After a car crash, writer Paul Sheldon is saved by his number one fan, Annie Wilkes. She brings him home, splints his mangled legs, and all he has to do in return is write a very special book, one all about her favourite character. Because if he doesn't, if he is bad, she will be cross - very cross.
Misery
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Amazon Review
In Misery, as in The Shining, a writer is trapped in an evil house during a Colorado winter. Each novel bristles with claustrophobia, stinging insects, and the threat of a lethal explosion. Each is about a writer faced with the dominating monster of his unpredictable muse.
Paul Sheldon, the hero of Misery, sees himself as a caged parrot who must return to Africa in order to be free. Thus, in the novel within a novel, the romance novel that his mad captor-nurse, Annie Wilkes, forces him to write, he goes to Africa--a mysterious continent that evokes for him the frightening, implacable solidity of a woman's (Annie's) body. The manuscript fragments he produces tell of a great Bee Goddess, an African queen reminiscent of H. Rider Haggard's She.
He hates her, he fears her, he wants to kill her; but all the same he needs her power. Annie Wilkes literally breathes life into him.
Misery touches on several large themes: the state of possession by an evil being, the idea that art is an act in which the artist willingly becomes captive, the tortured condition of being a writer, and the fears attendant to becoming a "brand-name" best selling author with legions of zealous fans. And yet it's a tight, highly resonant echo chamber of a book--one of King's shortest, and best novels ever. --Fiona Webster --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
'A writer of excellence...King is one of the most fertile storytellers of the modern novel' (Sunday Times )
'One of the great storytellers of our time' (Guardian )
'One of the great storytellers of our time' (Guardian )
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
By L. Wood
Format:Paperback
I got this book out of the library for my boyfriend and ended up being stuck on the bus in traffic with it in my bag so decided to give it a go myself - wow! Almost from the first page I was completely drawn into the story and barely spoke to anyone for the next couple of days until I finished it.
I've never been a big King fan having only previously read Carrie but I really enjoyed this. It had me absolutely terrified in places and by the end I was a nervous wreck. King has paced this novel superbly, every time I started to relax, even slightly, there would be another edge of your seat incident. The climax of the novel was fantastic, I thought my heart was going to burst out of my chest.
Annie is a terrifying character with her unpredictable mood swings and strange moral beliefs. I also liked the way that despite his hatred of her Paul found himself becoming so dependant on her and having to learn how to manage her moods. the relationship between them was the centre of the book and it was fascinating how it developed.
I would highly recommend this book
I've never been a big King fan having only previously read Carrie but I really enjoyed this. It had me absolutely terrified in places and by the end I was a nervous wreck. King has paced this novel superbly, every time I started to relax, even slightly, there would be another edge of your seat incident. The climax of the novel was fantastic, I thought my heart was going to burst out of my chest.
Annie is a terrifying character with her unpredictable mood swings and strange moral beliefs. I also liked the way that despite his hatred of her Paul found himself becoming so dependant on her and having to learn how to manage her moods. the relationship between them was the centre of the book and it was fascinating how it developed.
I would highly recommend this book
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Misery is by far the best Stephen King novel I have ever read. There is just so much to it that makes a fantastic story.
The plot is about a writer who has spawned a line of best selling books called misery. He decides to kill her off so he can get on with some real work and is on his way to publish a new novel. He crashes however and is saved by an ex nurse named Annie Wilkes who just happens to be his number one fan. When she finds out what happened to misery she's not pleased and forces him to bring her back from the dead.
Annie Wilkes firstly is a fantastaic character and one of Kings most unique creations. Apart from that she is also terrifying, taking insanity to new heights. If you don't buy the book for the plot(which is brilliant)buy it to experience Annie Wilkes.
Kings prose is as ever fantastic and witty. The story really is brought to life by his own techniques; he knows how to write scary fiction.
If your a horror buff like me you can't do wrong with this little gem. It's a masterpiece in charaterization and how to create a frightening atmosphere. Buy it!
The plot is about a writer who has spawned a line of best selling books called misery. He decides to kill her off so he can get on with some real work and is on his way to publish a new novel. He crashes however and is saved by an ex nurse named Annie Wilkes who just happens to be his number one fan. When she finds out what happened to misery she's not pleased and forces him to bring her back from the dead.
Annie Wilkes firstly is a fantastaic character and one of Kings most unique creations. Apart from that she is also terrifying, taking insanity to new heights. If you don't buy the book for the plot(which is brilliant)buy it to experience Annie Wilkes.
Kings prose is as ever fantastic and witty. The story really is brought to life by his own techniques; he knows how to write scary fiction.
If your a horror buff like me you can't do wrong with this little gem. It's a masterpiece in charaterization and how to create a frightening atmosphere. Buy it!
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
this book was a brilliant read. It kept me up all night reading it. It absolutely blew me away with the writing of Stephen King as this was the first book i had read by him and definetly wont be the last. I must say this is probably the best book i have read in a while bear in mind i am only 15!
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
By Max
Format:Paperback
This books is one of the best I have ever read. I'm a huge fan of King, and I've read about 25 of his novels so far, but I have to say this is one of my favourites...
I read this over a period of two nights, and I literally couldn't put it down. The suspense in this book is unbelievable, and it has several shocking scenes.
The movie, in my opinion, is one of the best adaptations of any of King's books, and having seen the film long before reading the book, I thought the book would be spoiled by this... but it wasn't. There are loads of little differences in the book, and of course there are more scenes than the film, because obviously you can never fit a whole book into a movie. And there are several surprises for those that have seen the film before reading the novel, because some of the scenes you see in the film, and expect to read in the book are different, and better, and more shocking and gruesome.
After reading Misery, I have to say that Kathy Bates really deserved her oscar for playing Annie Wilkes in the movie, becasue she literally became the character. The Paul Sheldon of the novel took on his own appearance in my mind, but Kathy Bates was firmly stuck in my head as the evil nurse Annie Wilkes.
I can't praise this novel enough. In a hundred years I'm sure this will be seen as an all-time classic. King's writing is admirable, and his technique of keeping you glued to the pages is amazing and enviable.
As a final note, I think that watching the film first and thinking i knew what to expect and what was coming as i flew through the pages of the book set me up for a lot of surprises.... Read more ›
I read this over a period of two nights, and I literally couldn't put it down. The suspense in this book is unbelievable, and it has several shocking scenes.
The movie, in my opinion, is one of the best adaptations of any of King's books, and having seen the film long before reading the book, I thought the book would be spoiled by this... but it wasn't. There are loads of little differences in the book, and of course there are more scenes than the film, because obviously you can never fit a whole book into a movie. And there are several surprises for those that have seen the film before reading the novel, because some of the scenes you see in the film, and expect to read in the book are different, and better, and more shocking and gruesome.
After reading Misery, I have to say that Kathy Bates really deserved her oscar for playing Annie Wilkes in the movie, becasue she literally became the character. The Paul Sheldon of the novel took on his own appearance in my mind, but Kathy Bates was firmly stuck in my head as the evil nurse Annie Wilkes.
I can't praise this novel enough. In a hundred years I'm sure this will be seen as an all-time classic. King's writing is admirable, and his technique of keeping you glued to the pages is amazing and enviable.
As a final note, I think that watching the film first and thinking i knew what to expect and what was coming as i flew through the pages of the book set me up for a lot of surprises.... Read more ›
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I just love Annie Wilkes! She is one of King's most fascinating, original, crazy and witty characters ever to come from the invention of his mind. From the first page this is powerful stuff, starting with a car crash and then King gives himself the challenge of a one-roomed story. Hard task? Of course, but he succeeded perfectly.
The book is more gruesome than the film, which makes Annie seem more monstrous (although who could ever forget Kathy Bates' perfect, disturbing and sheer brilliant performance of Annie in the film - she really brought another dimension to the character and deserved the oscar she so rightly won). At the time I read this, I had split my leg open and my shin was tied together with 20 thick stitches! Bad book to read when you're in that position!! But I really related to the pain and empathy of Sheldon even more when I was like that.
King captures the claustrophobia of both Annie and Paul (his incarceration and his mind)and punches you slap bang in the face with it so you pay attention. Also, parts of Paul's manuscript are to be read as they are relevant to his state of mind.
Along with The Dead Zone, this is my prefered King book - unforgettable and chilling, like the film adaption, which is one of my favourite films ever. And not one cheesey monster in sight! I've never read a better psychological thriller than this.
reznor84666@aol.com
The book is more gruesome than the film, which makes Annie seem more monstrous (although who could ever forget Kathy Bates' perfect, disturbing and sheer brilliant performance of Annie in the film - she really brought another dimension to the character and deserved the oscar she so rightly won). At the time I read this, I had split my leg open and my shin was tied together with 20 thick stitches! Bad book to read when you're in that position!! But I really related to the pain and empathy of Sheldon even more when I was like that.
King captures the claustrophobia of both Annie and Paul (his incarceration and his mind)and punches you slap bang in the face with it so you pay attention. Also, parts of Paul's manuscript are to be read as they are relevant to his state of mind.
Along with The Dead Zone, this is my prefered King book - unforgettable and chilling, like the film adaption, which is one of my favourite films ever. And not one cheesey monster in sight! I've never read a better psychological thriller than this.
reznor84666@aol.com
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
butt clenching stuff
i would recomend this book to everyone. Its powerful writing at it's best. the writer puts you right there in the room where the action is, you feel the pain, fear and sheer... Read more
Published 5 days ago by susan marshall
5.0 out of 5 stars
Chilling.. but u can't put it down.
I've always wanted to read this book but never got round to it - so pleased I finally did. This is a really gripping and gruesome read that has you hooked right from the start. Read more
Published 22 days ago by Lex
3.0 out of 5 stars
Book Lovers
I haven't read a lot of books by this author and it was not bought for me. it is a birthday gift.
Published 1 month ago by Mrs. Kim Bracken
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Book
A great book that has you gripped from the first page. The best Stephen King book I have read so far.
Published 1 month ago by Cathy
3.0 out of 5 stars
Just not that great...
This book could have done to be about 150 words shorter in my opinion- the last third or so was excellent but up until that point I found it pretty monotonous and boring.. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Daisy
5.0 out of 5 stars
Unique King Experience
Misery has the most simplistic plot you could imagine; the majority of the book is set in a single bedroom. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Amy Logan
4.0 out of 5 stars
Pageturner
This book sticks out in my mind as the classic pageturner. I found myself reading this one very fast, and I was incredibly eager to find out what happens next. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Austin
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant!
Fantastic! Once you start reading it you don't want to stop! One of the best books I have read. Keeps you in suspense at the end of every chapter.
Published 3 months ago by Juliette Taylor
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Book! One of the best Stephen Kings!
This book is very tense and is gripping. As it was my first Stephen King book i thought it was amazing, it has lead me to buy many more books by him in which i also enjoy very... Read more
Published 4 months ago by M. D. Peters
5.0 out of 5 stars
Scary and Haunting
A gripping read and kept me hanging on in suspense at every page! Better than the film and hasn't aged a bit! Still very relevant and relatable! Brilliant!
Published 4 months ago by cballinger13
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