Review: 'The Shining' by Stephen King

‘The Shining’ by Stephen King is not just a classic horror novel; it is a timeless literary epic. To confine this masterpiece’s categorization to the horror genre would be doing Stephen King a great disservice, simply because this book provides so much more than a few grisly scares.

The narrative follows the failings of the ‘recovered’ alcoholic Jack Torrance, his wife Wendy and their five year old son, Danny. Danny has an extraordinary talent, ‘Shining’; his powers allow him to see things that other people cannot see. Danny can also read other people’s thoughts.

 This allows King to develop the characters in great depth, ultimately making everyone seem more human because we can read their minds. This effect is heightened by Stephen’s decision to present the tale from the perspective of multiple characters, which works seamlessly.

 The family find themselves living in the mysterious Overlook Hotel and we immediately get the sense that they have arrived at a very unique place. I really enjoyed reading as the family unlocked the hotel’s secrets because I felt as if I was reading about real, historical events.

 The writer’s ability to haul you head first, kicking and screaming into his fictional nightmare is a skill rivalled only by the late Edgar Allan Poe, a writer who is referenced throughout the book. Stephen’s ability to strike terror with his words had me clutching the covers with a steadfast hold as I read in a trance-like state, rushing to the end of each chapter as if I was trying to escape.

 Admittedly, reading a five hundred page book may be an ever so slightly laborious task for someone with a short attention span, but I cannot claim that a single chapter was superfluous or unenjoyable.  

 I would recommend ‘The Shining’ to most people because a prior love of the horror genre is not required. The Shining would be a great book for a teenage boy to read, because every boy of a certain age likes a good scare, but Stephen’s work is certainly not solely suited to men.  King’s storytelling is the work of a master wordsmith and if this book works for you, you’ll definitely want to read it till the end.