Book Review / The Shining by Stephen King

 Danny is only five years old but in the words of Old Mr Hallorann he is a ‘shiner,’ aglow with psychic voltage. When his father becomes caretaker of the Overlook hotel, Danny’s visions grow out of control.

As winter closes in and blizzards cut them off, the hotel seems to develop a life of its own. It is meant to be empty. So who is the lady in Room 217 and who are the masked guests going up and down the elevator? And why do the hedges shaped like animals seem so alive?

Somewhere, somehow, there is an evil force in the hotel – and that too is beginning to shine.

Published:     28th January 1977
Publisher:  Hodder & Stoughton
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Book 1, The Shining
Source:  Bought

 

MY REVIEW

 

For me, this is one of those stories that I have heard more often because of the movie with Jack Nicholson, not that I had watched it before I read this novel, but that it is a very popular movie.  Of Of course, the book is nearly always better than the movie so I knew I had to read this first before even attempting to watch the movie.  

What I loved about this story was the suspense.  There is so much of that in this novel it really did keep me on the edge of my seat and I have to admit that I read this book in one day because I just could not put it down!  Because I had heard of the story I had thought that the main character would have been the dad of the story, but it wasn't.  It was the son, Danny.  I liked that we were viewing the story from his perspective especially as he is the character who is the 'shiner'.  There are also nice moments between Danny and a new friend who is also a 'shiner' which I thought was a great additional level to the story.  

I should also mention that this book also touches on some real aspects of family relationships such as alcoholism and a brief reference to the hitting of the son by the father.  This just added another layer to the family dynamic which added to the chaos that follows. 

I have also watched the movie and boy is it different to the book!  I am not saying the movie is bad or anything, I did enjoy it, but the book was better by a long mile!