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zellburke 's review for:

The Shining by Stephen King
2.0
challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

The will-they-won't-they romance between Jack "I wish I knew how to quit you" Torrance and a stiff drink. They're the toxic couple that stays together because they love the drama.

Obviously, the book is going to differ from the movie adaptation. This was no different, and in both, they have their merits and their faults.

In the text, you do get a lot more depth into both Wendy's, Jack's, and Danny's characters. The family dynamic is tense from the start, and you end up lying in wait for the pressure to burst. King does a fair job throughout of building suspense and giving readers things to watch out for/fear.

However, something about King's writing is not for me. I suspected this going in so I acknowledge I am not the most impartial judge. Even though it is a horror story filled with evil and icky characters, the amount of sexist, racist, and homophobic language seems excessive at times, especially coming from a white, male author.

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