding around with my grandma in her old Mercedes during a time of no cell phones. It felt warm and comforting, which was odd in such a thrilling novel. It was what I needed to get excited about reading again. It captured my attention so deeply.
This book was beautiful and tragically sad to me. It was captivating and entrenching. It delved into the vulnerabilities of the human psyche. I fear it has begun what many other folks seem to experience, a desire to collect and read many of King’s books.
Fast forward to the February snow storms and it felt like the perfect time. It was. This book makes the movie feel like a 30 minute fever dream. Learning more about Jack and Wendy's history growing up and their parents was so enlightening to the story. Having a more in-depth understanding of shining felt imperative to an almost entirely seperate narrative engine, whereas it was only mentioned almost in passing in the movie. I felt entrenched in the hotel. I became, maybe worryingly so, a little bit obsessed. I loved it all.
The Shining was my first exposure to King's writing and I fell in love with it. Even outside of the main narrative of the story, he creates such a beautiful, nostalgic world. One of my favorite scenes was Hallorann traveling from the airport and needing to stop to make a phone call. The imagery reminded me of riding around with my grandma in her old Mercedes during a time of no cell phones. It felt warm and comforting, which was odd in such a thrilling novel. It was what I needed to get excited about reading again. It captured my attention so deeply.
This book was beautiful and tragically sad to me. It was captivating and entrenching. It delved into the vulnerabilities of the human psyche. I fear it has begun what many other folks seem to experience, a desire to collect and read many of King’s books.