Here’s the thing: I read at night. I mean, not only at night – also on the train, and on weekend mornings, during commercials, and during superfluous portions of TV shows (read: all of X Factor). But I do a lot of reading at night, in bed, acting as a human Berlin Wall between my cats and further damaging my grandma eyes with the light of a propped-up iPad mini. (I actually have a book holder/travel pillow that, for the record, is dope.) I like to read in the (extremely relative) quiet of Bushwick-After-Dark, when the 18-wheelers stop rolling by for long enough that you might catch the sound of a bump in the night.
Which is all to say that The Shining is most definitely not a night book.
Everyone and their mother has been pointing me to Doctor Sleep, Stephen King’s long-awaited sequel to The Shining, which came out in 1977. But it irks me to read sequels without reading their predecessors, and so even though I’ve seen Stanley Kubrick’s famous Shining film adaptation about 65 times, I wanted to check out the original material.
For the pop-culturally bereft — or anyone whose parents had strict rules about scary-movie watching — The Shining is about a family who moves to a remote Colorado hotel so that father Jack can serve as its caretaker during the closed — and snowed in — winter months. Wife Wendy and son Danny are along for the ride, the latter a precocious kid with telepathic powers (but like, way more elegantly done than Sookie Stackhouse. No offense, Charlaine) who knows even before they set off that the Overlook Hotel is a bad place, or can be. Since I think the statute of limitations on spoilers has expired here, it would be fair to say that the haunted-esque hotel drives Jack insane until he tries to kill Wendy and Danny, but then they escape and he dies, the end.
I’d always heard that Stephen King didn’t care for the Kubrick adaptation, which is ironic since King books have produced far, far worse movie iterations. But after reading the book — maybe one of my favorite of King’s — I kind of get it. While the movie’s initial third feels a little choppy – Kubrick uses a series of short explanatory scenes to set the stage for all the crazy – as a novel The Shining is leisurely and fluid; relative to other King books, it feels almost pleasantly simplistic. Sure, there’s some pertinent character back story (Jack is a two-months-sober alcoholic who broke Danny’s arm during a drunken rage the year before) and “simple” for King means sentient hedge animals, a malevolent fire hose and some kind of break in the space-time continuum – but compared with a Dark Tower book, or 11/22/63, The Shining almost feels like a really long campfire story.
Of course, there were plenty of other editorial liberties taken in the film, including Danny’s creepy manifestation of his invisible friend Tony. But mostly the book just clarifies many things left up to speculation or assumption in the Kubrick version. Why this caretaker job? Why is Jack such an asshole? What is the deal with this hotel?
And I don’t know if it’s the nighttime quiet or the fact that my cats sometimes stare attentively at the same empty corner of the room for over a minute (like WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT???) but I found myself scared. Of the creaky hotel elevator that runs by itself, of the empty wasps’ nest that replenishes its population overnight, of the topiary animals that move but only when you aren’t looking. The Shining is scary the way serial killers aren’t, because being a Wendy in this situation — somehow the least likable but most relatable character — means coming to grips with one of two things: Either you’re living in an extremely haunted hotel with the capacity and will to drive your husband to into a murderous rampage ….or you’re going insane.
I’m halfway through Doctor Sleep now (it tracks Danny up through adulthood as he continues to cope with his “gift”) and even though I could have gotten by without it, I’m glad I read The Shining. Stanley Kubrick may have turned the Overlook Hotel into a cultural icon, but Stephen King dreamed it up in that J.J.Abrams meets Guillermo del Toro meets Tom Wolfe brain of his. That’s gotta be worth something.
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TITLE: The Shining
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AUTHOR: Stephen King
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PAGES: Kindled
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ALSO WROTE: I mean, come on….
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SORTA LIKE: Misery, family-style
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FIRST LINE: “Jack Torrance thought: Officious little prick.”
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When I read it in 1977, I was a little younger than you- and read it voraciously, totally creeped out during those nighttime readings. You’re right in that the movie was much higher quality than many of King’s adaptations- but it would have seemed even better if I hadn’t ready the book I think. Aside from Nicholson’s over-acting, they negated the fact that some sort of ‘good’ inserted itself in the end when his dad made the ultimate sacrifice in a moment of sanity. I assume that’s what King didn’t like about the book… so he collaborated on a TV re-make which was pretty good as well.
Great post, I really think you capture the discrepancies between the book and the film. It’s been so long since my first contact with the Shining that I cannot remember which came first – chicken and egg kinda situation! But for my money, the Dead Zone is one of King’s finest novels, with a decent film adaptation starring Christopher Walken. Have you read the book or seen the film? I’d love to read (or write, for that matter) an article comparing the Dead Zone book to the film, just got to get my hands on both!
Ooh, intriguing suggestion. I will check it out!
I’m so glad you posted this! My dad really wants me to read Doctor Sleep, but I haven’t read (or seen) The Shining. I am not a huge fan of the horror genre, but I do like everything I’ve read by King. I’ll have to find a copy of The Shining and read it during the day only. 😉
Ha! I love how you point out that you read at night. I was reading Joyland on Sunday which really isn’t scary by King standards, but they had just started talking about the ghost sighting when I decided to go to bed and read, so I decided to read something else, and pick Joyland back up in the morning, when there was light – you know, just in case it started getting really creepy.
I watched the movie before reading the book so imagine my surprise when it I can’t find the two damn creepy sisters in the book! I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and went ahead and got Doctor Sleep. Another favorite.
I read The Shining for a college English class, but at night I could only read it if my roommate was in the room with me. The elevator was definitely the scariest thing for me! I haven’t gotten to Doctor Sleep yet, but I plan to.
Reblogged this on Undomesticated Geek and commented:
I LOVE Kira. She’s an awesome writer and her blog is hilarious – not to mention very helpful to anyone looking for a new book to fill up those empty hours that should be used for school work and productivity. Here she talks about one of my favorite books of all time, Stephen King’s “The Shining” – and gets down to the letter exactly how I feel about it.
Ooh I want to read this so bad! I’ve heard great things about Doctor Sleep as well, but I can’t read it without picking up the Shining first! It’s sacrilege.
Just found your blog and as I was scrolling your posts, this one stuck out for me. Stephen King’s Carrie, jump started my love of books. I read it in middle school and was instantly hooked. Then, I thought the book/story was real because of the book’s set up (dates, times listed). I even researched telekinesis, hoping that my “gift” would appear when I turned eighteen. Sadly…no moving knives with just a thought. Good thing too…
I let slip, during a family gathering, that King was one of my Favorite authors. That little tidbit of info set my MIL on an unchanging yearly gift spree. I have to say, I seem to favor his earlier works. My last gift, The Dome, had me somewhat, unfulfilled. I won’t give details because it will spoil the read for some but I can say that I was engrossed, excited, and pulled in….then the ending fizzled. I have read a few novels that build you up to unimaginable heights, then the ending sort of fizzles (can’t think of a better word) The ending just didn’t fit the books tone. Your review will have me buying The Shinning…I have never read it. My movie, then read the book, track record is spotty. Meaning that usually if I see the movie first…It never lives up to the book. If I read the book first, I usually can stomach the movie. It is rare that I feel the movie lived up the book. Enjoy your day.