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US Mall 1 - The Shining (Signet)
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List Price: $7.99
Our Price: $2.39
Your Save: $ 5.60 ( 70% )
Availability:
Manufacturer: Signet
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780451160911
ISBN: 0451160916
Label: Signet
Manufacturer: Signet
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 464
Publication Date: 1978-10-01
Publisher: Signet
Studio: Signet
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Some places are like people: some shine and some don't.
Comment: Without a doubt, The Shining is Stephen King's best novel (okay, maybe it's in a dead heat with It), though it isn't my personal favorite. The themes and characterizations are all expertly handled and mesh well together with one of the best hooks any horror novel has ever had.
The elegant Overlook hotel closes down every winter due to the extremely harsh weather. For six months out of the year it is cut off from the outside world, usually occupied by a single caretaker. Of course, every hotel has its share of ghosts...
This year the caretaker has a family with him. Jack Torrence, a troubled alcoholic with a sometimes violent temper; his wife Wendy and their son Danny, who is gifted with a sixth sense, or a `shine'.
Since his cast is so small (especially compared to the whole town portrayed in his previous novel: 'Salem's Lot), King is able to spend ample amounts of time building his characters into fully realized and `real' people. You empathize with Jack. He is a deeply troubled guy, with a dark background trying to do his best while under attack from an outside malevolent force.
Stephen King proves he's more than a hack thriller writer with Danny, a believable (to me) five year old character. The sections written from Danny's point of view were never saccharine or cloying. Danny has trouble with concepts that we as the reader understand and that was handled very well.
All this talk of quality characterization shouldn't lead you to think that The Shining isn't scary. The Overlook is a masterpiece of a haunted house. Complete with a suitably nasty back-story and tons of atmosphere once the final (living) guests have checked out and Danny's `shine' was a brilliant mechanic to make the sometimes... dry... scares of normal haunted house stories much more visceral.
One flaw I had with the novel was that the ending felt a bit rushed. Still, it's a pretty minor criticism. It may just come down to personal preference. Overall, The Shining is a modern day masterpiece of a horror novel.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Finally, after all these years, I read it
Comment: I confess that I haven't read The Shining until this year, but I've watched the film many times since it was released. Today, I can now see why the book fans and the movie fans are at odds with each other.
The Shining is the ultimate modern "haunted hotel" story. It's darker, scarier and even sadder than the movie. All three factors, however, make this book a better read. What do I like best about the book? Jack Torrence is portrayed as a sympathetic character. He's not a bad man, but a flawed one. The hotel, being an instrument of evil, senses this and takes hold of Jack for it's own gain. What is the hotel's gain?? It's debatable, but I say more power and more immunity so it can exist. This is completely lost in the movie, which portrays Jack as a loser who took the job and flew off the deep end.
Despite the premise being familiar, I still enjoyed the book. I can now say after reading this that Kubrick's film version is good for Kubrick but not for King. Both versions can happily coexist, but if you prefer good for King, read the book.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Delightful.
Comment: My favorite King novel,second only to the exorcist all time in the realm of plot based novels.
Customer Rating:
Summary: PULLS ITS PUNCHES. More promise than action.
Comment: THE SHINING is an excellent read, and had the potential to be better than it is, but King pulled his punches on every occasion when the story had an opportunity to go from great to sublime. King's ambivalence about the characters dilutes their energy. That is, Jack's congenital alcoholism and identification with his father should have been collateral to a Faustian pact with the Devil. You know, trade Danny for fame and fortune as a writer, and use the booze and pathology to make the kid get with the program.
This would have set up an internal Armegeddon in Jack, where his good battles his evil for the boy.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A Metaphor
Comment: The one thing about this story that is often overlooked is that it is a metaphor...for alcoholism..a subject King knows about all too well. it is no surprise that King disliked Kubrick's interpretation, as it completely ignored this element. Jack Torrance was not an evil man. He was a loving father and husband who had bouts of evil when the Overlook Hotel exerted its influence on him..get the idea of how this book is a metaphor? Also The character of Dick Halloran plays a huge role in the book and Kubrick made him no more than the token mentor who always "dies in the end". Danny and Dick's relationship in the book is much deeper and significant. Even Wendy, Jack's wife shows an incredible strength and resolve that Kubrick seemingly ignored. Rebecca DeMornay (sp) was more true to Wendy Torrance. In short, the book is leaps and bounds better than Kubrick's interpretation..although on its own, Kubrick's movie has its own merits..the Twins in the hall ("Come play with us Danny") still creep me out to this day!!!
Do yourself a favor and read this book, it is deep, it is meaningful and it is far superior to Kubrick's interpretation
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Editorial Reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Some places are like people: some shine and some don't.
Comment: Without a doubt, The Shining is Stephen King's best novel (okay, maybe it's in a dead heat with It), though it isn't my personal favorite. The themes and characterizations are all expertly handled and mesh well together with one of the best hooks any horror novel has ever had.
The elegant Overlook hotel closes down every winter due to the extremely harsh weather. For six months out of the year it is cut off from the outside world, usually occupied by a single caretaker. Of course, every hotel has its share of ghosts...
This year the caretaker has a family with him. Jack Torrence, a troubled alcoholic with a sometimes violent temper; his wife Wendy and their son Danny, who is gifted with a sixth sense, or a `shine'.
Since his cast is so small (especially compared to the whole town portrayed in his previous novel: 'Salem's Lot), King is able to spend ample amounts of time building his characters into fully realized and `real' people. You empathize with Jack. He is a deeply troubled guy, with a dark background trying to do his best while under attack from an outside malevolent force.
Stephen King proves he's more than a hack thriller writer with Danny, a believable (to me) five year old character. The sections written from Danny's point of view were never saccharine or cloying. Danny has trouble with concepts that we as the reader understand and that was handled very well.
All this talk of quality characterization shouldn't lead you to think that The Shining isn't scary. The Overlook is a masterpiece of a haunted house. Complete with a suitably nasty back-story and tons of atmosphere once the final (living) guests have checked out and Danny's `shine' was a brilliant mechanic to make the sometimes... dry... scares of normal haunted house stories much more visceral.
One flaw I had with the novel was that the ending felt a bit rushed. Still, it's a pretty minor criticism. It may just come down to personal preference. Overall, The Shining is a modern day masterpiece of a horror novel.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Finally, after all these years, I read it
Comment: I confess that I haven't read The Shining until this year, but I've watched the film many times since it was released. Today, I can now see why the book fans and the movie fans are at odds with each other.
The Shining is the ultimate modern "haunted hotel" story. It's darker, scarier and even sadder than the movie. All three factors, however, make this book a better read. What do I like best about the book? Jack Torrence is portrayed as a sympathetic character. He's not a bad man, but a flawed one. The hotel, being an instrument of evil, senses this and takes hold of Jack for it's own gain. What is the hotel's gain?? It's debatable, but I say more power and more immunity so it can exist. This is completely lost in the movie, which portrays Jack as a loser who took the job and flew off the deep end.
Despite the premise being familiar, I still enjoyed the book. I can now say after reading this that Kubrick's film version is good for Kubrick but not for King. Both versions can happily coexist, but if you prefer good for King, read the book.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Delightful.
Comment: My favorite King novel,second only to the exorcist all time in the realm of plot based novels.
Customer Rating:
Summary: PULLS ITS PUNCHES. More promise than action.
Comment: THE SHINING is an excellent read, and had the potential to be better than it is, but King pulled his punches on every occasion when the story had an opportunity to go from great to sublime. King's ambivalence about the characters dilutes their energy. That is, Jack's congenital alcoholism and identification with his father should have been collateral to a Faustian pact with the Devil. You know, trade Danny for fame and fortune as a writer, and use the booze and pathology to make the kid get with the program.
This would have set up an internal Armegeddon in Jack, where his good battles his evil for the boy.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A Metaphor
Comment: The one thing about this story that is often overlooked is that it is a metaphor...for alcoholism..a subject King knows about all too well. it is no surprise that King disliked Kubrick's interpretation, as it completely ignored this element. Jack Torrance was not an evil man. He was a loving father and husband who had bouts of evil when the Overlook Hotel exerted its influence on him..get the idea of how this book is a metaphor? Also The character of Dick Halloran plays a huge role in the book and Kubrick made him no more than the token mentor who always "dies in the end". Danny and Dick's relationship in the book is much deeper and significant. Even Wendy, Jack's wife shows an incredible strength and resolve that Kubrick seemingly ignored. Rebecca DeMornay (sp) was more true to Wendy Torrance. In short, the book is leaps and bounds better than Kubrick's interpretation..although on its own, Kubrick's movie has its own merits..the Twins in the hall ("Come play with us Danny") still creep me out to this day!!!
Do yourself a favor and read this book, it is deep, it is meaningful and it is far superior to Kubrick's interpretation
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