Perplexed Trepidation

Stephen King wrote The Shining, a classic horror story about a family of three desperate for money and to be reconnected. Jack, the father, has been fired for some recent anger outbreaks. He’s a recovering alcoholic trying to get his life together. After being let go from his good-stature teaching position, he’s searching for the quickest, highest paying job he can find. Wendy (his wife) and their son, Danny, are willing to follow him anywhere he goes. When Jack is offered a job as winter caretaker of The Overlook Hotel he sees it as his best option. Him and Wendy decide it will be good for them. The Overlook would give them a chance to grow closer and for Jack to finish writing his play. King has crafted strong, passionate characters who carry the story beautifully.

Sturdy characters are vital. Especially when an author like Stephen King is writing the plot line. It took me a while to get through The Shining. The writing is a little thicker than other books I’ve read. Not to mean that it’s boring in any way, shape, or form. Or that the subject matter is hard to digest. It’s just thick, or heavy, which in the case of thriller or horror novel isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I like that his books aren’t the one-sitting kind of books. It takes time to read and digest what King writes. The Shining takes a good amount of time to enjoy. I’m not going to whip through it and forget everything I read the next morning.

In fact, I love that aspect of this book. Honestly, it took me quite a while to read through The Shining. Each time I started though, I could recall exactly where I was and what was going on in that scene. While still remembering all that had elapsed beforehand.

(Something I struggle with a lot.)

I must admit, with this book I have to be EXTRA careful about accidental spoiling. Which is one trait I ABSOLUTELY love about it! It’s impossible to figure out the ending (least it was for me). The reader is left in confusion for the majority of the book.

For example, pretend you’re walking down a hallway, at the end there’s a sharp turn. You’re in complete darkness. You absolutely have no way of knowing what’s coming to meet you when you reach that turn (unless you’re a psychic, but for the sake of this example, you’re not). Indulge yourself on that feeling for a minute. Complete and utter ignorance. Uncertainty crashes over you again and again like waves in the ocean.

That is what it’s like to read The Shining.

You just don’t know what’s going to happen.

Furthermore, besides being a lightless hallway, it’s also a bad car accident. You know, the kind you don’t want to look at, but you just can’t help it? As The Shining obscures your reasoning, changes everything you thought was going to happen, and creeps into the deepest corners of your mind, it captivates you. You have to keep reading. After every twist and turn of the plot King finds one more way to mystify and confuse and coax you into reading another chapter.

I whole-heartedly recommend this book to any devoted fan of fright. The Shining is a classic horror story seething with suspense.