The Shining is the story follows the Torrence family who has been struggling financially for the last few months made due to and unfortunate event which lead to the dismissal of Jack's employment as a teacher.
In order to help himself and his family get back on their feet, Jack takes a job as the winter caretaker of the Overlook Hotel as offered to him by an old acquaintance and move himself and his family up to the mountains where the Overlook laid.
Upon their arrival a man named Dick Hollorann senses something in Jack's son, Danny. Once he pulls him aside, he learns that Danny, like himself, has what is called the Shining. This is the ability to read people's minds and predict events that will be happening presently in another place or things that will be happening to themselves in the near future.
Once snowed into the hotel, Jack starts to act strangely and violently, prompting Danny and his mother to act quickly in order to avoid getting caught up with the strange phenomenon plaguing the hotel.
Written by Stephen King and published in 1977, the shining was quickly adapted into a film which received mixed feelings from audiences but eventually started to get a warmer reception throughout the summer. It is now at the level where critics are calling it a masterpiece but the man who wrote the book states otherwise. King stated that, although the film "contributed something of value to the genre" he did not find it to be a good adaptation of his novel.
This is something I can agree with.
The detail that King uses in the novel really help you delve into the minds of the characters showing you every aspect of the story from all their points of view. It was also able to help provide a true horror aura in some parts of the book.
There are also a ton of differences between the book and the film that made me jump up and yell out "how did they not put this in the movie!". These are differences that I will gladly break down in the near future in a special spoiler filled review session.
I could not get enough of this book and can not give it any less than a 9 out of 10.
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