the shining

[leviathan]

hi all,

i just finished reading the shining and it was my first indulgence into the world of king. it's made a huge impact on me and i know consider him a bit of a genius i have also picked up 'lisey's story' but this is only due to the fact its about £4 in most places.

the next book i intend to read (apart from lisey...) is misery.

but back to the shining: i love the book but i do find the ending a little bit of a let down and a tad sentimental... this gave the book a very HPL feel to it as i feel lovecraft couldnt finish a story properly in most cases.

i also watched the shining movie recently and was thoroughly dissapointed with it. but i preferred its ending! (guess im just hard to please!)

what did other people make of the endings of both the book and the movie?

any suggestions on further king reading?

[HoopyFrood]

Yes! Another Constant Reader is snapped up. Go Stephen King!

Yes, I'm quite a fan of the guy myself

Misery is a fine choice for the next book to read. Nothing supernatural in Misery, it's just pure, twisted, human-made horror. It's a very good book. Lisey's Story is a little unlike his other books; you probably noticed in The Shining that King does quite a lot of back-tracking, filling in details from the past, and he does this is most of his books (really gives the characters depth, though, and adds to the grittiness that often pervades his novels). Lisey's Story takes this to the extreme and dwells more on the past than it does on the present day; much more about Lisey's coping in the wake of her husband's death and the reflection on their life together, and the supernatural element is more of a side-link rather than the main focus. But again, although a little different, it's still a very good read, very much full of emotion.

As to the books and the film adaptations of them. Well, it's rare that I see a film adaptation that I prefer more than the book (Lord of the Rings is about the closest it's got to that!) and with King, I definitely prefer the novels. The films themselves are usually quite good in their own right; I enjoyed The Shining (I don't think anyone can fail to be impressed by Jack Nicholson's portrayal of Jack!), Dolores Claiborne, Pet Semetary, Green Mile etc. But if I have to compare them, I think the book of The Shining is so much better (and I'd say the same with all the books, actually). It is about the only book that I've actually found genuinely creepy, and the film misses out the best parts, such as the hedge animals. For that, I cannot forgive Kubrick And as I read the book before watching the film, I was bemused when the hotel didn't blow up and very bemused when Halloran was killed! I, myself, liked the sentimentality of the ending in the book, where Jack breaks through his madness, and actually starts injuring himself in order to let Danny escape; it is quite touching and shows how, despite his own turbulent past with his own father, Jack refuses to be the same with Danny; all through the book we see that this is something that really worries Jack, but in the end he is able to fight it.

Blimey, I'm rambling on a bit here! This is what happens when people get me onto Stephen King!

As for suggestions for further reading...ah...how about ever book he ever wrote and will write? Okay, I think Misery is a very good start. Cell is also a good read, a more recent book that is a kind of return to King's good old gory horror. And if you also enjoy fantasy, then you might even be tempted to maybe try The Dark Tower series one day. Although -- and I usually suggest this -- it's usually wise to read a few of King's other novels before reading The Dark Tower, in order to get used to his style and also because he alludes to quite a lot of things from his other novels in the Series and it's always interesting when you come across one; it gives deeper levels to the epic story (like the different levels of the tower, if you will )

Anyway, really, I'm leaving now and I'll stop plying you with all this random information! Hopefully (nay, you will ) enjoy whatever book you pick next!

[IrishWriter]

SPOILERS BELOW, YOU'VE BEEN PRE-WARNED!!

Why can't films ever be as good as the books for once, or at least make a valiant effort at being closely comparable? Watched the film of The Shining last night, lord god what garbage. Ok, if anyone watches it soon, just try and pay attention to how forced their speech is with each other(all characters, although Lloyd the bar tender wins first prize) and the pauses they take before replying. It's madness. But the part where Wendy see's the guy in the bear suit in the room with Grady was about the only part in it that really gave me that "scutter factor" , if I can be so crude. But the substitutions in the film are badly chosen, I'm sure everyone will agree. Nicholson looks like a lunatic from the offset, a hedge "maze" instead of hedge "animals", an axe instead of a mallet, no "HERE'S JOHNNY!!!!!! in the book-although I thought that was a tad disappointing at the time-no Halloran survival, and the strange inclusion of Jack driving a ball off the side of the Colorado Lounge continuously doesn't seem to do anything other than tell us he's extremely bored. Good job, Kubrick.

[paranoid marvin]

My favourite King stories are Rose Madder and Geralds Game

Not his two most famous novels , but the ones I enjoyed the most