Rebecca's Reviews > The Shining

“You shine on, boy. Harder than anyone I ever met in my life. And I’m sixty years old this January.” “Huh?” “You got a knack,” Hallorann said, turning to him. “Me, I’ve always called it shining. That’s what my grandmother called it, too. She had it. We used to sit in the kitchen when I was a boy no older than you and have long talks without even openin our mouths.”

The Shining is a story about the Torrance family. Jack, his wife Wendy and their five year old son, Danny. Jack is hired as the caretaker at the remote Overlook Hotel for the winter season. He is informed by the hotel manager that the previous caretaker, Delbert Grady, killed his entire family inside the hotel. Specifically, that Grady “murdered his two little girls with a hatchet, his wife with a shotgun, and then committed suicide.” As Jack later learns, the Overlook has a long and terrible history. Over the years, it has housed illicit affairs, horrible murders, and mob style executions.

Nonetheless, Jack is determined to be the caretaker. In the past, Jack, an aspiring writer and former school teacher has struggled with alcohol and anger issues. Once, he accidentally broke his son’s arm while trying to discipline him. More recently, Jack assaulted a student when he caught him letting the air out of his tires. The incident cost Jack his teaching job and almost his marriage.

Jack, now a recovering alcoholic and working on a play, hopes that the seclusion of the Overlook will help him finish the play and reconnect with his wife and son.

But the Overlook Hotel has other ideas. The longer the Torrance family stays, the more haunting and powerful it becomes…..

So, obviously this is Stephen King at his very best. Every chapter leaves you wanting more, and every sentence in this book is outstanding. Brilliantly written horror that is both magical and terrifying with fully developed characters that are equal parts innocent, vulnerable and pure evil!

The Overlook hotel, is a living nightmare, its bricks and mortar soaked through with past horrors. The creepy hedge animals, the old fashioned fire extinguisher: a coiled snake ready to strike, the sounds of a party echoing through the empty rooms and halls, the boiler, unstable and dangerous. The imagery playing through my mind was magnificent!

The Shining is an absolute masterpiece. A must read classic.

Highly recommend 🙌🏻