MY rating: 4.1/5

They refer to this book as 'The iconic Horror', and truly, it lives up to that name. They also call it 'The greatest horror novel of all time', and in many ways, it is. I had the opportunity to watch the movie version directed by the renowned Stanley Kubrick. Interestingly, the movie and the book are not very similar. The movie seems to bear more of Stanley Kubrick's signature style, while the book is more distinctively Stephen King's. I'm not entirely sure how to put it into words. The book is indeed great, and it has left a lasting impression on me. I couldn't detect any flaws in the story or the characters. However, I must admit that I had a stronger affinity for the characters and story in the movie version. I still liked them in the book, but the movie just had a certain charm that appealed to me more. Nevertheless, I firmly believe that everyone should read this book at least once.

Stephen King is widely regarded as one of the greatest horror authors of all time. His ability to tug at the heartstrings of parents who love their children is truly remarkable, as if he is playing a beautiful lute. In fact, he may have tortured more children in his stories than all the other horror authors in America combined.

The excerpt from "The Shining" provides a vivid example of King's mastery. The chambermaid, Delores Vickery, discovers a terrifying sight while cleaning the room where a couple stayed. She faints after seeing the dead woman in the bathroom, her face purple and puffy, grinning at her. Ullman, the hotel manager, gives her two weeks' notice and tells her to leave. King's description of the scene is so vivid that it sends shivers down the reader's spine.

Reading "The Shining" in the dead of winter, with freezing winds weeping sorrowfully and wolves howling outside, adds to the eerie atmosphere. It makes the reader feel as if they are right there in the hotel, experiencing the horror along with the characters. Stephen King's talent for creating a sense of dread and unease is what makes his work so captivating and unforgettable.

Stephen King truly is a master of the horror genre.

This is my third Stephen King novel and was a buddy-read with some "veterans".

In this classic horror novel, we follow 5-year-old Danny and his parents. His father, once an alcoholic, lost his job due to a (sober) outburst that turned violent towards a student. As a last chance, a friend from the school's board gives him the job of caretaker for an old hotel in the mountains during winter. The hotel is closed and cut off from the world but still requires some basic work.

After introducing some more people, we get insights into the lives of all three characters, learning about their family lives, marriage, and Danny's childhood.

Simultaneously, we discover the hotel's history, which could explain the growing sense of unease and darkness as the story progresses.

When the snow sets in and there's no way off the mountain, the monster(s) emerge to play.

I know it sounds ordinary and even boring, but that's because my description has to be vague to avoid giving away too much.

We've seen "gifted people" in King's books before, as well as vampires, undead creatures, and evil clowns. Here, the "creature" is a building, and it's amazing how the author made it come alive and gave it a character. It felt like a person slowly awakening from a slumber and then raging. Brilliant!

As usual for Stephen King, the supernatural element is well done, but the real monsters are the people. In fact, this is the first SK novel I've read where there's at least one truly good person. Usually, we start liking someone but then find out there's some rot at the core. Not this time.

That doesn't mean there aren't monsters here. Basically, this is a story of domestic violence and abuse with a supernatural twist and King's typical depth in character development. Even the mother, who could be seen as a victim, had severe faults.

I like how many of the author's characters struggle so well. In the end, they often lose due to small things that get blown out of proportion. Just like a nothing can turn into a huge fight between spouses. The Overlook Hotel can't affect you if there's no bad seed inside you, emphasizing what humans can do to each other and how madness and darkness can be hereditary.

The angle on addiction was also extremely well done and realistic, showing King's experience and research and increasing the sense of dread and unease.

Oh, and I've seen the movie. It's nothing like the book and is actually a disgrace. I understand King's hatred for it. And don't give me any excuses like "but it's an old movie" because the other SK movie adaptations I've seen are also old and better than Kubrick's.

Anyway, this audiobook was very well done. The narrator changed Jack's voice slightly over time to show his slow but sure deterioration and made me jump several times.

So, this might be one of my favorites, although it's hard to say with Stephen King. The interesting thing is that I didn't feel as deeply for the characters as in his other novels, but still... Call me a fangirl, but the man has a way of taking ordinary ideas and twisting them fantastically, then putting a bunch of everyday characters in the arena and watching them fight. Every book is a wonderful and thorough character study, and I love it.

CW/TW: alcoholism, physical violence, casual homophobia, casual racism, mentions of past domestic abuse, strong language

“Monsters are real. Ghosts are too. They live inside of us, and sometimes, they win.”

The Overlook Hotel, Colorado (1977) — Aspiring writer Jack Torrance is in desperate need of a fresh start. This opportunity presents itself in the form of a job offer as the off-season caretaker of the old and atmospheric Overlook Hotel in the Colorado Rockies. After years of struggling with alcoholism and anger issues that led to him accidentally breaking his five-year-old son Danny's arm and losing his teaching position after assaulting a student, Jack believes the hotel's seclusion will be a great chance to reconnect with his family and work on a play.

However, as winter arrives and the cold intensifies, the once-picturesque and grand location begins to seem more remote and sinister. Bizarre events start to occur, and the only one who can sense the strange and terrible forces gathering around the Overlook is Danny, who is blessed with extraordinary psychic abilities such as reading minds, experiencing premonitions, and clairvoyance, otherwise known as The Shining.

Forty-three years after its first publication, Stephen King's iconic novel The Shining still manages to astonish and captivate readers with its vivid characterizations and masterful execution of the haunted house trope, solidifying its status as a classic of the Gothic horror genre.

If there is one significant aspect that stands out in King's novels, with The Shining being a prime example, it is his characters. King's ability to create complex and well-rounded characters sets his novels apart from other plot-driven horror stories. The skillful development of the characters' motivations and the successful portrayal through words elevates The Shining from a typical haunted house story to an eerily disturbing account of psychological horror, blurring the lines between what scares are caused by the human mind and what comes from the supernatural.

It is also worth noting that Danny Torrance is arguably one of the most complex child characters ever written. His motivations are profound, as seen in the following passage:

  It was this fear that had kept him silent. A year older, he was quite sure that his daddy and mommy wouldn’t let him be taken away for thinking a fire hose was a snake, his rational mind was sure of that, but still, when he thought of telling them, that old memory rose up like a stone filling his mouth and blocking words. … Still he might have told them except he was sure, sooner or later, that they would want to take him away from the hotel. And he wanted desperately to get away from the Overlook. But he also knew that this was his daddy’s last chance, that he was here at the Overlook to do more than take care of the place. He was here to work on his papers. To get over losing his job. To love Mommy/Wendy.

Another fascinating aspect of the novel is the unexpected yet welcome humor in the form of hilarious dad jokes, which lighten the mood before the impending doom of the midpoint:

  “He knew that when I was in college I used to work for a landscaping company. That’s a business that fixes people’s lawns and bushes and hedges. I used to trim a lady’s topiary.” Wendy put a hand over her mouth and snickered. Looking at her, Jack said, “Yes, I used to trim her topiary at least once a week.” “Get away, fly,” Wendy said, and snickered again. “Did she have nice hedges, Dad?” Danny asked, and at this they both stifled great bursts of laughter. Wendy laughed so hard that tears streamed down her cheeks and she had to get a Kleenex out of her handbag.

Moreover, King's artistic choice of figuratively foreshadowing the novel's plot through the use of the wasp allegory and manifesting the building boiler pressure as a reflection of Jack's turbulent temperament are among his ingenious writing decisions. These elements make the novel's prose more layered and complex, requiring close examination from the reader.

  He had read someplace … that 7 percent of all automobile fatalities go unexplained. No mechanical failure, no excessive speed, no booze, no bad weather. Simply one car crashes on deserted sections of road, one dead occupant, the driver, unable to explain what had happened to him. The article had included an interview with a state trooper who theorized that many of these so-called “foo crashes” resulted from insects in the car. Wasps, a bee, possibly even a spider or moth. The driver gets panicky, tries to swat it or unroll a window to let it out. Possibly the insect stings him. Maybe the driver just loses control. Either way it’s bang!… all over.

The greatest achievement of the novel, however, is its avoidance of the negative portrayal of a battered and beleaguered wife. King challenges this stereotype by creating Wendy Torrance, a resilient and determined mother willing to do anything to protect her son. This deliberate departure from the often-abused-mother-and-child trope is the basis of King's main criticism of Kubrick's film adaptation of the novel, stating that Wendy in Kubrick's film is "one of the most misogynistic characters ever put on film" and not "the woman that [King] wrote about."

On a different note, King does humanize his characters to the extent that their errors and prejudices are evident in the dialogue through casual remarks of homophobia and racism. This is an interesting way to show the wickedness of humans, especially when consumed by unknown forces. It would be more effective if these remarks were more blatantly challenged, although they may be forgiven given the nature of the scenes in which they occur.

Stephen King's The Shining may be forty-three years old, but its brilliance has not dimmed over the years. Its timeless quality makes it当之无愧 one of the most iconic horror classics of all time.

Rep: strong woman | feminism

Personal Enjoyment: 4.5 stars
Quality of the Book: 4.7 stars
- Use of Language: ⭐⭐⭐⭐+
- Plot and Narrative Arc: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Characters: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Integrity: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Twist/Scare: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

AVG: 4.6 stars

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It's amazing! I wasn't bored for a moment! The plot was flowing like a stream. Of course, my weakness was Danny, the five-year-old boy who had gone through a real ordeal. I read the last 250 pages without letting go of the book from my hands. I couldn't sleep before reaching the end and it was really worth it. The ending found me in tears. I can't wait to read other books by Stephen King who is the king of the genre! At least in this book.

Now I wonder how I'm going to sleep.

It’s truly fascinating how at various junctures in life,截然不同的 aspects of this story come to the fore. What we find scary evolves with time, I suspect.

   “This inhuman place makes human monsters.”

When I was a child, far too young to be reading King, the hotel was the most terrifying thing imaginable. On subsequent rereads, I empathized with Jack’s arduous struggle against addiction, his attempts to overcome it only to spiral towards destruction and be hounded relentlessly by the Overlook. And now, it’s Jack himself who terrifies me to the core — his anger and victim mentality, his ceaseless resentment, and his inherent propensity for violence, which uses addiction as a springboard. The hotel and its ghosts didn’t have to exert much effort to reduce Jack to his entitled base impulses, did they?

  

“His temper was like a vicious animal on a frayed leash. ”

“How else could you explain the things that had happened to him? For he still felt that the whole range of unhappy Stovington experiences had to be looked at with Jack Torrance in the passive mode. He had not done things; things had been done to him.”

Jack Torrance traverses life angrily tallying the wrongs done to him, minimizing - whether willingly or subconsciously - his own role in his misfortunes, with the Overlook simply exacerbating the blind rage that ultimately consumes him, a logical outcome of his hair-trigger temper and abusive tendencies.

  “And yet, through it all, he hadn’t felt like a son of a bitch. He hadn’t felt mean. He had always regarded himself as Jack Torrance, a really nice guy who was just going to have to learn how to cope with his temper someday before it got him in trouble. The same way he was going to have to learn how to cope with his drinking. But he had been an emotional alcoholic just as surely as he had been a physical one.”

It’s a tale of disintegration - of a person and a family succumbing to the pressures of anger, violence, and excuses. And yet, despite being scared of Jack from the very first few pages when his simmering and initially well-hidden rage began to surface, I still can’t help but feel a certain sympathy for him, for his doomed attempts to be better, for his love for his son, and for his abysmal luck of ending up in the worst possible place for him. King’s Jack Torrance is a wonderfully complex character, far removed from the instantly crazy-eyed-insane portrayal of Jack Nicholson in Kubrick’s adaptation (and unfortunately, the image that most people have of Jack).

   “This inhuman place makes human monsters.”
  

  

  

—————

This book was when, at the age of twelve, with a few King books already under my belt, I first realized that Uncle Stevie is far more disturbing when he merely hints at things rather than being blatantly graphic. He’s the master of making you feel an ever-deepening unease about things just barely glimpsed at the periphery of your vision, when his characters are not yet certain of what’s happening but instead sense that pervasive, unrelenting feeling of utter wrongness. Jack’s rocque mallet is almost a relief after that chapter where he’s almost unsure whether the topiary is moving, and Danny finding out what’s in room 217 is less terrifying than that sense outside the room that the fire hydrant hose is about to grab him. It’s the slow, dreadful anticipation rather than the jump scares that always gets to me.

   “Dear God, do old scars ever stop hurting?”

And this book once again demonstrates to me that, even when reread with a more mature perspective, it is yet another stone in King’s pedestal among the great modern writers. Seriously, dear professors, consider removing some Hemingway from the literature courses and adding The Shining instead.

5 stars, always.

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Also posted on my blog.

When reading horror literature, you may encounter a barrier, which is the impossibility of the events happening in our daily lives.

After all, no one imagines that today will come when someone enters a haunted house and sees a bloodsucker there, or when crossing a bridge on the way home, he hears a howl calling his name at three o'clock in the morning. Therefore, it is better to watch horror movies or read horror literature in the late hours of the night, because the probability of seeing a ghost smiling at you in the mirror is greater when it is dark. Perhaps only then do you fear the possibility of what you have read happening (even if the probability is low)

Once upon a time, there was a young man who firmly believed that books were always superior to movies. Everyone whose opinion he valued told him so, and he was convinced that it must be the case. For a while, nothing seemed to shake this belief. He read Dickens and then watched the filmed versions, and he knew without a doubt that the books were better. He read Dumas, and no adaptation of "The Musketeers" could change his conviction. "Wuthering Heights", "Pride and Prejudice", and "The Scarlet Pimpernel" all seemed to prove his point. But the young man soon discovered that this was not just true for the classics. He read the popular books of his day, the mysteries, science fictions, and fantasies, and he found that they were always better than the movies.

However, the inevitable occurred. One day, his notions were challenged in the most devastating way. A man, driven wild by isolated madness, chopped down a door, stuck his head through the cracks, and announced his terrifying presence. It was an iconic moment, a new idol to replace the one he had worshipped, although he didn't realize it yet. The young man went out to read the book that had inspired that image, confident that the book would be better than the film. He turned the pages with excitement, and at first, it was as he had expected. The tension built, the suspense drove him on, and the characters seemed fuller and richer. But then, something began to change. The thematic depth seemed to be lacking. The powerful iconography was nowhere to be found. And the terror that he had felt in the film was gone. Suddenly, he realized that there was a film that was better than the book, by a long shot. And it was happening all around him. On screen, Replicants outshone their written counterparts. Russian poets in frozen manors moved him in ways that the translated words never could. Christs making love to Magdalenes brought him to tears of joy.

The truth was different from what he had always believed. Although it was still rare, movies could indeed be better than their sources. He would never again be the snob he had once been. Instead, he would embrace those films that surpassed their books and proclaim it to the world.

This is an outstanding book that can truly be considered perfect.

It is exquisitely constructed, with a prose that is not only beautiful but also engaging. The characters within its pages are well-developed, having depth, imperfections, and a certain resonance that makes them feel real.

The story itself is a classic, having seamlessly integrated into our collective pop culture psyche. Each time I read it, I am delighted by the nuance and discover new aspects to cherish. It is, quite simply, an American classic that sits on an echelon that most authors can only dream of reaching.

As for why you should or shouldn't read it, you should definitely read it, but only if you have a penchant for perfect books.

One valuable lesson I learned from this book is that inner demons can be extremely challenging to overcome. Some people's psychological makeup makes them more vulnerable to addiction and emotional turmoil. It is essential to have conviction and remain steadfast in one's drive to maintain integrity.

One thing that will stick with me from this book is an aversion to old-timey fire hoses, which may seem like a strange detail but has left a lasting impression.

Another Stephen King re-read complete!

I have had this book marked at 4 stars since I added it a few years ago. It has probably been 20 years since I last read the book and, in that time, I have watched the Kubrick movie a few times. Honestly, I am not a huge fan of the Kubrick movie (and I hear King wasn't either). I think my thoughts on the movie combined with being a couple of decades removed from reading it skewed my rating a bit low.

This time, though, with the refresher – 5 stars all the way!

Definitely classic King, and maybe one of the most perfect monster/ghost stories ever written. One very important thing I think that people forget (including me) is that Jack Torrence is not the monster, the Overlook is the monster. The Overlook Hotel has a malevolent presence that slowly corrupts Jack and drives him to madness. This aspect of the story adds a layer of psychological depth that is truly captivating.

I listened to the book this time and the audio narration was great. I was enthralled the entire time and the narrator did a great job raising the stakes as the story progressed. If you are also considering a re-read, the audiobook is a great option.

If you are a King fan and haven't read this, you should! It is a must-read for any fan of horror and psychological thrillers. If you are looking for a place to start King, this is not a bad choice. It is a little more psychologically complex than a couple of the other titles I recommend as King starting points, such as The Dead Zone and Pet Sematary, but it would definitely give anyone a good feel for King's writing style and his ability to create a sense of dread and suspense.

While there are some elements in the book similar to the movie, forget everything you have seen and the impressions Kubrick has given you and try the book. I think you will find it to be a vastly improved experience. Also, I hear the more recent mini-series is much more true to the book – I hope to hunt that one down, soon!

4.5 Stars ⛰️⛰️⛰️⛰️1/2

The Torrance family relocates to the snowy Colorado mountains. Jack Torrance gets a job as the winter caretaker at the Overlook hotel. It's a fresh start after hard times. Struggling alcoholic Jack hopes to finish writing his play. But as they get snowed in, tensions rise and the hotel seems to have a life of its own. Danny, Jack's son with psychic abilities, starts having visions and things turn much worse!

I loved the film adaptation of The Shining as a teenager, but my friends and I found it more funny than scary. I remember us running around screaming REDRUM. I heard King didn't like Kubrick's film and now I understand why. The film was silly and didn't age well. It's very different from the book. Kubrick took liberties with the script. Basic things like the characters' looks, age, personalities, and emotions are vastly different. Jack in the film was unhinged from the start, while in the book he has issues with alcoholism, anger management, and a terrible childhood. Wendy was also portrayed differently. In the film she was weak, but in the book she's stronger and just wants her family to be okay. The film showcased Jack as the star, but the book also features Danny, Wendy, and Dick Hallorann. The ending is very different and some iconic moments from the film don't occur in the book.

The Shining felt like a family drama and a horror to me. The focus on Jack and Wendy's childhoods shows how they can affect you when you start your own family. At times I hated Jack but also pitied him. He was as much a victim as Wendy and Danny. The Overlook hotel was a character itself, so menacing and gradually becoming more violent. The tension from being confined in an isolated place built up well. The descriptions were fantastic. I could visualise the hotel and the grounds. Stephen King built up the story gradually and then it became fast paced and gripping in the last part. Campbell Scott did a decent job narrating. One negative is that Danny seemed older than five and the language is quite profane. I'm glad I finally read The Shining. It's a classic and I recommend it to anyone who hasn't read it or only seen the film adaptation. I've already started Doctor Sleep and it's very dark but I'm enjoying it.

Quite simply put, The Shining is the best horror story I have ever read. It scared the hell out of me.

Over a period of time, I have noticed certain standard "motifs" in horror stories. One of these I call "The Lost Child". Such stories will typically involve a child, who can see what the silly grownups cannot see (or, even if they do see, don't acknowledge because it goes against reason and logic): and who fights, however high the odds stacked against him/her are. Danny Torrance is such a boy.

Danny can read minds. He can see the frightening thoughts inside his Dad's and Mom's heads ("DIVORCE", "SUICIDE") but is powerless to do anything about it. Danny does not know that he has a gift; he takes it as a matter of course, until Dick Halloran of the Overlook Hotel tells him that he "shines on".

Jack Torrance, Danny's Dad, reformed alcoholic and struggling writer, is trying to put his life back together after a tragedy. He gets what he sees as the ideal chance when he lands the job of caretaker of the Overlook Hotel for the winter. In the snowed-in hotel with only his son and wife Wendy, Jack assumes that he will get enough quality time to be with his family, patch up old quarrels, and write that breakout novel.

But the Overlook has other plans. The hotel, which feeds on and grows in strength from the evils committed on its premises, wants Danny - permanently - to join its crew of ghostly inhabitants. And to do that, it needs to get to Jack...

The novel slowly grows in horror, starting with mild unease, moving up through sweaty palms and dry mouth, to pure, gut-wrenching terror. Jack's slow slide into madness is paralleled by the growth in power of the hotel's dark miasma, and Danny's extraordinary capabilities. We are on a roller-coaster ride into darkness.

The world of grownups is often frighteningly incomprehensible to young children: these fears seldom die as we grow up, but remain dormant in our psyche. There are very few of us who does not have a ghost in our childhood somewhere. It is when the writer invokes this ghost that story gets to us. King does a masterly job of awakening that child, and putting him/her in the midst of childhood terrors through the alter ego of Danny Torrance, lost in the cavernous corridors of the Overlook.

There are a lot of passages which literally creeped me out in this novel (the topiary animals, the fire hose in the corridor, the woman in the bathroom to name a few). As King has said elsewhere, the monster behind the door is more frightening than the monster slavering at you: this book is full of such monsters. More importantly, you will keep on remembering your own boogeymen while you are reading; and long after you finish, you will feel the urge to look behind you.

Horror stories are a form of catharsis. As King says, the writer takes you to the body covered under the sheet: you feel it, and are frightened. At the same time, you are relieved that the body is not you.

A true masterpiece.

This novel is not just a simple horror story. It delves deep into the human psyche, exploring the fears and insecurities that lie within us all. The characters are well-developed and relatable, making it easy for the reader to empathize with their situations. The setting of the Overlook Hotel adds an extra layer of creepiness, with its empty corridors, abandoned rooms, and mysterious past. King's writing style is engaging and descriptive, painting a vivid picture in the reader's mind. Overall, The Shining is a must-read for any horror fan, and a classic of the genre.