Hi Steemians!
I recently read my second ever Stephen King book, and since I also shared my thoughts on IT when I read it (the pun-gift that keeps on giving...), I thought it would be nice to review Misery as well.
(picture credit: Goodreads)
In this book Stephen King seems to have written down his own personal nightmare: It follows the semi-popular author Paul Sheldon who gets into a car crash and is "rescued" by a former nurse called Annie Wilkes who takes him home with her. Annie turns out to also be his number one fan - and when she finds out he has killed her favourite character in his latest novel, she is not happy at all.
The book doesn't really work with a lot of suspense, since the main character essentially starts off in a very, very bad situation that - while it does proceed to get worse - is already quite suggestive of things to come. It's not too difficult for the reader to predict the direction the book will head into, but that didn't really detract from my enjoyment of the book at all.
While reading this, I kept feeling extremely anxious for the main character - for obvious reasons - but because of the unique dynamics between him and Annie, I was never overwhelmed by it. The book manages to make you feel trapped and scared and anxious just enough, while still preserving a sense of hope to keep the stakes high and this book from being downright depressing.
I also liked the way this story touched on how fictional stories and characters can become so real for us that we suffer real-life consequences when unpleasant things happen to them. Not only is this thought actively discussed, it is also represented by the story itself that draws the reader in and puts him into bed right next to Paul Sheldon. It's impossible not to cringe and cry and fear with him.
I really, really enjoyed this novel - unlike from what I've usually heard about Stephen King's endings, this was actually really fitting and very well executed. A wonderful, terrifying, gruesome novel that was a well chosen second SK read for me.
What is your favourite Stephen King novel? Let me know!
Happy reading,
xx
ivymuse