Book Review: The Shining by Stephen King

The Shining by Stephen King

Jack Torrence has almost no good luck. A lot of things have gone wrong in his life, though most of his problems come from his own behavior. He was a promising author and taught English at a New England prep school. Unfortunately, he developed a drinking problem, which does not mix well with his occasional out-of-control temper. He's been fired and has wound up working as the winter caretaker of the Overlook Hotel. The Overlook is a luxury hotel up in the Rocky Mountains that's open from late spring to early fall. Jack has a chance to finish a play he is working on as well as reconnecting with his family during the isolated winter months.

Jack takes his faithful but wary wife Wendy and his son Danny. Danny has some psychic powers called "shining." He can see other people's thoughts and emotions; he has visions of possible futures; he feels the psychic presence of past objects and people; he can communicate with others who also have the shining. The parents don't know all of this, but they know that he is different. Sometimes Danny knows things that he couldn't possibly known. He's five going on six, so even he doesn't understand his powers. As the Overlook staff leaves, the African-American cook Hallorann takes the boy aside. Hallorann has the shining and recognizes Danny's very powerful shining ability. Hallorann warns Danny to stay away from certain parts of the hotel. And if Danny is in trouble, he should use the shining to call Hallorann back.

The hotel has a very checkered past, with lots of violent and tragic deaths. It's unclear whether the souls are trapped there or stay willingly or they are just manifestations of some malevolent entity embodied in the hotel. Weird events start happening, not just to Danny. Jack's delicate psychological state is exploited and abused by the hotel, as if it wants Jack and his family to become the next part of the checkered past. Danny and Jack start seeing, hearing, and feeling things as they spend more time at the Overlook. Bad things happen.

The book gives a fascinating portrayal of a slow descent into madness and horror. Jack's done a lot of bad things but he's also tried to reform his life. His father was an alcoholic and was abusive to his family, and probably his grandfather before that. The theme of being trapped in an unending cycle of misery is played out through him and the hotel. Wendy has a troubled relationship with her mother and deals with feelings of inadequacy as a wife and mother. She has her descent and tries to break out of her cycle too. A heartbreaking scene at the end has an insane Jack chasing Wendy slowly up a staircase, both very wounded physically and emotionally. Wendy is trying to escape the horror (by this point, she's hearing and seeing things too) while Jack is trying to drag her back down. The story is terrifying and heartbreaking, and also hard to put down because it is written so well.

I haven't read much Stephen King, only The Stand (which I read back in the 1980s) and On Writing (which I read a couple of years ago). Movies have filled in a lot of the gaps, but I should probably read some more. This book is so much better than the highly flawed Kubrick movie.

Highly recommended, though the brutal violence and language may be tough going for some readers.

The good folks at A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast discussed this book on Episode 243. Go and listen.