Hi guys. Sorry for the brief hiatus. I've been reading just as much King as always (as well as some Koontz and Dekker - other excellent authors!), I simply haven't been posting. I'm not entirely sure why. I guess it's just the fact that trying to write about how I feel when I finish a novel by Sai King is like trying to write about what love really is - why we love, how we love, and how to define it, if that makes sense - I'm not entirely sure that it does. Anyway, I am finally writing (and posting) the second and final part of my thoughts on King's 1977 novel The Shining. Enjoy!
In my last post, I stated that the Overlook Hotel was trying to use its powers to get to Danny through Jack. Why would it do that? Well, you see, "the shining" is a way of saying that Danny can read others' emotions and thoughts, quite frankly. Danny is picking up on a lot of vibes from the hotel, seeing things that are there (or aren't there?) and it's frightening him. He is, after all, only five years old. Jack and Wendy are both worried about the little guy - what parents wouldn't be? Yet, at the same time, the Hotel (said with a capital letter and with the utmost respect, as Stuart Ullman does) is overwhelming Jack - pushing him into his alcoholic tendencies and making him give into his temper, and he doesn't even realize it. It's a shame, really, to see how fast this guy crumbles and breaks. But Stephen King makes all of it incredibly believable, which is one of his strongest traits as an author. We really get inside Jack Torrance's mind, see what makes him tick, and what eventually makes him turn into a puppet controlled by the Overlook. It's heartbreaking, but above all, King's novels are a study in everyday people going through crazy circumstances, and if they come out of it. Sometimes they win, sometimes they don't. That's exactly how real life is.
All the while, the snow is falling outside. Welcome to winter in Colorado. Since the Overlook Hotel is so far away from any civilization, and it's in the mountains, there is no easy way to quickly leave - especially in horrible conditions. Imagine the claustrophobia, the tension. Cabin fever can do some crazy things to ordinary people under everyday circumstances without a hotel with an awful past filled with demons all bent on murder (REDRUM). So imagine what kind of hell the hotel eventually becomes for the Torrances. The novel throbs and aches, and then turns into a whirlwind of destruction and fear. Some of King's most cut-throat scenes are contained in this very novel. I will never forget the scene in the hotel's playground, when Danny just wants to play. It goes smoothly at first, then a chill sets over the boy. I was biting my fingernails (a horrible habit I need to break, but oh well) while reading that part. And then, he decides to make a break for the hotel, to bolt inside the front door and away from the terror which he feels lies in that snowy playground...and out of the corner of his eye, he notices movement. Oh, hell. He turns and looks at the topiary garden, filled with fake lions, dogs, and the like. It all looks ordinary, nothing out of place...so he turns away again, moving slowly toward the hotel, trying to move through the snow. The hand of fear and panic is beginning to settle quite nicely on the back of little Danny's neck, the boy with the shining and the ability to sense things others don't. He turns around again. Are those things closer now? Who changed their positions? Do they seem a bit more...life-like...? Uh-oh... Danny panics, runs for the door, and makes it onto the porch just in time. Man, that was scary!
There are several other scenes here that almost made me soil my pants, honestly. Back in the day, King's writing style was take-no-prisoners. He went straight for the jugular. That's not to say he isn't talented now - but there is a reason I jumped at every sound I heard when I closed this book. Who could forget the naked ghost-lady in the bath-tub, the fire extinguisher, or Jack busting through the door with a roquet mallet to get to his wife, Wendy? Who could forget Jack's conversation with the ghostly bartender Lloyd, or the mysterious, sinister party where he has the conversation about how a man should always get respect from his family - NO MATTER WHAT - with the former care-taker from many, many, many years ago?
I'm not going to go into every detail of the book in this post because I'd be typing for hours. Let me just say that this book is frightening, and places you in the hallways of the Overlook Hotel. Beware of room 217 - you don't know what's in there! Don't walk past any fire extinguishers, they might be trickier than you think. But no matter where you run, no matter where you hide, the Hotel will come for you. The Hotel is alive, and it cannot be stopped...right?
I suppose the thing you're wondering is if the Torrances make it out of the hotel. Does Jack really give into his temptations to drink, and does he really have such a bad temper? Are there any deaths, like in King's other books? I really don't want to tell you, because I think that would spoil some of your entertainment of this book. This is a book best enjoyed without knowing what will happen next, definitely. It has a constant pedal-to-the-metal pace, and that's one thing (of many) I love about this novel.
The theme(s) of this novel is pretty easy to pick out for me, although some of you may have a different opinion altogether. Alcoholism and abuse are very real things - things that shouldn't be taken so lightly. And even more than that, this is a book about ghosts - not spook ghosts, but ghosts of our pasts - skeletons in the closet, if you will. Don't let these things get to you, drive you mad - like Jack's did. Don't let them get the best of you. Because they CAN and they WILL if given a chance. All they need is a small opening and for you to invite them to take over your soul, heart, and mind. They'll take it from there.
Do I recommend this novel? Whole-heartily, yes I do. It's King at a peak in his career (and he has had several!) and it's a serious, scary, brooding novel. In my opinion, it's also one of his finest. So pick this one up, kick back, relax, and enjoy. But don't read it when you're alone.
And remember: all work and no play made Jack a VERY dull boy.
Happy reading!
Cody
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