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Misery by Stephen King
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Misery (edition 1988)

by Stephen King (Author)

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15,201204353 (3.98)1 / 273
This is a fantastic example of what Stephen King does best. It is terrifying, but not in a jump scare way, and I had no idea how it was going to end. There were some parts my eyes glossed over (like the excerpts of Paul's writing), and there's definitely some graphic scenes, but overall I was riveted. I've read a lot of Stephen King, and I have to say that MISERY is a new favorite. ( )
  bookishtexpat | May 21, 2020 |
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Altamente recomendado, una historia impecable del genio Stephen King. Engancha desde el primer momento, aunque debo admitir que en ciertos momentos de la narrativa de "Misery" me resultaba un tanto tedioso. No obstante, es una parte esencial de la novela para comprender la obsesión de Annie. Un clásico del terror muy digno de recomendación. ( )
  GusWoltmann | Feb 4, 2024 |
An absolute chore to get through and quite literally misery inducing. Shame because I've come to like King. ( )
  MichaelH85 | Jan 23, 2024 |
This book is proof that horror is much more effectivewhen you do not have otherworldly monsters roaming around. What human mind can conceive can truly be horrendous.

We follow Paul Sheldon, successful novel writer, as he survives heavy accident in the snowy mountains only to be saved by Annie Wilkes, hermit nurse living in the wilderness. She is Paul's "greatest living fan" and she saves him ..... for a reason.

We follow Paul as he experiences terrifying torture at the hands of Annie as he tries to figure out what is going on. We follow him as he tries to wake from limbo like state, unable to determine what is real or not. His suffering is horrible - from excruciating pain, overdosing with the narcotics [and retrieval symptoms] to body mutilations inflicted by Annie for being bad, bad ... very bad. But all of these physical attacks are nothing compared to the mental breakdown Paul is going through.
We see how Annie systematically destroys his mind that he finally finds himself in the subservient role - forever target of Annie's irrational bursts of anger where she "teaches" Paul one of her depraved life lessons - one that enables him to find a niche to survive this nightmarish situation - writing a dedicated novel to Annie with hope (beyond hope) that he will survive. He gets so terrified of what Annie can do that he decides not to fight back at all, to stop even trying to escape because of that crucial, defeating "what if I fail". Being completely broken Paul will finally strike at Annie but only because he knows everything has come to an end so what actually is there to lose. But even his last act ends in the way it ends due to sheer luck.

And in this systematic breaking of ones spirit, forcing the person to live constantly in fear, never knowing what next day will bring out, under constant duress that forces one to forego will to live normal life lies the true horror of this story. Annie's destruction of Paul is complete, so complete that at the end he can do nothing else but continue writing, hiding in the hole-in-the-paper from where he can observe adventures of his characters. But always in the background Annie lurks, Annie with the punishment for the bad bad Paul.

Both characters are excellently portrayed. Entire book is based on interaction of torturer and her victim but story is constructed in such a great way that you don't get bored for a second.

This psychological violence cannot but bring the parallels with the current situation worldwide. Is it not that media acts as Annie, leaving us for the few days to live normally before screaming at us with horrifying statistics and news ("nothing will ever be normal again", 'people will die in troves", "latest news indicate that in a few years new event will happen, WORSE THAN NOW" etc etc) not unlike Annie wielding the axe and beating the Paul or mutilating him? We live in constant fear (even if not entire populace huge chunk of it unfortunately does) and constantly we are being told "this will not end .... . never will it end .... doomed, doomed, dooomed" in a way unlike Annie's ravings during her bad days. I just hope we as a society will have at least half of mental stamina possessed by Paul (which is actually .... funny and sad at the same time).

True horror novel. Lean and mean, not one excessive chapter in this book. Stephen King at his best. Unfortunately for people living in early 21st century I do not think it will be as shocking as for the readers when book was published (mid-1980's if I am not wrong) because we have Annies terrorizing us through the screens and radio and unfortunately we show no initiative to prevent this from going on but accept to live in constant fear and the dark world of humiliated and deprived humanity. ( )
  Zare | Jan 23, 2024 |
For my first Stephen King book, it wasn't bad. I liked it, it was a good read. Not the greatest but I found myself intrigued and wondering what was gonna happen. I feel like it could have been about 100 pages shorter, had some of the long descriptions been cut out. I found myself saying "get to the point" a lot, but it wasn't bad. I liked the development of characters in it and the progression and the psychological horror in it. ( )
  NovaQueen27 | Jan 11, 2024 |
Loved this book. It was hard to read many parts as it was just so gruesome but so good!!! ( )
  HauntedTaco13 | Dec 29, 2023 |
Hard to put this book down. Definitely one of my favorite King books. The amount of tension King is able to build in this book is beyond words. You truly never feel safe for Paul when reading. Overall a thrilling ride and worth several rereads.

Some notable things I liked:
-The phantom foot descriptions after being cut off
-His first getting out of the room scenario and stealing the pills (beautifully written)
-Annie's run to hit his knee
-The young cop's gruesome death (lawnmower)
-The final battle of course ( )
  siamm | Dec 24, 2023 |
Misery is one of Stephen King’s best-known books and one of his least bloated works. With a good editor, King was able to produce a slim, concise story focusing on a deranged fan, Annie, forcing her favorite author (Paul Sheldon) to pen another story about her favorite character.

Paul Sheldon is the author of the best-selling series of Victorian era romance novels featuring the character Misery Chastain, which he privately disdains. And Paul has killed Misery off. After completing the manuscript for his new crime novel, Fast Cars, which he hopes will receive serious literary acclaim and kickstart his post-Misery career, Paul gets drunk and drives to Los Angeles instead of flying back home to New York City. He is caught in a snowstorm and crashes his car in the small, remote town of Sidewinder, Colorado and he is rescued by his deranged fan, Annie, who forces him to resurrect Misery (while making his life truly, truly miserable). Annie is a psychotic fan yes, but also maybe she symbolizes how King feels about his fans? Maybe she is a reflection of the neurosis of an author? A symbol of the nature of addiction to cocaine? Who knows? Crazy Annie is yours for interpretation!

Misery is one of King's successful book turned movies. Starring James Caan and Kathy Bates, it won a “Best Supporting Actress” Oscar for Bates and was directed by Rob “Stand By Me” Reiner and went on to be the highest grossing King adaptations. But it’s also successful because it’s good. And that's a credit to the story - which is lean and mean. Misery won the first Bram Stoker Award for Novel in 1987 and was nominated for the 1988 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel, and it's clear to see why: Misery is a well-written, tense, well-crafted slasher/thriller from the Horror master. ( )
  ryantlaferney87 | Dec 8, 2023 |
Spannend verhaal van begin tot einde ( )
  wendy.verbiest | Nov 25, 2023 |
Better than I remember it upon rereading it, and wonderfully typeset in the Folio edition with many sections of broken typewriter manuscript and penciled corrections reproduced. The metanarrative and inside baseball on writing escaped me when I read it in my teens.
Excellent illustrations. ( )
  A.Godhelm | Oct 20, 2023 |
Super recomendable, impecable historia del gran Stephen King. Muy atrapante desde el primer momento, aunque debo reconocer que en los momentos de la historia de "Misery" me aburría un poco, pero bueno es parte de la novela para entender el porque de esa obsesión de Annie. Clásico de terror muy recomendable ( )
  mahebelen | Aug 25, 2023 |
this book is amazing and might be a contender for a top favorite king book for me so far.

i did watch the movie first and its amazing just like this book is but for different reasons. i wont get into comparisons as i want this to be about the book but i dont think you can go wrong with either.

i think the concept is great. having a character being trapped by a crazy fan and wants them to write a book in the way they want it wile he is being tormented in many ways. i also found a few scenes to be a very thrilling page turner. the tension this book brings is crazy good and the background behind these characters are very fascinating. i love almost everything about this book.

the only thing i was not crazy about was the part where you read the story within a story. its all written in cursive wish in general im not a fan of (dumb brain of mine i know) but the main thing is that i just dont enjoy reading that whole section. i know it was meant to be that way and it is a clever idea for this book so i give king credit for making it but i feel it goes on a tad too long and if i ever reread this book again i will most likely skim through that part. other wise this book rules and is a huge favorite ( )
  XanaduCastle | Aug 5, 2023 |
I've never read this before, despite being a long-time Stephen King fan. I'm glad I finally did, because it was one of his best, in my opinion.

Very well-crafted, complex, gruesome & clever psychological horror. It had me alternately cringing, laughing, and on the edge of my seat (it's true. Ask my boyfriend, who had to sit through much of this, and who didn't miss the chance to mock me for my frequent snorts of amusement.)

5/5. Even though I am, for all intents and purposes, a cockadoodie brat. ( )
  veewren | Jul 12, 2023 |
I have read several of Stephen King’s books, and this one, is the best one I have read so far. Warning, do not read it at night, unless you want to induce nightmares.

The story follows Paul Sheldon, a successful writer of a series of books about Misery Chastain. Paul is involved in a vehicular accident, and as luck would have it, he is rescued by his number one fan, Annie Wilkes. Annie is certifiably crazy, insane, demented, and evil. Annie is upset that Paul killed off Misery in his last novel, so she holds him hostage, forcing him to write another Misery novel, bringing Misery back to life. Annie is a former nurse with a sordid background and “nurses” Paul back to health, at least healthy enough to complete a new Misery novel. Paul has broken legs and is in poor health as a result of the accident and Annie feeds him enough pain medicine to keep him stable enough to finish the Misery novel.

I won’t give anything away, but the book becomes extremely gruesome, in typical Stephen King style. I could not stop reading the final hundred pages wanting to know how the story ended, if Paul survived the evil Annie Wilkes.

The book contains a tight cast of characters and completely takes place in Annie’s house of nightmares. The characters of Paul and Annie are well developed, especially Annie.

If you have not read this King book, you need to, NOW! It is an older King book, but for some reason I never read it before now. This may be the best book I’ve read this year. Get it now and read it. You won’t be disappointed. ( )
  dwcofer | Jul 6, 2023 |
This was great fun and the first time I finished a Stephen King novel. Keen for more. Some of the brutal scenes may stay with me for a bit... ( )
  Harris023 | Apr 23, 2023 |
Wow! This was good. Beyond good. It was one of those books that reminds you why you enjoy reading. This book has been sitting on my shelf for years. Unread and probably feeling ignored. I am kicking myself for waiting until now to read this book. I don’t know why I was ignoring this book. I saw the movie when it first came out and remember liking it. I wasn’t worried about spoilers because let’s face it, I watched this movie over 30 years ago and I can barely remember what I was doing this week. (Yes, I am old). I guess the moral of this story is that I should actually try to read some of the books that have been collecting dust on my shelves. This book was easily a 5-star read. I spent my morning unable to do anything else until this book was finished because I was so mesmerized by the story.

Writer Paul Sheldon celebrates finishing his new novel with a few drinks. He ends up getting in an accident and the next thing he knows he wakes up in Annie’s house. Annie knows exactly who Paul is and considers herself to be his #1 fan. Paul is in bad shape so he is completely at Annie’s mercy. Some days with Annie prove to be better than others. Annie is one of those characters you just can’t forget and I couldn’t imagine being in the situation Paul finds himself in. I have to admit that I was pretty nervous for Paul throughout most of the book.

I listened to the audiobook and thought that Lindsay Crouse did a wonderful job with this story. Paul and Annie were the only two characters throughout most of the book and I felt like she was able to bring them both to life. I found myself wanting to listen to this book for hours at a time without taking a break. I do believe that her narration added to my overall enjoyment of this story.

I would definitely recommend this book to others. I had a fantastic time with this book and am only mad that I waited so long to read it. I can’t wait to read more of King’s work. ( )
  Carolesrandomlife | Apr 19, 2023 |
I read this based on the recommendation of a theatre friend that does a Steven King podcast. I told him that I'd read The Stand and The Shining and he thought Misery would be a good one to pick up next.

He wasn't wrong. I enjoyed it, although not as much as the other two. I also watched the movie in the time-frame that I was nearing the end of the book, so my review might be tinged with my feeling about the film. The book felt longer than it absolutely needed to be, but I was never bored or waiting for the next big event. As a villain, Annie Wilkes is a terror, and it's interesting that the movie differs from the book in the things she does to incapacitate Paul. (I guess there's horror, then there's *horror*). I listened to this one on audiobook and the narrator was female - she did an excellent job representing Annie's bi-polar swings and mental illness. King also does a fair job of making Annie someone you might root for early on, until he starts to unfold her backstory of murder and mayhem, at which point you're feeling a lot of the same terror Paul must be feeling, trapped in her house. I don't think he ever states outright that she's a serial killer, but that's clearly the vibe.

I liked how King brought in backstory slowly over time, both Paul's and Annies, to fill out the world of the story and to raise the stakes periodically. King is masterful at the small detail that speaks volumes, and there were plenty of those here. I wonder what King book I'll pick up next... ( )
  jsmick | Apr 4, 2023 |
Aaaooooowwwwoaaaoaooowowoaoaaaaaaaa

See, I've never really been a fan of gore, and having actually broken something for the first time in my life, it's even worse now. So, reading about Paul Sheldon's injuries was not fun to begin, and well ... it's not like he hurt his legs and then got to recover from it, is it? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. It had to get worse, all the fucking time. Thank you so much for that, Stephen King. REALLY.

Normally I don't think I would like this, and I spent a lot of time going "but so much bad shit has happened, how is he gonna live long enough for the book to be another 300 pages!?" but somehow it worked out, and somehow it was really good while it happened. There are really only two characters in this book (the title character is from the book within the book and even through glimpses of that book we never really get to know her), but it didn't need more than that.

What I think was meant to be a plot-twist about half-way through was pretty obvious, given how many Criminal Minds episode I've watched, but it made sense that it was shocking to the character and it still contributed to the background story of Annie, so I liked it. Honestly, despite Paul being kinda sexist (he really hates his female readers, doesn't he?), I could symphatize with him. I understood most of his feelings and actions during the book, and I didn't feel that he was being a fucking idiot half the time. Which, I guess, makes it even scarier, you know? I would've done the same.

At the end of this copy there's a pretentious essay by some dude sort of explaining what we just read, in case you were too dumb to follow. Thanks for that. It mentions that Stephen King hates meta-fiction but obviously there is a certain amount of meta here, because we get to to follow Paul's feelings towards his most famous character change, and we get to see just how important writing can be for someone, how it can not only be the reason that you are alive, but your sole motivation to stay that way. That was really cool, actually, though I don't think I'd recommend fear for your life as writing motivation in general.

The ending was good, but I think I would've liked it even better if it was darker. I was at least prepared for it to be, but as I am a sucker for hopeful endings I guess I can't complain about how it actually did end. It just would have made a lot of sense if we just got to see everything burn, you know? ( )
  upontheforemostship | Feb 22, 2023 |
Naples, FL 2023 - #7 - Wow! Brutal book! My first Stephen King. I saw the movie a million years ago, which was certainly unnerving. Currently getting ready to assist in directing a stage production of 'Misery', so i figured it would not hurt to read this. Much more detail and brutality than i remember in the movie, and certainly a lot more than the play. But lots of background in here to assist in 'getting to know' Annie and Paul better...which will be helpful. One aside.....it is clear that King was really interested in writing a book about writing...cuz there is a lot about that. Biggest downside was the actual story line of the forced-written new novel.....once we got into Africa and bees and Goddesses, I was lost.....and not interested! But overall, an unnerving tale.....just what it was supposed to be! ( )
  jeffome | Feb 5, 2023 |
I missed this one during my early teens binge read of King's oeuvre, but when r/bookclub selected this as an October read, I decided to give it a try. I was immediately reminded about all the things I used to love about King's writing: the unblinking look at the darkness within human beings, the Easter egg references to other books, the breakneck pacing. Misery is a tight novel that doesn't suffer from his more recent works' desperate need for an editor who will remove 25% of the length. It's not perfect by any means (the ending feels a little jumbled) but well worth revisiting if you, like me, fell off the King train before you got to this one. ( )
  Jthierer | Dec 9, 2022 |
Musta tuntuu että mä en ehkä tiedä mitä kauhukirjallisuus tarkoittaa. Kauhua tätä lukiessa nyt ainakaan en tuntenut, ehkä siksi että päähenkilö oli sellainen mulkku että ei juuri hetkauttanut mitä hälle kävi. Jännite oli toki hyvä ja kiinnosti että mihin tarina on menossa, mutta pelkoa, kauhua tai ahdistusta ei aiheuttanut. Ällötystä parissa kohdassa, mutta sekin oli aika mietoa. Ihan sujuvastihan King kirjoittaa, mutta ehkä mun odotukset hänen kirjojaan kohtaan on jotenkin väärät. Tai ehkä pidän noin muuten vaan erilaisista kirjoista, who knows. ( )
  tuusannuuska | Dec 1, 2022 |
Misery. Kathy Bates and her iconic portrayal of Annie Wilkes is now the first thought that comes to mind for most people who see this title, but Stephen King's brutally intense page-turner has more to offer than this memorable villain figure.

In a story that is all about the perspective, King introduces us to the mental torture games that Paul Sheldon, the leading point-of-view character, has to endure. The nagging knowledge that whatever comes next is unpredictable begins to torment the reader as much as the protagonist as the novel runs its course: this is a story that has become so ingrained in pop culture that it's almost impossible to not know what it is about at this point, yet the increasingly terrifying revelations of the lengths both characters are prepared to go never cease to be shocking.

King has a history of writing about writers, seemingly taking inspiration from the saying that you should write about what you know. And empathizing with the writer's perspective is something that King certainly knows how to do. Paul Sheldon never really becomes likeable; but he does not need to be, for what is done to him is something we would not wish on our worst enemies.

Yet, perhaps the most interesting aspects of Misery arise when King focuses on the creative aspects of the writing process, on the struggles and concerns of writing a book, the pressure, the doubts. Outside of the premise of the kidnapping, obviously, I strongly suspect that King infused this story with many autobiographical elements, be it his own experience with writing, or his drug-related history that heavily plays into the narrative of Misery as well. To my surprise, King went into some significantly darker and bleaker places than I originally anticipated, but there is no denying that he instilled the story with all his concentrated passion as a writer. It's a thrilling page-turner, yes, but also allows a fascinating look at distorted perception and morbid obsession. ( )
  Councillor3004 | Sep 1, 2022 |
Più che un thriller un horror, un super horror! Dovrò spararmi un bel pò di romanzi d'amore per recuperare. Un libro che spaventa, intriga, diverte, ti fa pensare al mondo della scrittura . Stephen King ci svela anche qualche trucco letterario, bontà sua. Lieta di averlo letto e lieta di averlo finito, se riuscite a superare il disgusto per le 'urcose' crudeltà di Annie Wilkes è davvero un bel libro. ( )
  Lillymao | Aug 4, 2022 |
Stephen King's best book and there isn't even anything supernatural in it. ( )
  Gumbywan | Jun 24, 2022 |
As far as quality of writing and minimal dull meandering this is better than much of what I've read of his before but it has enough issues for me that 2 stars is the best I can do.

Bookending the action of the book with references to metaphorical rape was unpleasant (not in a horrifying/tension escalating way, just in a "Ugh, really, do I have to read this?" kind of way), the crude ethnic stereotypes employed in the excepts of Misery's Return were entirely unnecessary (and makes me wonder whether, following King's portrayal of people of colour in other works, that he just likes writing stuff like that and uses the framing of the narrative as an excuse).

We are spared the usual titillating fixation on the appearance, movement and feel of female breasts only because the female lead is intended to be repulsive although he still can't avoid commenting on the size of her bust and making us think about what sort of "orifices" she might have. Probably the regulation issue, Stephen, but sure let's hear about how she's fibrous and solid some more.

Most of the book is okay but really I'm done with King at this point, life's too short. ( )
  ElegantMechanic | May 28, 2022 |
7,8/10
- tem umas partes que a leitura fica MUITO chata/cansativa e depois fica MUITO interessante
- escrita densa
- tem algumas partes extremamente desconfortáveis de ler, mas é o objetivo ( )
  pfvrclarax | Jan 1, 2022 |
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