The Shining

                                                                 By Stephen King

            Ok, it’s time for me to admit something.  Despite being a huge Stephen King fan, I have never read The Shining before.  Shocking, I know.  I’ll go one step further; since I have not read the book…I have never seen the movie either (aside from brief glimpses on TV).  Recently I read that Stephen King is workin a new book, with a grown up Danny Torrance as the main character.  Clearly I needed to read this classic novel, especially so I can read the new novel “Dr. Sleep.”

            The story of Danny, Jack and Winnifred Torrance begins in Vermont.  Jack has recently lost his job as a teacher for assaulting a student who had vandalized his car.  Jack accepts a job from a former drinking buddy as caretaker of the Overlook hotel.  He moves the whole family into the Overlook Hotel, where they will be isolated all winter long.  Jack in in charge of heating sections of the hotel and making sure the boiler isn’t damaged from over pressurization.  As caretaker he is also in charge of minor maintenance, but mostly he looks forward to being able to work on his play in solitude.  After a short period of time in the hotel, Jack starts to become very interested in the history of the building.  He spends a great deal of time wandering the halls, and looking through a scrapbook he found.  His mood slowly transforms from loving husband, to impatient jerk, and beyond as the story progresses.  His wife is convinced he is drinking again, even though the bar is completely dry.  Wendy fears that Jack will hurt Danny in another drunken incident.  As the reader, we can only watch Jack plummet as we know he will eventually hit bottom.  What we don’t know is: When will he reach it, and what will he do when he gets there?

            The supernatural aspect of the book is centered on Jack and Wendy’s son, Danny.  We learn that Danny has special abilities; which is referred to as “shining.”  This can manifest itself as precognition, ESP, or even a type of telepathy.  Danny is often able to know things or sense the moods of people without fully understanding what is going on.  “The shining” is very powerful in Danny, but being young means that he doesn’t fully understand how to use or interpret this power.  Danny’s invisible friend Tony makes many appearances (Tony is often used to help Danny understand what’s going on), and Danny is terrified of visions he is having.  While he isn’t always a witness to the discord between his parents, he has the ability to sense what is happening in the hotel.  And Danny is afraid.   

            The story is told from the third person perspective, which allows for a great deal of insight into each characters thoughts, fears, and actions.  This allows Jack’s slow descent into insanity to be reinforced and reflected by his behavior, his thoughts, as well as how others react to him.  I felt that this mode of storytelling, as well as the quality of the writing made it very easy to crawl into the characters’ minds and really understand what was going on.  The use of flash back was also prevalent which helped to reinforce the tumultuous relationship between Wendy and Jack.  The isolation, introspection, and fantastic suspenseful writing leaves no doubt as to why this is one of King’s most famous novels.

Rating 4.5 out of 5 Bunsen Burners

Up Next: Fall of Giants by Ken Follett