Shining

A great book whose brilliance, as so many of King's novels, lies in its exploration of the complex interplay between the supernatural and the psychological.

The Overlook's evil influence is both tangible and intangible, blurring the lines between reality and hallucination. Jack's descent into madness, fueled by alcoholism, repressed anger, and the hotel's sinister influence, is both terrifying and relatable, as we witness the gradual unraveling of a man teetering on the brink of insanity.

And the ending is terrific.

I think it's been at least 25 years since I read this. Since then I've first dismissed the Kubrick film, then learned to love the Kubrick film (King's story is about a good man (well, not THAT good, really) being corrupted despite his best efforts; Kubrick's story is about a young boy who knows for a fact what will happen), and it's kind of hard to not read this through that lens. (And think the roque club is a bit silly.)

That said, King's Shining is a different beast, and it wins me back. Mostly. Sure there are some things about early King that are hard to not notice; much like in The Stand, he tries a little too hard to get into non-white/non-male characters' heads by dragging out every stereotype he knows (a LOT of tits and n-words) and the omniscient narrator is at times a little too omniscient, until you start wondering if a 5-year-old, no matter how bright, would really notice all this.

But still, there's something really effective in the way he gradually shuts in his characters both in the hotel and in their own past trauma (which Kubrick had no use at all for). The concept of shining, and the way it pops up in unexpected places. The setpieces (the lawn creatures, the wasps, the ballroom...) still chill me. But nowhere near as much as Jack's (if at times slightly clumsy) turn from wanting to do anything to prove himself to do anything to justify himself.