Rating: 4 / 5
MISERY by Stephen King was a January buddy read organized by Monica @_alilbitofmonica_ and it was perfect timing to fulfil my Winterween prompt for a book with a house on the cover since this cover is the one that first comes to mind when I think of this book!
MISERY follows a popular author, Paul Sheldon. He wakes up under the care of Annie Wilkes, a former nurse and Paul’s biggest fan. When Paul got into a car accident near Annie’s home, she couldn’t believe her luck! She nurses him back to some semblance of health, though he’s left with shattered legs and a strong addiction to the medications. Worse yet, he quickly learns that Annie’s mind is broken and he’s far from safe, especially when she learns that Paul has killed off her favorite character, Misery. She decides he’ll be using his time in recovery to write Misery back to the living, whether he wants to or not.
The first time I read this book, I didn’t love it, but when I reread it a few years back I really enjoyed my time with it. With the buddy read prompting me to pick it up again, I am glad that I enjoyed it this time as well. I think King does a excellent job of depicting the feeling of isolation and how Paul is trapped in this situation. With King’s openness with his own struggled with addiction and sobriety, I think it is easy to see how that fits into this story as well.
The depiction of an author held in thrall by his craft (and the woman pushing him to write a character that he himself does not love) leads to some interesting moments. Though he’s being forced, when the story comes to him and he’s feeling his creative juices, he can’t help but be fully hooked into his story and fictional world.
This is definitely high on the gore ranking for King books and there are moments which almost hurt to read, but I had a good time getting back in touch with these characters!
DG Reads 