"The Shining" by Stephen King: reader reviews, summary, writing history

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Writers whose books would be liked by almost all people, in our time, unfortunately, there are not so many. Real bestsellers that would be read by millions can be counted on the fingers. But good interesting books of various publishing houses, of course, are sometimes released even today. Very good reviews from readers, for example, deserved the works of the American Stephen King. This talented writer has a lot of admirers in the world, including in Russia.

Creates his works Stephen King in the exciting genres of horror, thriller, fantasy. Based on his books, many successful and popular film adaptations have been created. Many people, for example, know the two films "The Shining". The plot of which takes place in an old hotel "Overlook", full of ghosts. These popular films were created based on the book of the same name by Stephen King. Reviews The Shining, written by the "King of Horror" in 1977, from fans of the genre deserved to be simply excellent.

Author biography

This writer was born on September 211947 in the US state of Maine in the city of Portland. Mother Stephen Nelli shortly before this was given a disappointing diagnosis - infertility. In order not to be left alone in old age, the Kings decided to adopt an orphan child. So Victor David appeared in their family. But after a while, a real miracle happened - the couple had their own child, who was named Stephen Edwin.

The future writer's father was a sailor and later a traveling salesman. Stephen's mother worked as a pianist. When King was 2 years old, his family, unfortunately, broke up. The father of the future writer fled to another state with a pretty waitress from a nearby cafe. Steven and David were raised by their mother, who, in order to feed the children, had to take on the dirtiest and hardest work all her life.

At the age of 7, the future writer became seriously ill due to frequent moves. Steven had several complex ear surgeries. Perhaps due to the rather difficult living conditions, as well as the hardships that fell to his lot, the boy became interested in the gloomy horror genre as a child.

To distract from the constant pain in his ear, he, on the advice of his mother, began to write scary stories. Until the release of the best horror of the XX century. - "The Shining" by Stephen King, the reviews from the fans deserved just great - it was, of course, still very far away. However, the “king of horrors” captured his first mystical story on paper at the age of 7. It was a captivating story inspired by the Captain Casey comic book by King.

After a while, Steven wrote moreseveral stories, for which he received a “fee” of 25 cents from his mother. Since then, the "king of horrors" has been writing his works almost non-stop.

Studying in college, Stephen King at the same time moonlighted on the packaging of goods. While still a student, he married his classmate - pretty Tabitha. After receiving a bachelor's degree, Stephen decided to earn a living by doing what he loves - writing. However, before becoming the internationally recognized "King of Horror", King was forced to teach in one of the schools in the city.

Steven's first bestseller was the novel "Carrie", a draft of which the writer, dissatisfied with his work, threw in the trash can. Fortunately, the novel was found by the wife of the future "king of horrors." After reading it, she begged her husband to complete this work to the end. Subsequently, the novel "Carrie" was a fantastic success with readers. Reviews about him were enthusiastic. For the writer, this came as a surprise and, of course, gave impetus to writing new works.

The Shining by Stephen King: Reader Reviews

This bestseller was released in 1977. The Shining was Stephen King's second successful book. It is loved and read not only by residents of the United States, but also by many other countries. From Russian horror fans, this work also deserved simply excellent reviews. Many domestic readers call this book the best in the genre of horror and mysticism of the 20th century.

Reader reviews of King's The Shining are good, thanks to the following virtues of this book:

• good drawingheroes;
• interesting plot;
• happy endu;
• light style of presentation.

Also, according to horror fans, the theme of the family is very well disclosed in this work.

There are also negative reviews related to King's Shining in Runet. But they relate mainly to the quality of the most domestic printed products (small print, bad paper, unsightly design, etc.).

History of the creation of the book: the old hotel

How did King's horror book The Shining come about? The fee received for Carrie allowed the writer to leave teaching. Together with his wife, the "king of horrors" moved to live in the state of Colorado, in the city of Boulder. After the success of Carrie, King's business took off and the family simply decided to buy themselves a new home. In order not to suffer with the choice of a place to live, Stephen simply closed his eyes and pointed at the first place on the map. It turned out to be the city of Bowdler.

In October 1974, the couple, having decided to take a break from the children already born to them by that time, went to explore the outskirts of the city. A few miles from Bowdler was the small, picturesque old town of Estes Park, of interest to the Kings. This place was very popular with tourists, and therefore, of course, there was a hotel here. It was called The Stanley Hotel. Since the time was approaching winter, there were practically no visitors at the hotel. In fact, Stephen and Tabitha lived in it almost alone.

The couple got number 217, where, according to local legend, a ghost lived. The hotel environment was good enough.gloomy. A married couple had to dine in an empty huge dining room and listen to the stories of a local watchman about how the hotel cuts off from the outside world with snowfalls in winter. King wandered for a long time through the deaf deserted corridors of the old hotel and communicated mostly only with the local bartender.

At that time, according to friends, the "king of horrors" experienced some problems with alcohol. This, like the hotel setting, the haunted room, the talkative caretaker and the polite bartender, was later reflected in Stephen King's The Shining.

Sleep

The empty hotel, which kept thousands of stories of tourists who came to Estes Park, apparently inspired King to write a new book. But the real impetus for the creation and publication of the second terrible horror movie for Stephen was a dream he had at night at The Stanley Hotel. In his daydreams, King suddenly saw his three-year-old son running screaming up the stairs from a fire hose. The writer woke up in a cold sweat and in just half an hour drew up a plan for a future book.

Prerequisites for Creation

Conceived his "The Shining" Stephen King, thus, after visiting The Stanley Hotel. However, the idea of a novel of a similar concept occurred to him 12 years before his trip to Estes Park. Then Stephen also wanted to write a novel about the hotel and call it Darkshine. The main character, according to the author's idea, was to be a psychic, whose thoughts were embodied in reality. King came up with such a plot under the influence of Ray Bradbury's short story "The Weld" that was released at the time.

However, the novice writer failed to promote the idea in those years. The drafts of his novel went "on the table." After a night at The Stanley Hotel, King decided to use these old ideas. However, this time he made not a man, but a little boy, the main telepathic character. And so, perhaps the best work in the horror genre of the 20th century was born, which deserved excellent reviews from readers - Stephen King's The Shining.

To whom the book is dedicated

Stephen left a note on the front page of his new novel dedicating it to "Joe Hill King, whose radiance is unquenchable." The prototype of the protagonist of The Shining for the writer, after a dream he had, was, of course, his own little son.

Joe Hill was born to Steven and Tabitha in the summer of 1972. In fact, the boy was named Joseph Hillstrom. The pseudonym Joe Hill, the son of King took on his own, already an adult. The fact is that Joseph, like his father, chose the career of a writer. He hid his last name, first name and patronymic in order to achieve success on his own, without taking advantage of his father's fame.

What is the book about?

Further in the article, for informational purposes, we present the content of "The Shining" by Stephen King (short). Of course, reading this wonderful book, which, according to most domestic horror fans, is one of the best printed horrors of the 20th century, is worth reading independently and completely. Moreover, you can find this work in Russia today in any bookstore. There are many pages in this book, but they are read literally in one breath.

However, thoseFor people who still doubt whether it is worth reading this work, below we present a small review of it. Of course, we will not give a summary of Stephen King's The Shining chapter by chapter, otherwise the article will turn out to be too long. But those who are interested in the work of the "king of horrors" will still be able to follow the main plot line.

Main characters

What is the content of Stephen King's The Shining? The plot of this book unfolds in the oldest hotel "Overlook", located far from settlements, in the mountains. The novel begins with a description of the complex relationship in one of the troubled American families. The main characters of the book are a boy with telepathic abilities Danny Torrance, his father Jack and mother Wendy.

At the very beginning of the book, the family does not yet live in a hotel, but in the city and is experiencing serious financial difficulties. Danny's father, working as a teacher, beats up a student for showing him disrespect. Of course, immediately after this, Jack is fired from the school.

Besides the financial problem, Danny's family also faces another serious problem. The head of the family, unfortunately, is an alcoholic with experience. The prehistory of the events that took place at the Ovreluk Hotel is that Jack, once drunk, breaks his son's arm in a fit of anger. Of course, Wendy - an exemplary American housewife - decides to divorce him after that.

Wishing to save the family, however, Jack asks his wife for a reprieve and begins to visit the club of anonymous alcoholics. Here, among other things, he meets a rich friend Al, who is also experiencingalcohol problems. This new friend invites Jack to work as a watchman at the Overlook Hotel, of which he is one of the directors. All Danny's father has to do at the inn is to keep an eye on its yard and rooms, which are empty in winter.

Of course, the former teacher immediately agrees to this proposal. After all, he is offered a very good salary. In addition, Jack expects to finish the book he started in the silence of the hotel, which does not accept guests during the cold season.

Arrive at the hotel

Strange and terrifying events in Stephen King's The Shining begin to take place even before the family enters the territory of the ill-fated old hotel. Danny, who has telepathic abilities, mysteriously finds out that his father got a job at some hotel, even before Jack informs the family about it. At the same time, the boy feels that something terrible is bound to happen to them in the old hotel. The pictures that the child sees are so scary that he even loses consciousness.

Learns not too good details about the Overlook and Jack himself. When applying for a job, he is told a story about how the previous caretaker of the hotel went crazy and committed suicide the year before.

However, the Torrens go to the Overlook in their old car after a while. Here they meet the cook Dick, who is less so than Danny, but also has a telepathic gift. Two extraordinary people even manage to "talk" to each other mentally. Danny, feeling a kindred spirit, tells Dick about hishotel fears. To this, the cook advises him to calm down and not perceive his visions as something real. However, at the same time, the cook invites the boy to mentally call him for help in the event that some kind of trouble happens to him.

Alone in winter

Further, according to the plot of the book "The Shining" by King, the packed staff leaves the hotel before spring. Leaving the hotel and the last guests. The Torrens family is left alone in the Overlook. At first, everything goes just perfect for our heroes. Jack is writing his book, Wendy is taking care of Danny. But after a while, the fallen snow cuts off the Overlook from the outside world. From that moment on, terrible things begin to happen in the hotel.

One day Danny, playing in the hallway, looks into one of the rooms, from under the door of which there is a strange light. An impressionable child sees a scary blue dead woman coming out of the bathroom and heading towards him with clearly not good intentions. Danny's parents come running to Danny's scream. Wendy notices the bruises on the body of the unconscious boy again and begins to accuse Jack of beating the child. This becomes one of the reasons for the split in the family.

He sees ghosts in the hotel and Jack himself. Despite the fact that in reality, in the hotel, unlike food, not a drop of alcohol is left for the winter, the spirit of a local, long-dead bartender begins to offer Jack a drink from the other world. And the strangest thing is that a former alcoholic behaves, having accumulated unreal alcohol, not at all like a sober person.

Soon begins to believe in the presence of ghosts and Wendy in the hotel. Firstly,her husband again every evening, for some unknown reason, comes to their room tipsy. And secondly, at night, the family clearly hears the sounds of a party organized upstairs by a huge number of ghosts.

Hotel book

Ultimately, Jack finds a notebook in the basement with a description of the unsightly events that took place somewhere in the Overlook. Impressed by what he read, he decides to write a book about this hotel. A we althy alcoholic friend, Al, who gave Jack a job, fearing for the reputation of the hotel, forbids him from doing so. However, Danny's father, despite everything, still decides to describe the murders and suicides that once occurred in the Overlook. After that, the hotel captures Jack completely. The ghosts begin to push Danny's father, like his predecessor, to kill the family.

Ending

Ultimately, Jack, armed with an axe, starts chasing Wendy and Danny around the hotel. Rescuing her child, Wendy manages to trap her husband for a while and lock him in one of the refrigerators in the kitchen. However, Jack first breaks the walkie-talkie and the snowmobile so that people close to him once did not call for help and run away. Soon he is released from the refrigerator by all the same ghosts. Danny, meanwhile, struggles with his fears in the hallways of the hotel. For example, as in King's dream, he begins to be chased by a fire hose, which he needs to pass by. In the end, the boy overcomes fear and hides from his father, who has almost found him, brandishing an ax.

When the situation is for Danny and Wendybecomes completely hopeless, they come to the aid of the case. The hotel's old boiler, which the withdrawn Jack had long since stopped monitoring, explodes. The hotel is on fire. At this point, Dick arrives at the hotel on a snowmobile, telepathically summoned by Danny. Ultimately, the cook takes the woman and child to town. Jack burns down along with the hotel and its ghosts.

Screenings

The book "The Shining" was not only very popular with readers, but also caused a real boom among writers. Critics also appreciated this work. Subsequently, many reviews of Stephen King's The Shining, reviews of famous people, and so on, appeared. Of course, films were made based on this work. A lot of people have looked at these pictures.

A film based on the book "The Shining" by Stephen King, which received good reviews from fans of his work and also for a well-thought-out sequential plot, the directors filmed twice. This was first done by Stanley Kubrick in 1980. The second film adaptation of the novel was released in 1997. The director of this picture was Mick Garris. Both films aroused great public interest and brought their creators a lot of money. However, judging by the reviews available on the Web, viewers liked the picture, shot in 1997, more. It is a mini-series and reveals the plot of the book in much more detail than the 1980 film.

The first picture, according to the audience, among other things, turned out to be too laconic. At the same time, Kubrick, according to many fans of the author under study, also quite in vain made severaldigressions from the plot of the book. A summary of The Shining by King was given by us above in the article. As our readers will remember, Danny and Wendy are ultimately rescued from an angry father by Dick. The cook takes away the woman and child from the ill-fated hotel. However, Kubrick "kills" Dick at the end of his film.

Roles

In Kubrick's film, the role of Danny's father was played by character actor Nicholson, who often plays crazy people in movies. This artist, when working on the image, made the main emphasis on the dark side of Jack's soul. And he succeeded to the fullest. Jack Kubrick literally scares the viewer with his gloomy, not quite normal look, as well as a complete inability to repent or compassion.

Harris has the role of Danny's father played by Steven Weber - a softer actor, in full accordance with the content of King's book The Shining, revealing the theme of Jack's struggle with the dark side of his soul in order to save his son.

The role of Kubrick's Wendy was played by the not-too-attractive-looking actress Shelley Duvall. She was very good at conveying the character of not particularly smart, downtrodden and intimidated by her husband, but still ready to do everything for her child, a housewife.

Harris made Danny's mother more resolute, calm, intelligent, and therefore attractive, according to the viewer. In addition, the very beautiful-looking Rebecca De Mornay played this role in the 1997 film.

Continuation of the book

Happy ending is likely one of the reasons why Stephen King's book The Shining earned good reviews from readers. According to the plot of the kinghorror, Danny and his mother, as we remember, are saved. Subsequently, they live together, they are often visited by the cook Dick, who helps to raise a gifted boy. It is on this note that Stephen King's "The Shining" ends.

Subsequently, the "king of horror" also wrote a sequel to this book called "Doctor Sleep". This work was published in 2013. In this novel, Danny Torrance turns 40 years old. According to the story, he works in a hospital and helps the girl Abra escape from vampires who feed on the "radiance".