The Shining - Stephen King

rating: 3.5/5

date finished reading: may 5, 2017

so, i enjoyed this book. i really did. but that's it. i wanted to love it but in the end i only liked it.

 

i've never watched the movie, so i can't attribute this sense of disappointment to the film's influence at all. it's just that the book didn't really suck me in, and at some points i felt like i had to drag myself through it.

 

all the setting up at the first half of the book did heighten the sense of terror that filled the climactic moments and the creepy scenes that led up to it; it amplified the creeping dread i felt upon witnessing jack torrance's unraveling sanity. but, my god, it took so so so long for the interesting stuff to happen. in short, i found myself bored and impatient while reading the first half of the shining. though the pace did become much faster in the final quarter, in which the hotel overlook really came alive, if you know what i mean. it was suddenly "shit's going down" time.

 

overall, it was good, but it just kind of fell short of my expectations. that being said, i still appreciate king's skill as a writer and i'm actually interested in the sequel.

 

note: i will be watching the movie soon and i might add update this after or make a new post, probably containing a quick comparison and any other additional thoughts.

Source: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1791538775