Stephen King"s Misery
Stephen King is one of the most prolific and best known authors of our generation and has written many highly entertaining and engaging books and Misery has to rank as one of his best.
When people think about King they normally associate horror, suspense and fantasy with his books.
He has written many fantasy horror stories that involve evil spirits and other supernatural phenomenon which by their very nature cause a certain amount of escapism from reality for the reader.
What makes Stephen King's Misery better than most of his other books is the realism of the storyline.
The book is a psychological thriller and manages to provoke the reader into thinking about their own thoughts and reactions if they were caught in similar situation.
The story is set in a remote location and centres on 2 main characters and a car crash, the catalyst which brings them together.
So the premise of the book is very normal and the reader can easily empathise with the storyline.
Paul Sheldon is one of the main characters, a writer and the author of a bestselling number of books containing the fictional character Misery Chastain.
Whilst driving from Colorado to Los Angeles, Sheldon crashes his car in a snow storm in the mountains.
Whilst being unconscious he is rescued by a former nurse, the 2nd main character in the book, Annie Wilkes.
Rather than taking Sheldon to a hospital, she takes him to her home which is an isolated house miles from anyone or anything.
Wilkes begins nursing Sheldon back to health and when he is well enough to talk she says to him that she is his number one fan.
The storyline takes a dark turn when Wilkes finds out that the character she loves so much, Misery Chastain has actually been killed off by Sheldon in his latest script, in his attempt to return to a serious writing career.
Sheldon who is completely vulnerable following his car crash, confined to a bed initially and then a wheelchair with broken legs has to placate the furious Wilkes who demands that he resurrect her beloved fictional character.
The book is totally engrossing as the exchanges unfold between a psychotic Wilkes and a vulnerable but resilient Sheldon.
Many people may be familiar with a version of Stephen King's Misery when it was made into a hugely successful movie in 1990.
However as with any movie or screen adaptation, sacrifices have to be made in order to achieve a story that can be told in 90 to 180 minutes for a screen audience.
The book however has far more scope and uses that to create completely believable characters.
The book is far darker than the film managed to portray and at times produces a gripping level of suspense in the reader.
Stephen King's Misery appeals to a wider audience than much of his other work because he has managed to create characters with huge depth and credibility and place them in a situation which everyone can relate to whilst building an environment of psychological apprehension.
Sometimes that apprehension turns into fear and horror, the exact emotions that make this a great psychological thriller.
When people think about King they normally associate horror, suspense and fantasy with his books.
He has written many fantasy horror stories that involve evil spirits and other supernatural phenomenon which by their very nature cause a certain amount of escapism from reality for the reader.
What makes Stephen King's Misery better than most of his other books is the realism of the storyline.
The book is a psychological thriller and manages to provoke the reader into thinking about their own thoughts and reactions if they were caught in similar situation.
The story is set in a remote location and centres on 2 main characters and a car crash, the catalyst which brings them together.
So the premise of the book is very normal and the reader can easily empathise with the storyline.
Paul Sheldon is one of the main characters, a writer and the author of a bestselling number of books containing the fictional character Misery Chastain.
Whilst driving from Colorado to Los Angeles, Sheldon crashes his car in a snow storm in the mountains.
Whilst being unconscious he is rescued by a former nurse, the 2nd main character in the book, Annie Wilkes.
Rather than taking Sheldon to a hospital, she takes him to her home which is an isolated house miles from anyone or anything.
Wilkes begins nursing Sheldon back to health and when he is well enough to talk she says to him that she is his number one fan.
The storyline takes a dark turn when Wilkes finds out that the character she loves so much, Misery Chastain has actually been killed off by Sheldon in his latest script, in his attempt to return to a serious writing career.
Sheldon who is completely vulnerable following his car crash, confined to a bed initially and then a wheelchair with broken legs has to placate the furious Wilkes who demands that he resurrect her beloved fictional character.
The book is totally engrossing as the exchanges unfold between a psychotic Wilkes and a vulnerable but resilient Sheldon.
Many people may be familiar with a version of Stephen King's Misery when it was made into a hugely successful movie in 1990.
However as with any movie or screen adaptation, sacrifices have to be made in order to achieve a story that can be told in 90 to 180 minutes for a screen audience.
The book however has far more scope and uses that to create completely believable characters.
The book is far darker than the film managed to portray and at times produces a gripping level of suspense in the reader.
Stephen King's Misery appeals to a wider audience than much of his other work because he has managed to create characters with huge depth and credibility and place them in a situation which everyone can relate to whilst building an environment of psychological apprehension.
Sometimes that apprehension turns into fear and horror, the exact emotions that make this a great psychological thriller.
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