Product Description

One of the true classics of horror fiction, THE SHINING is regarded as one of Stephen King's masterpieces.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #37603 in Books
• Published on: 1982-07-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 512 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Ghostly bursts of plaster dust. A low, rhythmic sound in the background: Red rum-RED RUM-red rum-RED RUM. A sense of something evil swirling inward on itself, like a whirlpool of black ectoplasmic energy. The experience of being inside the actual consciousness ("come out and take your medicine!") of a frightened little boy. Echoes of Shirley Jackson ("whatever walked there, walked alone"), of Poe's Masque of the Red Death and of creepy folk tales (Hansel and Gretel).

How do we love The Shining? Let us count the ways. In 1977, The Shining was the first widely read novel to confront alcoholism and child abuse in baby-boomer families--especially the way alcoholism, a will toward failure in one's work, and abusing one's kids are passed down from generation to generation. The heart of the book is not an evil hotel but a pair of father-son relationships: Jack and his father, Jack and his son. This was both daring and insightful for its time, long before "dysfunctional family" was a cliché.

The Shining was written in a frenzy. Stephen King imagined the whole novel in his head while sitting up all night in the dark, in the very Colorado hotel where the story takes place. He then transcribed it (that's how he puts it) in a burst of sustained energy. He could pull that off because, even at that early point in his career, King had figured out a successful way of structuring a popular novel. The speed of its composition gives the writing a powerful flow that sweeps you along past the awkward wording.

The Shining is one of those rare novels that can burn its images--such as Room 217--into your brain. Time alone will tell, but The Shining may well turn out to be one of the best horror novels ever written. By the way, you know that film starring Jack Nicholson? Stephen King says, "I have my days when I think I gave Kubrick a live grenade on which he heroically threw his body." --Fiona Webster

The Times
‘As a storyteller, he is up there in the Dickens class'

Mirror
‘You had better not read it alone'

Customer Reviews

lucy port
I really liked this book,it is much better then the stanley kubrick version.Much more indepth and scary i thought!It was definitively another page turner for me!The part in it when the topiary animals come alive!

"The Shine"
After having read Stephen King's 'THE STAND' I could not wait to get my hands on some of his other classic works. Before reading 'THE STAND' I had never been a huge fan of King's, I'd read a few of his books here and there but never any of the ones considered to be classics. So after reading 'THE STAND' I naturally decided to pick up 'THE SHINING' next. Having seen the Stanley Kubrick movie many, many years ago I felt a sense of de ja vu when starting this book which, unfortunately caused me to get off to a very slow start but once I got through the first hundred and fifty or so pages I was hooked.

The story of the haunted Overlook Hotel is enough to scare any reader, especially if you read this book late at night, which I often did! But also the story of the Torrance family who the hotel's ghosts tore apart so handily is also heartbreaking and King deals with all of their thoughts and emotions very well here. While I do admit that there were parts of this book that dragged, overall it was a great reading experience, King can be a master story teller when he is on and he was definitely on when writing 'THE SHINING'. And if you are, like I was, worried that seeing the movie will ruin the book for you, I can assure you that the similarities are few and far between and the ending is completely different! So don't let that tiny detail deter you from reading this classic!

Its still one of Kings best works
Its still of of Stephen Kings best books. Forget the film. The book is a great read and has almost gone and been forgotten.
This is a classic piece of litrature.