Date finished: 22-June-2013
Rating: ★★★★★
I delved into The Shining not knowing a single thing about the storyline. Despite the numerous references to this book, and its film adaptation, in modern popular culture, all I really knew was that it was in the horror genre and it seemed to have a supernatural element. Upon purchasing it I decided that I wouldn’t even read the blurb, as I came to be excited at the prospect of reading with no idea of where the plot would go.
The Shining begins with Jack Torrance being interviewed for a job at the Overlook Hotel, which would require Jack to be caretaker of the hotel over the winter months. The only residents of the hotel for those months would be Jack, his wife, Wendy, and his five year old son, Danny. After successfully acquiring the job, Jack moves into the hotel with Wendy and Danny.
Danny, we can tell from the off, is special. He has an extensive vocabulary and is well-spoken for a child of only five. He also has what appears to be some form of psychic powers, which another character, Dick Halloran, names the “shining”. Danny can see images of past events, gets premonitions of future events, and can read other’s thoughts.
The Overlook Hotel has a bloody past, and ghosts and memories seem to haunt the rooms. Amongst such forces, Danny’s shining develops and the spirits seem to become stronger and more vivid. Jack also becomes more reclusive and his urge to drink increases. As they all begin to sense that something is very wrong with the hotel, and are cut off from the rest of the world by annual blizzards and heavy snowfall, how safe can they be inside the walls of the Overlook? How far are the ghosts mere memories? And how far are they a very real danger to the Torrance family?
The characters in The Shining were all extremely complex and well thought out, making them all the more believable. Jack is a recovering alcoholic with violent tendencies, seeming to stem from an abusive past, which led to him losing his job as a teacher. This unemployment is the very reason he takes on such an un-ideal job. His wife Wendy has her own traumatic past, but is desperately trying to salvage her marriage and keep her family together. Jack and Wendy’s pasts are both explored in just the right amount of detail to explain their characters, without detracting from the plot or speed of the novel. Whilst King succeeds in helping the reader understand why they are the way they are, he does not use their back stories to excuse any bad actions or decisions they may carry out.
Danny is an endearing character and King’s writing enabled you to empathise with him. His knowledge and perception of other people’s feelings and actions, possible because of his psychic ability, also come with a childlike naivety. This added to the connection I felt with him, as despite his mature understanding of the world and the people in it, I never once forgot that he was a boy of only five years old.
King’s writing style was easy to get in to and it was a real page-turner. I confess that I did not expect the writing to be of this high a quality. In spite of the fact that he is a best-selling author of dozens of novels and widely regarded as one of the greats, for some reason I did not expect the writing to be of a high calibre. I think it was something to do with the horror genre. I’m a big fan of horror films, but am well aware that the quality of those films’ writing and production is often of a more basic standard – which I think I find part of the appeal. The Shining however was beautifully written. It never failed to keep my attention and the gradual build-up of tension and suspense throughout the book was subtly and well done.
Regarding The Shining’s fear factor, I’d say it scared me about as much as I can imagine a book could! Whilst I would say that my fear was more a case of me being scared for the characters, as opposed to fear in general, I definitely found myself nervous to carry on reading at times, or sometimes reading furiously because the sequence was so intense. I don’t think a book could ever scare me in the same way that a film could (and trust me when I say that I scare easily when it comes to horror films!), but I can’t imagine a book doing a much better job than this. And during the time I was reading this book I did find myself with that feeling of anxiety if I had to get up in the middle night!
I found The Shining to be a fantastic introduction to the horror genre and it has sparked my interest to explore it further. I’ve also become keen to read more of Stephen King’s novels, because his writing style was right up my alley. I’ve already ordered The Stand, which has been highly recommended to me by a friend, and am looking forward to reading more of King’s work!
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