A review by bookishdiya
Misery, by Stephen King

dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

TW: physical and mental abuse, mentions of mental illness, violence, gore

I am as relieved as Paul Sheldon, as I type this. Finally, after what seems like years and years of torture and abuse, even though it was mere months, Paul was finally free. Like Paul used to fall through the hole in the paper while writing, I, too fell through the hole in the book and watched in horror as Annie Wilkes, Paul’s “number one fan”(and don’t you ever forget it) forced Paul to do her bidding, and punished him when he resisted.

It’s made clear in the book at the beginning that Annie suffers from a mental illness, which is never explicitly named. However, her personality, distinct from her mental illness, is obnoxious. She would blame Paul for her actions, instead of owning up, and when she did, which was rare, would do so reluctantly, and always rationalise her actions. She also had extreme notions of good and bad, was extremely cunning and lied easily and convincingly.

The story moves at a very slow pace, and although it was really interesting to get a peek at a writer’s mind, nonetheless fictional, I found myself becoming impatient. The last 100 pages or so, made up for it.

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