Misery

Rating:
Summary: Misery will bring you Pleasure...
Review: I am a rather indifferent fan of Stephen King. I have found that when he is writing good, there are few writers better, but his career, like a good roller coaster has it's ups & downs...some books are truly great, while others are pure drivel...but that is NOT the case with 'Misery'. Easily one of King's most wildly entertaining novels (and one of the few that do not take place in Maine) this story takes you on the journey of just how far one twisted 'Fan' can go given the right circumstances.

Paul Sheldon is an author...a very successful author of a series of novels featuring the character of Misery Chastaine. These books have launched Paul's career, but he is ready to branch out and enter another arena of writing...an area that has no room for Misery. On his way from a Hotel in Colorado after finishing his latest manuscript, Paul has an unfortunate accident on an icy road and crashes so far down an embankment that nobody can see him...except for the one person who acts as both his savior and his worst nightmare in one: Annie.

On the surface, Annie seems the nicest person Paul could ever meet...oh, and she is also the WORLD'S #1 Misery Fan. She just cannot believe her luck when she (a nurse) witnesses an accident and when she goes to help, finds out that her all-time favorite author is in the drivers seat. She takes him home, and slowly begins to nurse him back to health. Annie shows a little of how odd she is to Paul, but how can he argue? He would have died if not for her saving his life. But as this riviting story continues, the next Misery novel is released and Annie rushes to the store to buy it on the first day of its release.

Paul is making a slow recovery from his wounds, and Annie refuses to take him to the hospital, believing that he couldn't receive any better treatment than she could provide for him personally, and so without the ability to argue, Paul stays in bed while Annie reads the latest Misery installment...but as she nears the end she finds out that Paul has decided to end the series -- by killing off Misery. Now keep in mind that Annie has a connection to this fictinal character that goes way beyond the strange and weird. She takes out her anger on Paul, forcing him to start writing a NEW Misery novel which resurrects the character...B-U-U-T it must be written in a way that makes sense...at least to Annie, and her standards are pretty high indeed. This is where the novel really takes off like a drag race on steroids. Paul is faced with a horrible situation, not able to even get out of bed by himself, and literally forced to write a book against his will, and most difficult of all, he has Annie as his editor...an editor who rewards success with another day without the saw and torch being used to remove and cauterize certain body parts. This is definitely King writing at his all-time best, and in my opinion, is far and away his most incredibly entertaining novel to date. Now if you are looking to be frightened, I don't think this is the novel for you. But if you enjoy an amazingly original story told with a full dose of adrenaline, 'Misery' is definitely the book for you. The movie version was okay at best, but left out several explicit torture scenes that were detailed enough to take your breath away, so keep that in mind before you crack the pages of this fantastic thriller. Highly Recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Maybe a little obvious
Review: If literature classes in high schools and colleges around America ever decide to actually study King, this is probably the book that they'll decide to use first. It seemed fairly obvious to me that this may have been the intention as I read this novel. In terms of simply storytelling, the book is interesting, if not as gripping as some of his other works, but on an allegorical level this book is just a little too easy to have been created through random chance. The story is about an author who is held captive by his audience and forced to write pulp fiction, which he considers beneath him, and after a certain amount of exposure, his hatred for his pulp creation blinds him to the point that he's no longer able to be objective about his own work (represented by his inebriation upon finishing Fast Cars), which leads him further into his symbolic captivity. I'll admit that at first I was turned off by the apparent thrust of this allegorical message--considered superficially, King appears to be lamenting the fact that he can't write just whatever he wants and have the public lap it up and thank him for the privelege. Upon deeper inspection of the novel I realized that that wasn't his statement, but some readers could be turned off by the superficially self-serving appearance. King has been accused of being more than a little obvious when trying to communicate a message in his stories (take The Tommyknockers and Insomnia for examples), and this book is no different, but in this piece his message is actually fairly insightful and it's delivered in a very interesting (if obvious) manner. Of course, if you're only looking for a good story, the novel has that as well, though it does bog down on occasion and the narrative occasionally gets ahead of itself, forcing King to relate certain events in "flashback" fashion rather than simply integrating them into the flow of the narrative. Ultimately, I would recommend this book for anybody simply because there's something here for everybody, and it's probably something good.

Rating:
Summary: BEST ONE
Review: One of King's BEST books, I have read many of his books, though I AM only 12, but I think that's the right time to start reading his works. The story is about Paul Sheldon, a writer of many famous books, called Misery, who is also the main character.Well, he is involved in an almost fatal car accident and gets picked up by Annie Wilkes, a crazy madwoman that is a retired nurse, and who killed most of her paitients. She gets him hooked on Novril, a kind of asprin. When she finds out her "Misery" was killed in the last novel, she goes into an outrage, and starts attempting to kill Paul. After choping off his foot with an axe, (Paul's in bed and can't get up) She saws off his thumb and puts it in a birthday cake. She kills many police officers, and finally ends up getting killed herself, which I will not reveal in case you've never read it. If you have not read it, and are a fan of King's this is a MUST! If you are a fast reader, read it twice, you will have missed things (believe me, I am). After you have read it, watch the movie!!!

Rating:
Summary: NOT great but OK
Review: This is definetely not one of King's best. It gets off on a tangent of the protagonist's mind and his insanity rather that the plot of the story. MISERY is about Paul Sheldon, author of a bestselling series of historical romances, who wakes up one winter day in a strange place with a dislocated pelvis, a crushed knee, and two shattered legs, and gets a bizarre greeting from the woman who has saved his life saying "I'm your number one fan!!". Annie Wilkes is a huge ex-nurse, handy with controlled substances and other instruments of torture, including and axe and a blowtorch and an electric knife. She thinks it's unfair that her favorite character in the world Misery Chastain has been killed by her creator Paul Sheldon. This is not good, Annie can get mad ...really mad. So this is when she buys him a typewriter and demands Paul to bring Misery back to life. But writers have weapons too.... Only someone as creative as King can bring Annie Wilkes to life. This novel gripped me, but as I said it gets in too deep.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best of King's
Review: This one is my favorite of King's, with the Long Walk and Running man in second and third. This book travels inward to inside Paul Sheldon's little world once he gets stuck in his "#1 fan's" house after an accident. Rich with irony, some easily apparent, some you have to dig to see, it is an intriguing book. King makes it seem as though Paul were a real-life author (helped by the fact that the book Misery appears to be actually "written" by him in lieu of the burned manuscript for the next misery novel Annie makes him write) and a normal man, who happens to fall into the hands of the dangerously touchy Annie Wilkes. Her fascinating character is enough to more than make up for the lack of real action (because it almost all takes place in the bedroom where Paul is stuck); she is-- ironically all at once-- romantic, passionate, CRAZY, scary, friendly, caring, wierd, hard to figure out and seemingly simple...and, trust me, READ IT TWICE. You'll see why.

Rating:
Summary: True horror
Review: This is a great book, but it scared me to death the first time I read it.

"Misery" is about a novelist, Paul Sheldon, who is famous for his books about Misery Chastain, a bubbleheaded, melodramatic girl from the 19th century.

One night, Paul is driving to another city to work on a new book of his "fast cars", which is about a car thief. He has killed off Misery in the final book "Misery's child." While driving, he ends up in a car accident, but by coicidence, he is rescued by his #1 fan, Annie Wilkes, a former nurse. She takes him to her house, splints his mangled legs, and slowly nurses him back to health.

However, when she finishes reading "Misery's child", only to find out that he has killed Misery off, he discovers that he is trapped with a madwoman who is more dangerous than Jack the Ripper and Son of Sam combined.

Soon, Annie comes up with an idea. Paul is going to write one last Misery book, just for her. Paul has no choice, because when he doesn't do what he is told, Annie's dangerous side comes out, and she does things that can make scream and beg for his life...

Rating:
Summary: One Of King's Best
Review: 'Misery' was one of the best King books I've read, up there with It and Needful Things. An original plot; novelist Paul Sheldon is driving in the cold snowy country side and has a terrible car accident that breaks both his legs. Ironically, his true 'biggest fan' finds him and brings him home to her house, where he is hopelessly bed ridden. What he soon comes to realized is that he is being held captive by a lunatic. She then decides that he's going to write a novel for her, the final book in the best selling series, "Misery". This novel beautifully illustrates the process of going insane, deeply and ironically. -PV

Rating:
Summary: A Freaky but GREAT book!
Review: This is an excellent book.I was kinda freaked out by Annie Wilkes overly obsesive tendanices, but that is what made the book so great. It keeps you on the edge of your seat because you wander what kind of torture Annie will evoke on Paul Sheldon next and you wander if the poor guy will ever escape from the clutches of this madwoman.It is one of the best books I ever read by Stephen King.

Rating:
Summary: A Living Nightmare
Review: Once I began reading this book, I was glued to it. This fast-paced, exhilarating story of a man caught in the ultimate nightmare keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole time.Paul Sheldon, a famous writer, is kidnapped in a tiny, isolated town. Physically unable to leave the kidnapper's house, Paul is trapped, and it is a race against time to escape the kidnapper's grasp. Stephen King does a terrific job giving tons of details on the characters. You will find out that Annie Wilkes, the kidnapper, is a monster. As I read this book, I got chills up my back when Annie was torturing Paul. The writing is so vivid that you get very detailed pictures in your mind. It is like you are watching a movie. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves suspense. Once you start reading this story, you will not be able to put it down until you read the last sentence. I will not spoil the ending for you by telling you how the story ends, so you will just have to read it. You will not regret it.

Rating:
Summary: A MUST READ!!
Review: This is the first Stephen King book I read and definitely one of my favorites! I saw the movie before I read the book and the book is MUCH better! I remember reading the book at night before I'd fall asleep and I'd get a little scared that Annie would show up in my room...definitely a book I couldn't put down...it's easy to just keep turning the pages until you get to the end. I highly recommend this book to all Stephen King fans and even to those who have never read any of King's work. Happy reading...