Misery: A Novel Mass Market Paperback – February 28, 2017

Stephen King is one of my favorite authors. I've read several of his works, and I've loved most of them. This one is definitely in my top 5 ! You'll be in misery if you neglect to read this book!

This book presents a twisted tale that only King can tell this way. This novel follows Annie Wilkes as she cares for injured author, Paul Sheldon. After all, she's his biggest (and craziest) fan. Demanding that Paul write a new "Misery" book just for her, Annie's demands become more and more sinister as time progresses.I enjoy King's writing style as he draws readers directly into the action. As Paul feels the tension of his situation, I could feel it too, while reading his thoughts. This is a great read.

Honestly not much of a fan of Kings writing style. Maybe it’s just me but it’s hard to follow! I did enjoy the story line but I was confused from the beginning I had to restart it.Maybe a spoiler but when he goes into the reading of the misery book that’s where I was lost. I didn’t realize he was reading what he was typing out.I did watch the movie halfway through this book. Which helped me put a face to the characters and I was able to follow along better since I knew what the outcome was!

I have put this one off for decades, but finally decided to read it and consider it one of his finest books.

WHAT. A. RIDE! This book is INTENSE! The first half is a bit of a slow build but when you think things can’t get any worse….oh they doodily-do! The second-half is worth the wait though as it ramps up the tension to 11. I’ve never read a book that left my heart racing like this did.What it did well:👍Mood & Tone - The book pulls you along through the emotions that Paul is experiencing. King has such a way of describing scenes that I found myself almost living through the unease of Annie’s kindness and the horror/fear of her cruelty along with Paul. Whenever I put the book down to take a break I’d notice the tension in my shoulders and this gnawing sense of claustrophobia and fear in my mind. When a book can make me FEEL like that, it’s a good one.👍Characters - Paul is a solid protagonist. He’s realistic and you can see and understand how his responses to his predicament change over time. You’re rooting for him the whole way but in the times when he feels hopeless, you truly can’t blame him. Annie….she’s horrific. I think she may be one of my favorite villains of any story I’ve read.👍Really interesting insights into the writing process. Since Paul is a writer, we learn quite a bit about his writing process and how he thinks. I can’t help but assume that these nuggets are pretty candid pieces of King’s own experience writing.👍It’s a great, albeit dark, exploration of abuse and trauma. Paul goes through hell and I think it’s incredibly powerful to see how the abuse he endures effects him. Too many stories about torture are 1. committed by men and 2. upon women. So turning that trope on its head was refreshing, especially since it didn’t lean on Paul being ‘wimpy’ or less manly to justify how he ‘let this happen to him’.👍It knew when to end. It didn’t feel like it dragged on any longer than it needed to. Suspense and tension cannot be built up and maintained forever and the plot knew just the right moment to swing for the fences.What it could have done better:👎I wish there was more backstory about Paul; who he was, what his life was like. You do get a sense of him over time and you learn little things about him here and there but he feels lacking in depth compared to other Stephen King protagonists.👎I wasn’t the biggest fan of the pages-long passages from the book Paul is writing. I don’t think they should have been removed necessarily (they make sense to the narrative) but I still kinda dreaded slogging through them.If you’re a fan of King’s writing and want a good, tense, knuckle-biter of a story. Misery is the book for you. Even if you’re not a constant reader, I would honestly recommend this book as a great chance to see why he is the KING of horror.

When it 1st came out, I was a kid. My supervisor at a job had the hardback, new of course, the book was new itself. She had been reading & it freaked her out too much, she knew I devoured books, asked me if I wanted to read it, yes, I did.It freaked me out too, but I also couldn't put it down. I had already read many of King's books prior, I read Cujo when I was in the 8th grade. I have seen this film so many times, I can probably recite it. I remembered the book was different, better, more in depth, always, right? I bought it. There r a number of things I had forgotten that r indeed different. The hobbling for one, I totally remembered the addiction, no spoilers, sorry. Final analysis being it's great still, any book that is well written, w/great story + characters, u can re-read ad nauseam. Cheers 😊 p.s. Gerald's Game is an all time fav of mine, I wanted to write the screenplay for it. Alas, it's been done now. Not to the level I wanted or would do it myself, but done all the same. I have my own writing to finish anyhow. 😊🐦

Excellent novel