A book review on the Stephen King novel, Misery. "Misery: A Spine Tingling Thriller You'll Never Put Down"

Essay by Lushy1108High School, 11th gradeA+, April 2002

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Misery: A Spine Tingling Thriller You'll Never Put Down

I have to say that Steven King's novel, Misery, was the best Steven King novel I have ever read. In Misery, Paul Sheldon, a well-known author, had a very reasonable and passionate fear of Annie Wilkes, his schizophrenic 'number one fan' whose house he was being held prisoner in. Compared to the physical damage she caused him, the psychological damage was far worse, and more captivating for the reader. The mood of seclusion was felt due to the fact that, for most of the story, there were only two characters. Out there in the wilderness, anyone could get away with murder, and no one would ever know. Although Paul feared for his life, he also burned with a greater passion: to resurrect his romance novel heroine, Misery Chastain. At first he did not want to write the novel because he had finally gotten rid of the burden of writing the annoying soap operas, but once he started writing he got into it and thought it would turn out to be his best work ever.

Sure, Annie cut off Paul's foot and thumb, but she also reanimated Paul's desire to write. In fact, the need to complete this novel was the only thing keeping him from making an actual attempt at escaping. These conflicts of interest, life, and freedom versus once again having creative genius, make the book intriguing and hard to put down; as Paul would say, "the gotta"(the need to know what happens next).

The final confrontation between Paul and Annie would have to be my favorite part in the book. Its action and suspense surpassed all the gore and violence that had happened previously in the novel. It was so realistic because King had been leading up...