"WRITING DOES NOT CAUSE MISERY, IT IS BORN OF MISERY."
Updated: Jul 2, 2022
Written by Okezie, one of our literature writers, and edited by Kate, one of our editors!
Certain authors have reached a level of mythos where their names are more prominently displayed on their book covers than the actual titles of the books, and that is a level that Stephen King has definitely reached.
Stephen King’s Misery was only the second horror novel I had ever read, the first being IT, so I went in without a lot of expectations. It is a book about a writer named Paul Sheldon who decides to end his best-selling romance series by killing off its main character so he can write a crime fiction novel. In order to celebrate finishing this new manuscript, he makes the spontaneous decision to drive back to New York instead of flying. Unfortunately, he is caught in a snowstorm causing him to have a severe accident.
He is rescued by his “number one fan” Anne Wilkes, who takes him back to her house and feeds him pain medication, and doesn’t take him to a hospital despite the crippled state he is in after the accident. When she reads his latest installment she is overcome with rage that he has decided to kill off the heroine Misery Chastain. She forces him to rewrite his latest book, although he doesn’t want to. That’s fine though, she has multiple ways to motivate him, ranging from coercion to threat.
When I started this book I couldn’t shake off the thought that Paul Sheldon was a Stephen King self-insert. There were almost uncomfortable parallels to reality in this one, with Paul Sheldon’s substance abuse and view on writing feeling like direct views into the mind of King. I loved the fact that Paul’s greatest addictions were not only drugs but also his unending addiction to writing.
Unlike some peoples’ expectations of a King novel, this book is not a masterpiece of lore and villains with powers entrenched in the worldbuilding; instead, it focuses on a relatively simple premise and uses the rules of the real world to build tension. The main character is crippled and being drugged and held hostage by a former nurse, who I would argue is one of the most genuinely terrifying horror villains I have ever read. You really get the sense that she is really not well, but unlike stereotypical cackling madmen, you also get the sense that she believes she is the only sane one, thereby adding layers of reality to the character.
This is by no means a perfect book though. I found myself slogging through the sections where Paul was writing his new Misery novel. They were not for me were easily the slowest parts of the story. I also did not enjoy the Africa references, as well as the use of slurs in this book. Annie dropping the N-word was something I certainly was not ready for.
All in all, this was a great read. It definitely goes up there with my favorite books of all time, as well as cementing King as one of my favorite authors. I also loved Different Seasons. It has everything I go into a horror or thriller wanting (as well as a The Shining reference which is always a plus). On a Goodreads scale, I’d give it a 4 out of 5; a great example of why I love King. I am definitely not Stephen King’s number one fan though. We leave those duties to the Anne Wilkeses of the world.
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This piece was written by one of our literature writers, Okezie. Reach them at @okezie_v2 on Instagram!
This piece was edited by one of our editors, Kate. Reach them at @DrKMC on Instagram.
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