What. A. Ride.
Before I delve into this review, I feel I should mention that I am a big Stephen King fan, so I’m generally biased when it comes to his novels. There are some that I have felt just weren’t for me, but for the most part I know that when I pick up a Stephen King book, I’m going to enjoy it. That being said, I think Misery is one of King’s most well-written, thought-provoking novels, and it is one that I would recommend to people who have found his other works lackluster.
There are so many things that I love about Stephen King’s writing, and I feel like this novel embodies almost all of them.
Misery is a standalone horror novel that follows protagonist and writer Paul Sheldon as he struggles to get away from his obsessive, number one fan Annie Wilkes. After a car accident leaves Paul in a near-death state, Miss Wilkes rescues him to nurse him back to health. Unfortunately, after realizing Paul has killed off her favorite character in his most recent novel, Annie becomes unhinged, demanding he rectifies this wrong. Psychological and physical torture ensues as Paul tries to stay alive long enough to escape Annie’s clutches.
From the very beginning of this novel, the reader is in a state of suspense. King has written in his memoir, On Writing, that the writer should start their novel as close to the beginning action as possible, and he certainly follows his own advice in Misery. We’re in Annie Wilkes house from the very first page, and this is the setting throughout the entire novel. Paul also realizes there is something very wrong with Annie soon after meeting her, which sets up their cat and mouse game within the first few pages.
Because of this early setup, there is no beating around the bush in this novel. I think these types of straightforward horror stories are often hard to write, which speaks to King’s ability. Many horror stories (especially the Gothic horror stories that I so love) deal in expectation subversion, slow and creepy buildup, surprise twists, and so on. In Misery, the reader essentially knows where the story is going the entire time. Because of this, we can really place ourselves in Paul’s head and into his position, which I think is such a clever writing tactic.
Instead of letting our brains wander off into, “what’s going to happen next,” world, we’re stuck in Paul’s head, experiencing his pain in real time. There is so much psychological torment and intensity in the book that would have less of an impact if we were also anticipating a plethora of twists and turns. The book is much more about the struggle between Paul and Annie, between writer and audience, than it is about shocking the reader or making the reader guess what’s going to happen next. This allows the reader to truly experience the horror and suspense in full, which is what makes Misery such a thrilling read.
King also doesn’t hold back in the graphic descriptions, but I found that they weren’t as gratuitous as some of his other novels. For someone as gravely injured as Paul, and who is as crazy as Annie, I didn’t find myself rolling my eyes at any parts that seemed like gore for gore’s sake. Instead, it seemed like the graphic sections were included to enhance the absurdity of Paul’s situation or the insanity of Annie’s character, which made them much easier to stomach. Gore for a purpose is just more palatable than stuffing blood and guts everywhere you can.
Creating a genuinely insane villain in Annie Wilkes is another of King’s intentional choices that really played out well in the book. The reader learns some of Annie’s background, and that Paul isn’t her first victim, but King deftly maneuvers away from the “What made Annie crazy?” question, explaining it as a mix of psychopathy and mental instability. I think this explanation works well for Annie’s character because we’re never supposed to sympathize with her, so making her “crazy” from birth works to serve the narrative and avoid us ever feeling like she could be redeemed. Personally, I also appreciate a villain that’s just crazy or just evil. They don’t all have to have sympathetic backstories, you know?
Along with these great stylistic choices, the writing in this novel is also some of King’s best. I think many of King’s later novels seem to have been published with very little editing (specifically trimming), but Misery was written early enough in his career not to fall victim to this trend. The writing is high and tight, there is suspense and tension throughout the entire novel, and the details that are included either add to the characterization of Paul Sheldon and Annie Wilkes, or serve as a commentary on the writer/reader relationship.
That last idea, the reader/writer relationship, is a really important focus throughout the novel. Paul Sheldon has written this book series about heroine Misery Chastain and continued publishing the series solely for money. It appeals to an audience of readers who don’t care much about true “writing”, they just want some sultry romance and a quick story. The fact that Paul almost dies because of these books can serve as a larger metaphor for an author feeling like they’ve betrayed their own creativity after “selling out” with novels they don’t actually enjoy writing.
I also like that King doesn’t appear to be too heavily criticizing the people who like these types of novels. There’s nothing wrong with wanting a quick, easy read, but wanting this at the expense of greater literary works is when we get into trouble. The fact that Annie Wilkes and other members of Paul’s audience can’t cope with his stronger novels is pretty telling. However, Paul’s disdain for the audience that makes him enough money to allow him to write these more literary creative pieces is also telling.
In the Paul/Annie struggle, Paul is obviously in the right. However, in the larger metaphor of the writer vs. audience battle, King shows that both sides have their strengths and their faults. It’s important to be appreciative of one’s audience, but it’s also important as the audience to appreciate when an author is branching out or writing to appeal to a different audience.
I appreciated this commentary within the horror of the rest of the book because it creates some thought-provoking moments, and it gives the reader a break from the tension every now and then. Again, to King’s credit, I thought this was a great way to give the reader a break from their nail-biting without adding “fluff” (i. e. overzealous descriptions of the setting, character’s clothing/looks) to the characters or story.
As far as Stephen King books go, this is certainly in my top five. I would recommend to Misery to anyone who is already a King fan, or to anyone who is trying out his novels for the first time. This is as much a great place to start as it is to end up.
The Lit Wiz