After reading Carrie last year and absolutely hating it, I still had some hope for The Shining, not only because it is the most famous, popular, bestselling of Stephen King's novels but also because I don't hold the film in that high of a regard compared to Brian De Palma's Carrie, which is one of my favourite films of all time. Very rarely do you read the book of a film adaptation you're fond of and come out still thinking the movie is better, and I'm pleased to say that this didn't happen with The Shining—a book that has far more scares and suspense than the film, not to mention development of the hotel as a character in itself, which is such a driving force in the supernatural aspects of the story.

One thing that works so well about The Shining is that the scares are both real and unreal. Natural and supernatural.

On one side we have the horror of domestic abuse towards wives and children, on the other we have a living hotel that is out for blood in just about every way imaginable. Living in an old, empty hotel is terrifying as it is, without adding in the many cast of characters (and let's not forget objects) that terrorise the Torrance family. The reason the book worked so well for me in this regard compared to the film is that the supernatural elements actually feel like a threat, a force to be reckoned with. The domestic abuse has layers spanning back generations and getting to see Jack's descent into madness, half a mirror of his father and half a monster completely controlled by the hotel, hit much harder than his growing madness in the film.

The other greatest aspect of the novel is Danny. Sometimes I read a book and the author's attempt at writing children is laughable, especially when they try to write a child who is wise beyond their years. They become little more than an adult in a child's guise. This was not the case with little Doc, who is so believable as a 5 year old boy forced to grow up before his time. While he is incredibly mature for his age, little details like him not being able to read, or thinking 'suite' is 'sweet', means we never forget that at the end of the day, he is a very young child experiencing all of these horrors. The story hinges on this fact, and if Danny wasn't believable as a young boy it would all fall apart. Stephen King's characterisation of Danny is one of the greatest strengths of The Shining and something that I think is almost impossible to replicate in a movie.

Unfortunately, not everything about this novel is good and Stephen King falls into the same writing habits that made Carrie an unenjoyable experience. The word breast is used constantly. If there's a scene including Wendy, you can bet her breasts are probably mentioned in the passage somewhere, whether they're being grabbed, leant against, rubbed, hit, they have a presence, and a lot of the time it takes me out of the story. Secondly... so much of Hallorann. I know this was 1977 but he is so much of a stereotype it's insane. It's a shame, because even with the poor writing he still comes out of this being one of the best and most heartwarming characters. He could've been so much better had he been written with a little more care and tact. 

All in all, I really enjoyed The Shining. It gets flack for being slow paced but it is rewarding once you finally get into the rhythm of it, and once the suspense starts building. It has some flaws typical of Stephen King's writing around this period, but it's a great story and certainly very entertaining.