I’ve had The Shining on my bookshelf for the last three years, possibly longer. At one point, I read the first chapter. I was off-put by King’s style of writing which (in my opinion) is slightly too over descriptive, so I put the book down to collect dust for another couple of years. A couple of weeks ago, I moved flat. I rediscovered the book and, instead of rehoming it on my new bookshelf, I read it. FINALLY. I powered through the first chapter more determined this time, and I’m so glad I did. I read the whole thing in a matter of days and I didn’t have to put it in the freezer once. Suck it, Joey Tribbiani.
I said that I find Stephen King’s writing style too over descriptive; I understand that it’s a stylistic choice, it sets the scene and paints a vivid picture, blah blah blah, I get it. But I often get fairly easily distracted whilst reading, if what I’m reading doesn’t grab my attention. An example: say there’s a couple of pages describing the kitchen, and a long paragraph detailing the exact type of oven and exactly how this oven works; my mind will wander and I’ll be sat there staring blankly at the paragraph for about five minutes, before angrily realising I’m staring at a descriptive paragraph about a fucking oven. King did that to me a good few times throughout The Shining.
Despite this, there are many things I love about the way it’s written. The book is mostly in third person but, from chapter to chapter and even paragraph to paragraph, the focus of this third person flows smoothly between characters. The text is also interspersed with random thoughts and memories of the individuals. The view point switches so often that it would be super easy to leave readers confused about who the thought or memory belongs to. But, rest assured, it’s so skilfully done. Not once was I confused, not once!
I watched the film a while ago, honestly the cinematography is G O R G E O U S and the film is worth a watch solely for that. However, in terms of story, the film is like a crudely drawn stick person in comparison to the Mona Lisa of a book. King knows these characters, he loves them. They don’t feel manufactured or forced, these characters feel so real I swear to God they almost leap off the page at you (they don’t actually though, which is good, seeing as it’s a fucking horror).
I would give The Shining 💎💎💎💎/5, a new favourite. I will definitely be reading it again in the years to come, and I would recommend it to anyone that will listen. For anyone worried that it’d be too scary for you: don’t be. It’s not “can’t sleep, clown will eat me” level of horror. It’s tense and suspenseful, keeps you on the edge of your seat; it chills you to your core, but in a thrilling way. I watch quite a lot of horror movies so maybe I’m slightly desensitised to it by now; but my mum loves it, and she finds Doctor Who too scary, so I reckon you’ll be fine.
Peace n love ✌🏻
poppybottle 