The Shining
Written by Stephen King
About 560 pages (mass market paper back ed.)
Originally published in 1977
Rate 4/5
This is the second book my Themes in Literature class is reading. So far we have only covered Carrie (hover over this to check out my book review for Carrie).
Though this story has been referenced in the media many times throughout my existence, I tried to avoid it at all costs because I wasn't a fan of horror. Junior year of high school I took a film studies class. The "here's Johnny" scene was briefly mentioned and I was so scared. After reading the book, I now realize how exaggerated my feelings about this story were. I haven't watched the movie and maybe if I did then I would side with my younger self, but right now I feel a little embarrassed. The book wasn't that scary.
What is The Shining about?
Jack Torrance has recently been fired. One of his good friends gets him a job at The Outlook Hotel, his job is to look after the hotel for nearly six months during the winter season. To be kind, his friend allows his family, Wendy and Danny, to stay with Jack during the season. Jack is thrilled about the opportunity. Wendy is worried. Danny doesn't know what to make of the strange dreams he keeps having about The Outlook Hotel and the strange word he keeps seeing 'redrum'.
My thoughts on The Shining
As I mentioned before, I was so nervous about reading this story because it seemed like the ultimate horror ghost story. I don't like ghosts. I started reading this book without knowing anything about the plot or elements of the story aside from the nonexistent "here's Jonny" phrase (which only appears in the movie) and the scene where the little boy is riding bicycle and sees twin girls (only appears in the movie). Basically everything I thought about this story wasn't in the book.
Now, after reading the book, I realize how warped my perception of the story was. However, because of that, it made the story less scary, and because of that, I didn't think the story was scary. There were only close to three frighting/intense scenes I found in this book, but it wasn't the type I was expecting.
I was not expecting that ending, even with the couple of spoilers I heard in class. I thought the ending was going to be more impactful or open ended, but it was not.
Obviously this story is iconic, don't get me wrong, it was good, but I thought it would be... worse. I am considering watching the movie, but the streaming services it's on are ones I don't have.
Quotes
"Solitude can be damaging in itself." (11)
"You could go anytime... Dying was a part of living." (459)