Title: The Shining
Genre: Horror Novel
Year: 1977
Pages: 410
Origin: bought at a second hand bookstore for £1.99
Nod Rating: 3 nods out of 5
“Here’s Johnny!” teased the warped and insane Jack Nicholson in the cult film The Shining. It is a movie that has terrified a-many over the past three decades; a film that can stand its head high and pride amongst the heavyweights of Stanley Kubrick’s catalogue.
However, it is an image at odds with Stephen King’s original creation. Before the image of the axe smashing through the door and before the twins standing in a hallway of oozing blood there was the less extreme text that had a bigger, more caring spirit. King himself has previously stated his distaste for Kubrick’s film; he even help oversee a later television adaption that remained truer to the source material. But in a battle between the two, which version stands up best? Thankfully, the Worm is here to help decide the contest.
Although, it must be stated for the record, the Worm’s interest in reading his first Stephen King novel for this blog is not motivated by the Kubrick-King “feud”, but rather by the news that the author was planning and writing a follow-up novel to The Shining: Dr Sleep. It follows the life of Danny decades after the horrific events occurred at the Overlook Hotel. The Worm was interested in what King would do have returned to a much earlier creation, and therefore the gauntlet was laid down to read his first novel before devouring the second.
The plot is a well-known one: Jack Torrance is given the job of maintaining the snow-ridden Overlook Hotel during the winter season. A struggling writer, he intends to write his masterpiece amongst the peace. Also present is his wife and their son, Danny; it is Danny who has the ability to “shine” and look into the thoughts and emotions of others. He is aided (and hindered) in this ability by his imaginary friend Tony; wonderfully shown in Kubrick’s film by a waggling finger (1-0 to Kubrick, it would seem). Whilst at the hotel, events take a turn for the worst; well, this is the horror genre, after all. Jack is seemingly possessed by the potency and history of the hotel, whilst Danny’s images of death and disaster become all the greater. The hotel’s supernatural spirit takes hold, turning the father against his family.
The book goes into greater detail into the mentality of Torrance, his relationship with Danny and the turmoil of his marriage to Wendy. Where the film scratches the surface, in a seeming triumph of style over substance, King is intent to get across the message that Jack Torrance is not a maniac in the making, but rather a normal guy who is moved to do extraordinary things. This investment, despite being heavy-loaded in the first section of the novel (more than one hundred pages pass before we move onto the setting of the hotel) pays dividends come the book’s climax. Here, in a bloody pitted duel between father and son, Jack is able to reach into the love he shares with his son and help him escape by bludgeoning himself to death (King equalises to make it 1-1).
However, the book has many annoying features: nowhere more clearly than in King’s writing style. He displays a seeming inability to tie up a chapter, adding superfluous text and clogging up the book with pointless pages of print. Yes, it is true that the reader finds out much more of the family than the film can offer; but it must be asked: is this entirely beneficial? The hints and forewarning of the trouble ahead is enough to distract the reader, as is the annoyance that is the character of Danny. Shown in the film to be a quiet, disturbed child, in the novel he takes on an irritatingly developed mindset; one more fitting for a child of ten or more years, rather than a six-year old (2-1 to Kubrick).
But, the biggest gripe of King’s novel is the ending (again, demonstrating his inability to successfully conclude a segment of writing). Yes, we have the death of Jack as well as the blowing of the boiler – itself a metaphorical indicator of the rising tension throughout the novel – but after this point we, the readers, are left to follow a pointless summary (Final score: 3-1 Kubrick).
Both novel and film exist and stand on their own merits. Each is a different, and for that both reader and cinema-goer should be thankful. For King and fans of the original novel, there is no hope of defeating the movie, such is its iconic status. However, King deserves the kudos for bringing these characters to life. Despite the sometimes pedestrian writing, the author brings a tale to terrify us – but a tale that has heart on the possibilities of love triumphing over evil. This may not Stephen King’s best work; but it may just be his most memorable.
Buy it here
