The Shining

‘Are you sure self-pity is a luxury you can afford Jack’ – Al Shockley

I have watched many films adapted from Stephen King novels, such as Misery and The Green Mile without knowing that they were initially books, so I decided to change my pattern and read one of his novels before they most likely became a film. I chose ‘The Cell’ to read but did discover later that it was adapted for film in 2016 but still started to read it. 200 pages later I realised I didn’t care about any of the characters despite their apocalyptic struggle and stopped.

Still wanting to read a Stephen King novel and interested to learn how one could write horror, I reverted to his classic ‘The Shinning’, which got my attention from the start. The book was very much a pleasant read and reminded me of the film ‘The Green Mile’ because I was content with the lack of action and getting to know the characters; however the book is classified as horror it failed to provide enough for me. This isn’t saying that tension and suspense wasn’t constantly built as I read more about the overwhelming power of the Overlook hotel, but the majority was contained in the end of the novel and just as the suspense reached its peak it was quickly brought back down by the epilogue which I’m yet to determine if it was really necessary.

I think suspense could’ve been maintained for longer in the novel without the inclusion of Mr Hallorann’s journey to the Overlook as I was less fearful of the outcome for the Torrance family the closer he got to them. Something that  I was very surprised about when reading was King’s use of the word ‘nigger’ in Hallorann’s dialect as I felt it was unnecessary and added nothing to his overall character; however when the Overlook was trying to get into his head I thought it was successful in convincing me that it could control Hallorann and brought back the faltering element of horror.

One thing that I’m still not sure I like is the characterisation of Danny as his thoughts and words seem to merge between that of a child and an adult, leaning heavily on the latter. Although, King excuses this  by saying that he is very mature for his age it caused me to pose the question of whether or not he can actually write children as during the little I read of ‘The Cell’ I didn’t believe nor empathise with anything Alice Maxwell did.

Jack Torrance, on the other hand, is a well written character with a detailed back-story and the concerning idiosyncrasy of ‘wiping his lips’.  I actually disliked him from the start as he came across very entitled and selfish not to mention aggressive. I supported his constant efforts to improve as a father and a writer even when Wendy was unwilling to, but as his real personality continued to come through most notably in the chapter, ‘Snowmobile’, my empathy for him reduced.

Overall, I did rather enjoy the book; although it did take me writing this and thinking it through further to determine how I really felt. Though I wouldn’t call it a classic I would be willing to read it again, hear different views and read more critically acclaimed King novels.