In the ever-popular novel The Shining by Stephen King, we are introduced to a very odd family living in the climate of the early 1970s. Our three main characters are the Torrances: Jack, Wendy, and Danny. Our main narrator is Jack Torrance, a recovering alcoholic who has some anger issues. Jack has found a job opportunity at The Overlook Hotel, a resort high up in the mountains in Colorado. He takes this opportunity as his last chance to keep his family together, after almost destroying it
several times.

Jack is depicted as a very genuine man, who is good in nature but has just made some mistakes. He truly loves his family and wants to do what is best for his son, Danny. This characterization is in great contrast to its movie counterpart. In the movie, Jack Torrance is a violent and overall terrible person who doesn’t seem to have gotten over his alcoholism. In my opinion, the book’s depiction of Jack is a much better use for this tragic story. We are drawn in to like Jack as a character, making his decline even more tragic.

Danny is the second-most frequent narrator. He is a bright kid and can do things that not many others can. Danny is the character we get the most scares out of when it comes to his dreams, visions, and ability to read the minds of others. He sees that The Overlook is a very bad place right away, already seeing horrific things as soon as he gets there. The use of a child for such an important and scary part in this book is super effective in traumatizing the reader, just as much as Danny. You can’t describe things in a much more horrific way than through the innocent and undeserving eyes of a child.

Wendy, Jack’s wife and Danny’s mother, is given the spotlight scarcely, but very intentionally. She is belittled by thoughts of jealousy toward Jack and Danny’s relationship, as they are much closer than she likes, and she feels like an outcast in her own family. She serves to further our preference for her husband Jack over her.

Finally, Dick Hallorann is given the steering wheel when he hears Danny call for him to come save him. Dick is a Black man in the 1970s, so he undergoes very vivid racism throughout his whole experience in the book. His plot is separate, but for the purpose of giving us another perspective and meaning, as well as a break from the horrific events happening at The Overlook. In my opinion, the vividly racist scenes and depictions in this part of the story are unnecessary for the overall purpose of the novel, but do serve a purpose of their own. King is very purposeful in his writing and wanted to highlight more than just the horror elements of the novel. It almost seems as if he’s trying to show us a real-life horror story through this part of the book.

It is well-known that King disliked the movie depiction of his book, and after reading it, it’s easy to see why. If you have an interest in this story, I would recommend that you read the book first because the movie does it a terrible injustice. This book is horrifically captivating. Stephen King finds the perfect balance of description without over-analyzing a scene. His literary nature is truly unique, and it’s quite understandable why he has been so successful as one of the world’s greatest horror authors. I greatly enjoyed his use of unique descriptive words that weren’t so diverse as to confuse me, but just varied enough that it grew my vocabulary.

There is a perfect arc throughout the book, never giving a dry moment for the reader to lose interest, while also never quite giving in to what is going to happen next. Despite the book’s length, it is a very quick read for anyone who can enjoy a really easy read in terms of story. I finished this book in a week — something I had never expected going in.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves horror or dramatic stories. But this is not just a horror book; it is one of the most well-executed pieces of literature I have ever read. If you don’t have the stomach for horror, there are many redeeming qualities. The Shining does not only shine as a horror book, but as a captivating drama and historical piece.