what do you think of the novel?
thank you so much for this question, ive been preparing all my life for this
okay so let me start from the beggining. i first read the novel, it was how i got introduced to the shining. it really got me hooked from the first few pages, i was deeply invested in jack especially but i also thought that danny was really special and also wendy was interesting. i couldnt put it down, i adored it all the way through. i felt like alice wandering in wonderland exploring the lore of the hotel and the family, it felt very raw and i just know that stephen king was really going through it while writing it lmao. another thing i loved was jacks unreliable perspective. the way he gradually succumbed to his madness was masterful. i could really feel for wendy and how she was the only responsible adult, even though she wasnt perfect herself, just human. and the parts about danny and his perspective stirred me up from the inside in a way that i didnt know was possible. i just felt like i was little and terrified all over again. i want to give him a big hug and tell him hes going to be okay.
and even though its one of my favourite books ever, i think it has some weaknesses, the biggest one being the ending of course. i dont understand why stephen king doesnt plan his endings in advance and lets his stories end in these utterly bizzare ways that dont do the characters and their arcs justice. i dont think that jack should have died by accident simply because he forgot to check the pressure of that fucking boiler. another thing i want to point out is that stephen king seems to try really hard to make jack likeable in quite a few ways, like having him literally play in a playground like a fucking child and keep repeating how much he loves his family. i think that's mostly him projecting himself onto jack. id argue that in the start of the book he tries to make jack out to be a boy next door like he said in that one interview. im not sure if im a fan of it, i think he should be more critical of someone who got invloved in a hit-and-run DUI, a student beating, the beating of his child and various other crimes that he should be in jail for. these arent slip ups, hes actually a terrible person from the get go, and pretending he isnt just aint it.
again thanks for the question hope i got you covered lol
