Book Review: Misery by Stephen King

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“Art consists of the persistence of memory.”

📚

After a nasty car accident, bestselling author Paul Sheldon is saved by Annie Wilkes, who nurses him at her isolated home. She also happens to be his #1 fan and loves his novels with a fanatical, all-consuming intensity so extreme, she holds Paul captive, demanding he write his greatest work to date. This one will be just for her, and she has means of motivating him: a needle, pills, and her trusty ax, to name a few. And if things don’t go according to plan, she won’t hesitate to resort to outrageous measures. Can Paul navigate the perils of Annie’s insanity, give her what she wants, and survive?

Misery is an intense and claustrophobic ride that plunges directly into Paul’s precarious existence as Annie’s prisoner. Pain, tension, dread, and terror permeate the narrative to such a degree, they’re oppressive and nauseating, real and smothering. And while there are moments of dark humor speckled throughout (namely, Annie’s rants about bad language and other cockadoodie things dirty birds do), the suspenseful storyline is predominantly a serious one underscored by monstrous suffering, simmering rage, and unbridled psychosis. Annie is the ultimate villain: brutal and unhinged, yet oddly layered and human.

This novel is gruesome and gory: threats of severe brutality lurk around every literal and figurative corner, making the reader feel as tense and petrified as the protagonist. The gothic story-within-a-story format adds an interesting (though difficult to connect with) dimension, while the manner through which Annie’s backstory is revealed is both fascinating and horrific. The majority of the plot takes place within a single house and room, which contributes to the suffocating atmosphere, as does the exploration of addiction, agony, torture, mental illness, and writing craft, producing a truly engrossing and appalling psychological thriller/horror classic.

🖤Amanda

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