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marreads2's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
caitlinscamera's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
will_cherico's review against another edition
5.0
Around the time I started rereading this, The Shining was trending on Twitter (I'm not calling it X) because of Stephen King's negative comments regarding the movie. While I think the film is one of the greatest horror movies ever made, rereading the actual text has reminded me just how tragic this story is and how much more I like its Jack Torrance. This book takes a long time for something tangible to happen - around 300 pages, as a matter of fact - and the time before that is used for incredibly impactful character building. The book works as well as it does because Jack, Danny, and Wendy are such interesting characters. There are so many instances in the book that feel like a moment where Jack will truly change, and it makes his transformation so much more monstrous and upsetting. You can tell it's a deeply personal and relatable character to Stephen King, and the openness and honesty Jack has with himself about where he's gone wrong in his life feels so sobering (pun not intended) and introspective in a way that I've only seen in fiction a few times. Wendy gets a lot more to do than she does in the movie, and her role as the "normal" one living with a shining boy and an insane husband makes her crucial to getting into the story. And then there's Danny, a perfect representation of the quiet intelligence and magic Stephen King understands children to have. The last 200 pages of this book get your heart thudding like not many others can, in large part because of the first 400. Classic Stephen King might just be scarier the second time around.
fsimoneau's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
katto's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
maidenridge's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- 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
lyfeinpr0gress's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Racial slurs and Car accident
kelanth's review against another edition
3.0
Ammetto di aver visto prima il film di aver letto il libro, pecca mostruosa per molti libri ma forse non per questo. Guardai prima il film, perchè allora non conoscevo ancora il "Re", ovviamente ne rimasi affascinato. Questo fascino però è rimasto nella maggior parte nella pellicola e non nelle pagine; sì perchè il libro mi è piaciuto certo, ma quel senso di "paura" che mi aveva catturato nello schermo non l'ho ritrovato nel libro... merito di Kubrick certo e nessuna colpa a King, ci mancherebbe. Probabilmente se non ci fosse stato il film avrei dato un quattro stelle perchè il libro merita davvero. Questa è una delle rarissime volte che da un buon libro, nasce uno stupendo film.
laceygage's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 ⭐️ for me. It was fine! Just not my kind of scary, as it turns out.