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mh_books 's review for:
The Shining
by Stephen King
From February 2018.
"Now his ears were open and he could hear them again, the gathering, ghosts or spirits or maybe the hotel itself, a dreadful funhouse where all side shows ended in death, where all the specially painted boogies were really alive, where hedges walked, where a small silver key could start the obscenity. "
This was either my fourth or fifth time reading this and it is still a five star.
The Shinning is still the best "Haunted House" story I have read. It ranks with [b:The Haunting of Hill House|89717|The Haunting of Hill House|Shirley Jackson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327871336s/89717.jpg|3627] and [b:Burnt Offerings|897717|Burnt Offerings|Robert Marasco|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1297539225s/897717.jpg|882910] . All three books are how I judge haunted house stories. All such stories should include:
1. A house/hotel with foreshadowings of a strange past and possible deep evil origins.
2. Flawed characters that need the house for some reason and move in despite the warnings and foreshadowing.
3. The haunting remains low key and dismissable as imagination etc until the characters become trapped. In this case, Stephen King makes it nice and simple - they are snowed in.
4. Then all hell breaks loose and the building will not let them leave.
Each rereading of a book will give you different impressions. In this reading, my strongest impression was what a deeply flawed but well-drawn character Jack was.
"He suddenly flushed, not with anger but with shame at his own cruelty. This was not a man in front of him but a seventeen-year-old boy who facing the first major defeat of his life, and maybe asking in the only way he could for Jack to help him cope with it."
He did try his best to help them leave.
"As he got behind the truck's wheel it occurred to him that while he was fascinated by the Overlook, he didn't much like it. He wasn't sure it was good for either his wife or his son or himself. Maybe that is why he called Ullman.
To be fired while there was still time."
In Stephen King's book, he is a very different character to that portrayed by Jack Nicholson in the movie.
Overall this book is recommended to fans of haunted house stories. :)
"Now his ears were open and he could hear them again, the gathering, ghosts or spirits or maybe the hotel itself, a dreadful funhouse where all side shows ended in death, where all the specially painted boogies were really alive, where hedges walked, where a small silver key could start the obscenity. "
This was either my fourth or fifth time reading this and it is still a five star.
The Shinning is still the best "Haunted House" story I have read. It ranks with [b:The Haunting of Hill House|89717|The Haunting of Hill House|Shirley Jackson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327871336s/89717.jpg|3627] and [b:Burnt Offerings|897717|Burnt Offerings|Robert Marasco|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1297539225s/897717.jpg|882910] . All three books are how I judge haunted house stories. All such stories should include:
1. A house/hotel with foreshadowings of a strange past and possible deep evil origins.
2. Flawed characters that need the house for some reason and move in despite the warnings and foreshadowing.
3. The haunting remains low key and dismissable as imagination etc until the characters become trapped. In this case, Stephen King makes it nice and simple - they are snowed in.
4. Then all hell breaks loose and the building will not let them leave.
Each rereading of a book will give you different impressions. In this reading, my strongest impression was what a deeply flawed but well-drawn character Jack was.
"He suddenly flushed, not with anger but with shame at his own cruelty. This was not a man in front of him but a seventeen-year-old boy who facing the first major defeat of his life, and maybe asking in the only way he could for Jack to help him cope with it."
He did try his best to help them leave.
"As he got behind the truck's wheel it occurred to him that while he was fascinated by the Overlook, he didn't much like it. He wasn't sure it was good for either his wife or his son or himself. Maybe that is why he called Ullman.
To be fired while there was still time."
In Stephen King's book, he is a very different character to that portrayed by Jack Nicholson in the movie.
Overall this book is recommended to fans of haunted house stories. :)