Book Review: The Shining by Stephen King

"Sometimes human places, create inhuman monsters."

I'm realizing that Stephen King's books have opened up a whirlwind of firsts for me. Misery was the first King novel to make me audibly gasp. IT was the first King novel to make me cry. Salem's Lot was the first King novel to make me fear vampires (spoiler alert: they don't sparkle). Gerald's Game made me realize the horrors of kink-gone-wrong, and Carrie was the first novel to get me to willingly watch a horror movie from the 70's (For some reason, this classic cinema fan will pettily avoid any movie after 1969). And now, it is The Shining to give me my first anxiety attack.

This book took all the things I personally love in horror, (creepy abandoned buildings, dark pasts, big secrets, vengeful ghosts) combined them with most of the things I genuinely fear, (wasps, airplanes, driving in winter) and wrapped them up in shiny paper and a nice little bow. It was an eerie and unsettling experience that gradually escalated into a gruesome ride of terror.

Jack Torrence is an aspiring writer who's lost his job as a teacher after an incident involving his terrible temper. When he's offered the opportunity to move his wife and son into the Overlook Hotel and take up the responsibility as caretaker during the winter off-season, he feels this is his chance to redeem himself and perhaps finally make progress on writing his play. But there's a strange and sinister aura felt within and throughout the perimeters of the ancient hotel, and only Jack's six- year old son Danny seems to sense it.

This might be my second favorite Stephen King novel after IT. The book, written in third person, is a multi-perspective story. I loved bouncing back and forth between the dark, paranoid thoughts of Jack, to the worrisome, guilt-ridden thoughts of his wife, and then to the confused, panicked thoughts of poor Danny. 

Going more specifically into characters, one of my favorites would have to be Danny Torrence. Danny sort of has a sixth sense, or in other words, he's got a "Shine".  Unlike a lot of other "special children" with powers within the horror genre who tend to be awkward or creepy, I found him to be a very likeable character. Observant, sweet, forgiving, loving. However, his paranormal psychic abilities made him a huge threat (and therefore target) to the hotel, which literally made me fear for his life! Danny took on a lot, cowering from the terrifying like any six year old would while simultaneously coming to brave, almost mature decisions on how to handle his fears. One thing I've noticed about King is that he writes children really well. They're bright and resourceful while still reading like relatable kids. Viewing the confusing adult world from the perspective of these children (especially Danny) makes reading King's books that much more engrossing. 

As for my other favorite character, Overlook chef Dick Hallorann, all I can say about him is that I absolutely loved him. I loved him so much I don't want to say why without giving away spoilers to those who've never read the book or seen the movie (I've yet to see the movie so I'm drawing my adoration of this character strictly from the novel). The fact that I had no foresight on who this character would be made him sort of like a surprise I didn't know I was excited for. There's Jack and Wendy and of course little Danny, but wait, there's a Dick Hallorann?! If there were an award for Best King Novel Hero, he'd win it hands down. 

"A lot of folks, they got a little bit of shine to them. They don't even know it. But they always seem to show up with flowers when their wives are feelin blue with the monthlies, they do good on school tests they don't even study for, they got a good idea how people are feelin as soon as they walk into a room."

Now what can I say about Jack Torrence? His character was definitely the most interesting. It was fascinating to read how King wrote the deterioration of this character. Reading as Jack struggled to battle his demons while the Overlook was practically feeding them was so fantastic. I love a good tortured character. I personally find them to be more relatable and human than the more righteous, heroic characters. There were times throughout the story when I felt so sorry for Jack, the struggles he was failing to control, his desire to be a good father to his son and a man his wife could be proud of... And then there were times when I felt even worse for his wife.

Wendy, Wendy, Wendy. Wendy Torrence went through a lot in this book. But I took her to be a pretty badass woman who was courageous and hopeful for her husband's recovery and yet smart enough to know when to draw a line and fight for her and her son's survival (Now that I've put it that way, she might be another favorite character). Apparently she's almost nothing like that in the film adaptation and if that's true it's a real shame because she's so great in the novel. 

I'm going on a bit too much about characters now. Back to the book:

SO MANY CHILLS AND CREEPS! One of the reasons I love paranormal / supernatural genres of horror (aside from jump scares, demons, and ghosts) are the chills down my spine, the goosebumps on my skin! There are so many eerie chapters in this book and it played on most of my fears (sounds in the night, being watched, movement just outside my line of vision, wasps... god, I hate wasps.). For one thing, The Overlook Hotel itself was practically a living, breathing entity of evil. It seemed to always be watching and waiting and listening. I found it hard to believe anyone would willingly stay there during the vacation season, let alone the off-season. And there's a chapter on Room 217 that kept me awake and paranoid for days. Empty dining rooms,  a creepy elevator, unsettling hallways. All the chills!!! Someone would have had to pay me a fortune to willingly stay in this hotel and I still would have turned the offer down.  

"Flakes of snow swirled and danced across the porch. The Overlook faced it as it had for nearly three-quarters of a century, its darkened windows now bearded with snow, indifferent to the fact it was now cut off from the world...Inside its shell the three of them went about their early evening routine, like microbes trapped in the intestine of a monster."

This book also had some great themes--addiction, family, violence, mortality--but isolation was the biggest theme that stood out to me. You have a family struggling with ghosts of their past ( Jack's struggle with alcoholism, Wendy's guilt for her want of a divorce, Danny's "shine" and the knowledge of terrible things he can't protect his parents from.) while living in a grand hotel filled with old ghosts from many pasts of its own. Once trapped in the Overlook, all these pent up ghosts (both literal and psychological) become restless and can't stay pent up for long. And to make matters worse, the outside world has no way to reach this poor little family. It's freaking brilliant. Nothing says isolation like that claustrophobic feeling of being trapped miles from civilization in a snowbound hotel with ghosts of the past and your own skeletons in the closet.

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

I could go on and on about The Shining and this review would be way too long. But my absolute favorite thing about this entire book was the fact that my heart raced almost through its entirety. This book made me so scared for all its characters I literally thought I was going to have a heart attack by the final hundred pages. King did an excellent job of filling my soul with complete dread! I wasn't sure how I was going to recover from such a brilliantly terrifying book. Basically, The Shining left me with a fear of wasps made absolute, distrust for hotel hallways and an inability to fall asleep for days. Fun right? If you're like me and you love hauntings, family drama, or anything mentioned above, give this book a read!

(5/5⭐)

                                                                           xo Nina