Briley

=Briley's Review of __The Shining__= For 683 pages I found myself on edge as I worked my way through Stephen King's third published novel, __The Shining__. Knowing very little about King's writing style before picking up this book, I was pleased to realize that his language, although unique was very accessible and enjoyable. Not once did I find myself begging for the end of an exhaustive paragraph because there were none to be found in this exciting account. As I neared the end of the book I found myself surprised to notice that by using less than five characters in his whole novel, King still etched in his theme quite powerfully through each of his characters' thoughts and resulting actions. As Jack Torrance, a recovering alcoholic decides to take a care-taking job at the Overlook hotel in the Colorado mountains his wife and 5-year-old son, Danny must join him for the winter as he works. After the winter snow begins to pile up outside the hotel, the three are cut off from the rest of world. Each member struggles to keep their mind as disturbing images from the hotel's dark history, including gang violence in the suites and a murdered woman in a bathtub begin to creep up on them. By the end of the story, some keep their minds, while others are captured by the hotel's powerfully enticing history. King showed through this story that humans ought to use their love and intellect to help them make decisions, rather than their surroundings and events from their past. Written more than thirty years ago, many would expect this story about a summer resort hotel located in the Rocky Mountains to be outdated as fresh communication devices seem to be born every week and cruise ships and casinos seem to be the popular choice for vacationers. Yet, the characters are portrayed very realistically and the fictitious Overlook Hotel is given such pleasant qualities that for pieces of the story I hoped to visit a resort of the same sort. If this story had taken place last month, I would not find it difficult to believe because King placed the large and small details on his characters rather than on the times in which they lived. Regardless of the eerie blank faced child on the book's cover, I found __The Shining__ at times, to be suspenseful sometimes even disturbing, but I did not find myself in any way frightened, which for me was a pleasant surprise. In fact, I found it very interesting to find myself most on-edge during a scene including animal topiary coming to life and attacking young Danny. Stephen King was able to take common (and in a way, corny) creatures and turn them into terrifying monsters. As I look back on the story, this scene was certainly one of my favorites. King brought his characters to life and this aspect of the story makes it a classic. Jack, trying to escape the shadow of his abusive father and his own struggle with alcohol is a very likable man and I could not help but be concerned with him as I dove deeper into the story. His wife, Wendy has struggles of her own as she was torn with the choice of divorce and the desire to do what was best for her son. King effectively portrayed the young Danny by showing his concern for his parents, and he is also given a certain naivety, as he addresses his father's alcohol as "the bad stuff." The five year old is extremely intelligent, which seems unrealistic. This, however is a reflection of "the shine" he possesses, which is the ability to sense the feelings of others. King's ingenious portrayal of his characters and his ability to bring even the most bizarre scenes to life made his novel, __The Shining__ very entertaing, and I certainly reccomend this book to anyone in search of guidance on where not to work during the winter months. A

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