Misery, Stephen King

For whatever reason, I seem to avoid books and movies that are all the rage. I've never read the Twilight books or seen a Star Wars movie. And until very recently I'd never read Harry Potter or seen any of the movies.

So despite the dozens of books he's written, I've never read a Stephen King book. Mostly because I'm not particularly interested in the genre. I've seen some of the movie adaptations, who hasn't? Carrie and It (and I'm still leery of clowns to this day) So, as an aspiring writer, I decided it was time to read a novel by one of the most widely recognized writers in the world, Stephen King.

I chose Misery simply because I'm familiar with the plot after watching the movie years ago (love Kathy Bates in this role) and I figured it would be pretty harmless - no scary clowns, or creepy crawly things, just a crazy lady holding a writer hostage.

I read Misery and enjoyed it. I even read it before bed several times without having any spooks or nightmares.

I finished the book within a few days and while I was tempted to try another King book, I decided against it and immediately moved on to reading something easy and lighthearted. Four days later I found myself dreaming about people running around town in black robes and those freaky white masks from the movie Scream, torturing people. Not sure why the Scream tie in, I haven't seen a Scream movie in about a decade. All I know is, I've never before had such a bloody, gruesome dream. But I know, it's because of reading Misery.

There's no denying Misery is a gruesome book. I found myself recoiling with disgust (you can't close your eyes when you're reading!) yet reading feverishly to find out what happened next. Much of the book is spent inside Paul Sheldon's head and his inner dialogue is riveting and sometimes downright funny. I like the stream-of-conscious approach there, actually following Sheldon's train of thought. I loved the mind games and Sheldon's analysis of Annie's ever-changing psychological state.

There is also a novel within a novel as we read Misery's Return, the book Sheldon is writing at Annie Wilkes' demand that he bring back the beloved character of his widely popular Misery series. I wasn't particularly interested in the story of Misery Chastain, however, and I found myself scanning through these parts, eager to get back to the action inside Annie Wilkes' home. I do see though, the relevance of including these excerpts as a means to exploring Sheldon's state of mind and how his time with Annie affects his writing.

So now I can say I've read Stephen King. And perhaps I will again.

With the hopes of writing my own novel(s) someday, I feel I must read everything I can get my hands on, from the classics to modern bestsellers and everything in between.

My next quest will be to read my first Danielle Steele novel.