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liesthemoontells 's review for:
Misery
by Stephen King
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I can't get over what a shocking and exhilarating experience it was to read my first Stephen King book. Misery is one of those near-perfect novels that just does what it does SO WELL.The different varieties of horror that Paul Sheldon experiences throughout his ordeal are so great - haunting dread, primal fear, realising you've accepted the unendurable, not to mention the vivid descriptions of physical pain, and the body horror which is just so intense and visceral.
Paul Sheldon is the perfect foil to the abominable Annie Wilkes - selfish, arrogant and unlikeable, but as her malevolence towards him deepens, you feel absolutely no pleasure from his suffering - not even his worst traits make her treatment of him acceptable.
Annie is a figure of cosmic horror, a goddess of death in the body of hulking, sluggish middle-aged woman. She is an abject creature at all times, a sexless embodiment of the monstrous feminine. Everything about her is terrifying because nothing about her actions is sensical - she is an arbitrary agent of suffering that can strike at any time, for no reason.
There are two things preventing me from giving this book 5 stars: 1. The use of fat-shaming to hallmark Annie's monstrosity, and 2. The inexplicably racist side-plot of the embedded narrative of the book Paul writes while in captivity. Both of these things served their purpose: the stomach churning descriptions of Annie's relationship with food heightened her monstrosity, just as the Bee-Goddess worshipped by African tribal people in Paul's book mirrors the denouement of his hero's journey in his final confrontation with the godlike Annie. However, neither of these things were crucial to the book and I think could have been served just as well without them.
The plot aside, I did love the exploration of Paul's identity as a writer and the sublimation of his suffering into his craft. Knowing that King was writing this book as a metaphor for his own struggles with sobriety makes the savagery of the novel blackly humorous, and gives the whole thing a sharp and delicious irony.
Incredible writing that I will haunt me for a long time, and makes me eager to sink my teeth into King's other works.
Paul Sheldon is the perfect foil to the abominable Annie Wilkes - selfish, arrogant and unlikeable, but as her malevolence towards him deepens, you feel absolutely no pleasure from his suffering - not even his worst traits make her treatment of him acceptable.
Annie is a figure of cosmic horror, a goddess of death in the body of hulking, sluggish middle-aged woman. She is an abject creature at all times, a sexless embodiment of the monstrous feminine. Everything about her is terrifying because nothing about her actions is sensical - she is an arbitrary agent of suffering that can strike at any time, for no reason.
There are two things preventing me from giving this book 5 stars: 1. The use of fat-shaming to hallmark Annie's monstrosity, and 2. The inexplicably racist side-plot of the embedded narrative of the book Paul writes while in captivity. Both of these things served their purpose: the stomach churning descriptions of Annie's relationship with food heightened her monstrosity, just as the Bee-Goddess worshipped by African tribal people in Paul's book mirrors the denouement of his hero's journey in his final confrontation with the godlike Annie. However, neither of these things were crucial to the book and I think could have been served just as well without them.
The plot aside, I did love the exploration of Paul's identity as a writer and the sublimation of his suffering into his craft. Knowing that King was writing this book as a metaphor for his own struggles with sobriety makes the savagery of the novel blackly humorous, and gives the whole thing a sharp and delicious irony.
Incredible writing that I will haunt me for a long time, and makes me eager to sink my teeth into King's other works.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail