The Shining

“This inhuman place makes human monsters”

It took me far longer than I care to admit, but I finally finished this world famous book. It took awhile partially because I was too lazy to read during the day and too scared to read at night.

“During our first winter I hired a family instead of a single man. There was a tragedy. A horrible tragedy.”

The story itself is not too frightening until the very last chapters, but this novel is much more than the words on its pages. It is a state of mind. It is a feeling. It is the scary stories from when you were little. It is the idea that someone is watching your every move. Someone is standing outside your window at night – a monster is hiding under your bed.

“Children have to grow into their imaginations like a pair of oversized shoes.”

Going all the way up in the quiet and lonely mountains with the Torrance family was quite the adventure. At first you sort of wish everything will work out but as the story progresses you feel the need to see where this ends; how bad it will get. This is in fact more terrifying than the story itself.
It is more nerve-racking than witnessing Jack Torrance come apart in front of your eyes – so vivid you do not even need to see the film to visualize it.
It is more shocking than watching Wendy Torrance accept her miserable life and fail to change it.
It is just a tad more chilling than going along Danny Torrance on his occasional trips outside this world.
It is breathtaking and horrible all at once.

“Dear God, he could use a drink. Or a thousand of them.”

Stephen King is a gifted author – no one could ever doubt that. As a reader you may not notice just how tangled you get in the story before you are in so deep there is no way out. ‘The Shining’ is definitely worth a read – no matter how much you hate scary stories. It is a telling so magnificent one would presume anyone owes it to themselves to experience it. Experience it, because it is not just a book – it is an intensity.

4/5