In Progress: The Shining

Like what I did for Carrie and 'Salem's Lot, this is a continually updated post for my running thoughts as I read through the third book of the project!

October 14 (page 14): Unlike the previous two novels, I do know a few things about The Shining going into it, but it is almost entirely because of the Kubrick film. Last year my wife and I visited the Stanley Hotel, which inspired this novel, but Kubrick rejected it as a shooting location in favor of a soundstage in London and some outdoor shots of another hotel in Oregon. Nevertheless, I'm already superimposing visual memories of that visit over the film as I start reading.

October 17 (page 85): I've been juggling this with some reading for work, so my progress is a little slow. At the end of Part I ("Prefatory Matters"), I'm left impressed with the backstory of the Torrance family that I either didn't remember or was left out of the movie. It's still pretty hard not to see Jack as Jack Nicholson (and the first name's the same part isn't helping!). As with the previous two novels, since this is the 1970's there are some quaint outdated things, mostly pertaining to phones. And yes, we've already experienced REDRUM and not even at page 100.

October 21 (page 149): Well, we've made it through Closing Day. Outside of Game of Thrones, the phrase "Winter is Coming" has never felt so ominous. The descriptions of the Rocky Mountains are excellent and remind me of our time there last year, although the Overlook is way more remote than the Stanley. In other news, we now know what "The Shining" means and it's all about Danny. It is clear the real main character is Danny, not Jack. This is a bit of a reversal from the heroic pair of protagonists in 'Salem's Lot.

November 1 (page 299): I had planned to get all the way through "The Wasp's Nest", but life has been intervening and opportunities to read not so frequent. Jack is definitely the unsympathetic version of the author character Ben played in 'Salem's Lot. You have to wonder if King was turning against himself if he was writing with himself in mind. We haven't reached the point of isolation yet, but it is all but a certainty now, with the radio reports heralding the first major snowfall. Speaking of certainty, thanks to Danny's almost-flawless mind-reading skills, it's just a matter of time before Jack and the bottle reunite and mayhem begins!

November 9 (page 403): It's the busiest time of the year here at work, but I figured I needed to do an update just to prove I wasn't dead or giving up. Far from it! I'm deep into "Snowbound" (part four) and the road to Jack's inevitable psychotic break has taken many twists and turns. One moment he's plotting to kill Wendy, then he's sleeping with her...and then he's thinking of killing her again! Danny's been pretty quiet the past few pages after his experience in Room 217, and he seems to be able to the only thing keeping Jack's tether from completely snapping.

November 14 (page 469): Well, Danny's sent out the Bat Signal to Scatman Crothers Hallorann. Meanwhile it seems like Jack and Danny are profoundly impacted by the Overlook, while Wendy isn't picking up anything but the most obvious stuff and eating herself up over the crazy behaviors of the other two. I know, based on what little Stephen King I have read (or seen), that he is capable of writing strong female characters, but that really isn't apparent in either this or the first two books. Meanwhile his young male characters typically speak and act about twice their age, typically under the guise of being "smart". This is a nitpick though. So far this is the best book he had written to date, without a doubt.