When writer Paul Sheldon's car skidded off the road and into a snow filled ditch, smashing his legs and rendering him unconscious,it might have been considered lucky that he was found by a former nurse. One who was strong enough to carry him into her home, splint his shattered legs and dose him with pain killers until help arrived. Unfortunately help never arrived as it was never summoned. When Annie Wilkes realised that her patient was Paul Sheldon, the author who wrote her favourite novels, the creator of Misery Chastain, she couldn't believe her luck and decided to keep him all to herself. After all she was his number one fan.... But Annie was angry, very angry that Paul had killed Misery and decided that he must write a new 'Misery' novel just for her. Stephen King lets the story unfolds through the eyes of 'hostage' Paul. There is good character developement as this psychological novel progresses, Paul's pain is graphically described, along with his hopes which are often cruelly dashes, and a roller coaster of despair, acceptance and fear. Annie's character swings unpredictably from sickly sweet to derranged and brutal, with her past unfolding through the pages of her journal. This is not a jolly novel, the 'Misery' of the title mirrors Paul's predicament, but I read with a constant hope that things would turn out OK in the end. The newly typed pages of the captors enforced writting are tedious at times, as is some of Annie's unusual language. This is a great novel though and I would recommend it to anyone who is not too prone to nightmares!
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Advantages: A nice gripping and readable novel ; A terrific tale of survival ; Very atmospheric ; The characters thoughts and feelings are projected well to the reader Disadvantages: Suddenly stops flowing towards the middle ; King can be slightly over obsequious towards the main character
darkangelwing 10.02.2007 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Misery - Stephen King
Advantages: Fantastic story, chilling, wonderfully woven characters, extremely realistic Disadvantages: Only available in pricy hardback edition at time of writing
Mar 5th, 2008
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