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eadrianschmitz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
At first I was like omg ok I get it, he's an alcoholic. But then the emphasis made sense. I kind of wish it had been Jack that unravelled on his own rather than the hotel's fault for possessing him. Still a wonderful read and quite different from the film!
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
toastrats's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, and Death of parent
Moderate: Gun violence, Racial slurs, and Racism
Minor: Drug use and Infidelity
uranaishi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Car accident, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol
Minor: Cancer, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Infidelity, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, and Pregnancy
housedesignerking's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
The book and its adaptation have the same synopsis: Jack Torrence has lost several jobs because of his anger and his drinking. He's given up drinking, but he still lost his job as a teacher because he punched a student. A friend of his has called in a favor to get him a job being the caretaker of a large hotel in the mountains of Colorado in its off season. Danny Torrence has a special gift where he knows things and learns things without even needing to be in the room. He can hear people's thoughts (like a hilarious moment where he knows a middle-aged woman is lusting after a 20-something male's behind), and according to a nice man named Dick Halloran, it's known to some people as "shining." At least that's what Dick's grandmother called it. They used to have lots of conversations by simply thinking to each other. The hotel is basically haunted by an evil presence, and a man named Delbert Grady did his immediate family in by way of murder/suicide.
The book is a brilliant work of fiction, but I did have an interesting time getting used to King's writing style when it comes to when a character is thinking or when Danny's supposedly imaginary friend was talking to him. In books by other authors, a character's thoughts are italicized. King chose to put thoughts and other voices between parentheses. Interesting choice. The cast did a good job putting the movie together, but the script leaves a bit to be desired. I've seen the movie twice now, so I suggested to my fiancé that we read the book. This is the first Stephen King book I've ever read, and it's so good that I enjoyed it because this could have been very unfortunate. One of the joys that a movie watcher has is being able to point out the differences between the movie and the book. There are a lot of differences. For one, Ullman is a nice man in the film, a total jerk in the book. For another, the movie's ending and this book's ending bear no relation to one another at all. Further, they left so many things out of the film. After reading this, I still consider the 1980 adaptation to be a 3-star film, but the book gets 5 stars. The last 90 pages of this were just epic!
Now, I await the 1997 adaptation to come in the post. I've heard it's closer to the book than the original.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Cursing, and Alcohol
Moderate: Addiction, Biphobia, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, and Gaslighting
itsmeyseniab's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Racial slurs
Minor: Gun violence, Infidelity, and Suicide
runitsthepopo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Blood, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Dementia, Car accident, and Death of parent
Minor: Confinement, Infidelity, Misogyny, and Sexual content