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    Misery
    Misery
    Misery
    Ebook478 pages7 hours

    Misery

    By Stephen King

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    The #1 New York Times bestseller about a famous novelist held hostage in a remote location by his “number one fan.” One of “Stephen King’s best…genuinely scary” (USA TODAY).

    Bestselling novelist Paul Sheldon thinks he’s finally free of Misery Chastain. In a controversial career move, he’s just killed off the popular protagonist of his beloved romance series in favor of expanding his creative horizons. But such a change doesn’t come without consequences. After a near-fatal car accident in rural Colorado leaves his body broken, Paul finds himself at the mercy of the terrifying rescuer who’s nursing him back to health—his self-proclaimed number one fan, Annie Wilkes. Annie is very upset over what Paul did to Misery and demands that he find a way to bring her back by writing a new novel—his best yet, and one that’s all for her. After all, Paul has all the time in the world to do so as a prisoner in her isolated house...and Annie has some very persuasive and violent methods to get exactly what she wants...

    “King at his best…a winner!” —The New York Times
    “Unadulteratedly terrifying…frightening.” —Publishers Weekly
    “Classic King…full of twists and turns and mounting suspense.” —The Boston Globe
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherScribner
    Release dateJan 1, 2016
    ISBN9781501141249
    Author

    Stephen King

    Stephen King was born in Portland, Maine in 1947. In the spring of 1973, Doubleday & Co., accepted the novel Carrie for publication, providing him the means to leave teaching and write full-time. He has since published over 40 books and has become one of the world's most successful writers. Stephen lives in Maine and Florida with his wife, novelist Tabitha King. They are regular contributors to a number of charities including many libraries and have been honored locally for their philanthropic activities.

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    Reviews for Misery

    4/5

    4,672 ratings109 reviews

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    • 3/5
      This book is specifically a writer's nightmare. It's about a writer who kills off a character after several books and a whacko fan who holds him hostage to get him to bring the character back to life somehow. It was very tense and at times harrowing. Enjoyed it.
    • 4/5
      I’ve been meaning to read Misery for years and just never seemed to get around to it. A couple weeks ago I randomly found a copy at the thrift store and I’m so glad I did. I’m a huge Stephen King fan and Misery was such a great read—I couldn’t put it down until I was done. It was gruesome and horrifying and I loved it so much.
    • 5/5
      Easily the single most gruesome and disturbing book I've ever read.
    • 4/5
      One of the best of Stephen King's works. I enjoyed how far she went with her obsession.
    • 4/5
      Misery is one of those rare novels that I feel a sense of relief to be finished with. Not to be misconstrued as any sort of dislike for the novel, on the contrary, King did such a good job of making me feel uncomfortable with his character's predicament that I experienced an actual physical feeling of relief to be done with it.Overall, Misery is a very well-written novel that is not a horror in the traditional sense (no supernatural creatures or spooky things to give you the creepy-crawlies or make you jump,) but remains one of the most horrific novels that King has written. The setting, situation and characters all meld together perfectly in a scenario that is hard to call unbelievable or impossible and that feeling just adds to the creepiness of the circumstances.I did have a few problems here and there with the novel, such as ******SPOILER******Paul's lack of any attempt to wean himself off of the Novril, although he plans on doing it several times. Having never been hooked on an addictive drug myself, I guess I don't truly know how difficult this would be, but I thought that he could have at least tried. Also, I could have done with a little less of the novel that he was writing as when I was reading these sections, I just wanted to get back to the main storyline.******END SPOILER******Otherwise, this is a very solid offering by King that, while I wouldn't say that I totally "enjoyed", is a really good novel.
    • 5/5
      I think this is probably one of Kings five best books, and one that doesn't rely on supernatural horror which earns it star just for that.
    • 5/5
      I originally read this book back in High school, my first experience reading King. I loved this book when I first read it & it's remained one of my favorites these past 20 years. Recently I've gotten into reading all the classic and newer King books that I hadn't read before. I had forgotten how much I loved his books, he's such an amazing storyteller! I was curious to see if Misery would still hold up as my all time favorite King after recently reading so many so I decided to re-read it. Surprisingly, it still scared the cheap out of me even though I knew what was coming LOL gotta say, it's still my favorite although now The Shining is a close second ;)
    • 4/5
      It took a little while for me to get into this one, but the pacing wasn't that slow, I think the personalities just took a while to grab my interest. It definitely had some gory moments, and some suspense, some fast-pacing and then drawn-out, and intriguing. I think Dean Koontz usually keeps the pace up, and King likes to shift gears now and then, so I'm a little on the fence about his style. Overall I liked it, it was a creepy story, but a definite humanity to it.
    • 5/5
      Where I got the book: well, I was staying in my niece's old room while I was in England, my sister and her husband being happy empty nesters, and there it was on the shelf. A tattered mmpb with exactly the schlocky cover shown above, its pages yellowed like the teeth of a 100-year-old smoker, smelling faintly of mildew even though the room was dry and pleasant. A used bookstore buy, or a borrow? I have not read Stephen King (except for On Writing) since some time in the 80s when something in The Stand grossed me out so much that I decided to put the book down RIGHT THERE and I was done with King. So I was a little apprehensive about Misery; King, back in the day when I was still reading him, had a way of putting really unpleasant images in my head that stuck with me FOREVER. Was it worth it?I was pleasantly surprised. There's horror in Misery but really very little schlock; what we have here is a thoughtful novel about the writer's craft and the relationship between writer and reader, wrapped up in a scary story that keeps you right where King wants you, with your nose stuck in his book.The plot's pretty simple: Famed novelist Paul Sheldon has found his biggest fan by driving through a snowstorm with one drink too many inside him. He wakes up in Annie Wilkes' remote house with a smashed, broken body to find that he's Annie's prisoner, first of all because she's his biggest fan and then permanently when she finds out he's killed off his heroine, Misery, in his latest book. Oh no, says Annie, that's not right. You have to bring Misery back...Oh my goodness, I couldn't get enough of Annie Wilkes. What a great evil villainess that woman is, all the more so because King gives her the occasional glimpse of humor and likableness. After all, she's a book lover. And she actually makes Paul see the worth in writing the preposterous sagas he both lives off and despises for not being the great literature he feels he ought to write. Misery is REAL for Annie, and in this she speaks for readers everywhere who could care less about great literature, they just want a character they can love and a story they can get lost in. I got lost in the Annie-Paul relationship, a wonderfully delicate balance of power because they both have something the other wants. And the way Annie talks is beyond priceless. I know that woman. She's an American type (seriously, she could be found in no other country) so sharply observed that I found myself chuckling with delight.What King says about writing in this book--about the gotta, bringing it, finding the hole in the paper--is as interesting as his craft memoir On Writing. In fact, often more so. I recommend this book to all writers, and I'm going to acquire my own copy one day because I'll want to read this again. I may read Carrie and The Shining for good measure.
    • 5/5
      creepy - i loved it better than the movie
    • 3/5
      One of his most famous, and creepiest.
    • 5/5
      I thought this book was outstanding. It was slow to begin with but you have to really stick with it.It's about a writer Paul Sheldon who due to very unfortunate circumstances comes across his number one fan who turns out to be a phycopath/crazy nutter.It is one of the best Stephen King books I have read to date and really got my heckles up for the fright factor.I watched the film addaption within the following few days of reading the book and I have to say that the film is no where near as good or frightening as the book.With the way they make re-makes of films these days if they were to make a re-make of Misery they could really go to town on the fright factor as the book was so gory.
    • 5/5
      First words:~ umber whunnyerrnnn umber whunnnnfayunnnThese sounds: even in the haze ~I was looking for a book for the January Horror Challenge (Early modern horror: 1950-1980) and came across Misery in my Kindle collection. Since King wrote this book in 1987, it fell just outside of that Early Modern Horror timeline. However, when I saw it I was reminded that this is a book that I have wanted to read for years (loved the movie ith Kathy Bates and James Cann) and decided to go for it. Not sorry I did! It kept me away from other planned January reads but, oh my, Stephen King writes a good psychological thriller / horror novel. I used to read a lot of his books when I was in my 20’s. I am now in my 60’s. Eventually I got to the point where I was so scared that I had to sleep with the light on and read only in the morning so I would have all the day’s experiences to think about when I went to bed. I then decided that I should not read any more Stephen King and had stayed away from reading horror until a few years ago. Lately, with the LT challenges I have been interested in the genre again. A gruesome, gripping page turner. Once again, I book I could barely put it down. Classified “psychological horror” it is certainly also a “slasher” novel. I repeat, gruesome. If you are squeamish, stay away from this one!I find that Stephen King knows how to pull me into a story. I could feel what Paul (the author kept prisoner) felt. I could feel the madness that Annie Wilkes experienced. I could feel the horror in their interactions. And the suspense! What was going to happen next?I prefer to see a movie first and then read the book. I find that the movie is usually good but the book is always better! If I read the book first and love it, I am often disappointed in the movie rendition. My younger son, on the other hand, prefers to read the book first and then see the movie. He enjoys creating images of the images the author is describing without the influence of the actors, the cinematographer, and the director. Then he can see the movie and enjoy that.I saw the movie many years ago. I don’t remember a lot about it but I do remember how horrifying the whole concept was to me and I remember Kathy Bates’ magnificent, layered portrait of Annie Wilkes. No wonder she won the Oscar for Best Actress that year!As I read the book, of course, I could see nothing but Kathy Bates and James Cann. The other characters from the film were not memorable. I found that having the image of Bates in my mind added to the fear that I experienced as I read it. I seem to be experiencing these horror reads from a different perspective than when I was younger. I understand that thrill-seeking in books and movies allows us human beings to realize a certain sense of accomplishment / satisfaction when we see that we “survived” the horror. I think there is something to be said for my living the horror but knowing that I am safe at home and, really, not at any risk of being in the situation that Paul finds himself in. This is a very disturbing book, and King has said that the book was an elaborate metaphor for his raging cocaine addiction which he conquered in the late 80’s with the help of 12 Step programs.. He has been quoted as saying "Misery is a book about cocaine. Annie Wilkes is cocaine. She was my number-one fan."As an addict (flour, sugar and quantities) myself, in a 12 Step Program for Food Addiction, I found that very interesting. I suffer from chronic pain and the lead character in the book also becomes addicted to pain killers. Perhaps all of that explains some of my fascination with this book.And Stephen King is a damn good writer. 4.5 stars
    • 4/5
      Misery - Stephen King ****I saw the film a number of years ago starring the excellent Cathy Bates, so thought I would give the book a try. As usual with King I really enjoyed the book a whole lot more.Paul Sheldon has written about a character called Misery, she has made him a bestseller and a fortune. However he has decided to kill off his creation.....After a car crash he is found by his number one fan, Annie Wilkes, she is not happy with the situation and will do anything to keep Paul writing Misery's tales....Plenty of psychological and horror action in this King offering. I loved it.
    • 5/5
      This brings back great memories from many years ago when I first read the book. I could not stop reading it! It grabbed me and would not let go, what a page turner! I read it so fast the first time I went back to read it again and again and enjoyed it every single time. This is most definitely my favourite King book.
    • 5/5
      Some of my favorite King works have no paranormal elements at all. The horror comes from ordinary people - well almost ordinary. This was the first of King's works I'd read after years of reluctance and putting it off. Boy did I have my eyes opened. All those people saying King is a master were right. This is still my favorite of all his works. Simply delicious.
    • 5/5
      Misery was the second Stephen King book I ever read. This was very shortly after Dolores Claiborne. I came across Misery much the same way I did Dolores Claiborne - through my mother's subscription to the Stephen King Book Club. The big difference here was, my mother knew about me reading Misery. She had already read the novel (her buddy Andrita had loaned her the book when it first came out in 1987), and figured I was of an age (fourteen) where I wouldn't be too terribly scarred by the events of the book. There's nothing sexual about Misery, and for the most part, very little foul language. The violence is rather extreme, but we all know that bad words and intercourse are much worse than chopping people up, right? Anyway, back in the days before the interwebs, the Stephen King Book Club worked like this. They would start your membership by sending you King's newest novel. After that, they'd start sending you his old books in order of publication until a new book came out, and then they would send you the new one. After that, back to the old books. By the time Dolores Claiborne came out, Mom was all the way up to Misery. (By the way, I'm chronicling this nonsense because I will probably forget all this shit in a few years. I don't plan on rereading this man's entire library again before I shuffle off this mortal coil, and I would like to have these reviews to look back upon later in life. My apologies if I'm boring you to death. Where was I...)

      Misery is one of my favorite King novels because it deals with writing and the writing process. And, next to The Shining, it's one of the best denouements he's ever written. I read the book long before I ever saw the movie, and, truth be told, I hated the movie for a long time. Kathy Bates's performance is exceptional, but the differences in the book and the film pissed me off. I didn't like the old sheriff character, and I missed the Lawnboy scene.

      Now here's where shit gets interesting. The book takes place in Sidewinder, Colorado, which is the town nearest the site of the fire-gutted Overlook Hotel. Obvious connection is obvious, right? Well what about the mention of the Beam? Anyone catch that? Here's the exact quote: "And unless his assessment of Annie Wilkes was totally off the beam, that meant she had something even worse in store." Well, there you have it, sports fans. Even Misery comes back to the Dark Tower.

      In summation: I've come to appreciate the movie for the well-made film that it is, but the book, as per usual, is still leagues better. It's a darker, bloodier creature than its cinematic sister, and that's probably the reason I like it more. No denying it, I'm a gorehound at heart. That hobbling scene, friends and neighbors... *shivers*



    • 5/5
      Misery is the story of a writer named Paul Sheldon whose car upturned in the middle of a blizzard in the remote Colorado mountains and who has been rescued by an ex-nurse named Annie Wilkes. Annie insists she is Paul's biggest fan. Paul is famous for his historical romance novels featuring a heroine named Misery Chastain. His legs are shattered in the car crash and Annie is nursing her favorite author back to health. Soon after his accident and in between a narcotic induced haze, Paul begins to realize that Annie has him hooked on the pain killers and that she is insane. He also realizes they are in the middle of nowhere and that nobody knows where he is.The house becomes a prison for Paul and he soon realizes that Annie is not planning on letting him leave until he writes a new Misery book just for her. I have plenty of unread King books sitting on my bookshelves since I have slight OCD when it comes to his books and I must collect them, even if it will take me a lifetime to read them all, especially the Dark Tower series. So what made me re-read a King book? I loved it so much the first time around. Plain and simple. I found that the second time around was better. I must also mention that the movie version of Misery is one of my favorite King book to film adaptations. I think Paul and Annie were cast perfectly. The film does differ a bit from the novel, but it was well done nonetheless. The novel really showcases Annie's lack of sanity as well as Paul's fear of her. She often 'zones out' while speaking, leaving Paul terrified and waiting for her to come back to reality. "Everything she said was a little strange, a little offbeat. Listening to Annie was like listening to a song played in the wrong key." p.11, MiseryHere you have classic King at his best, this is a great scary story and I found myself unable to put this book down. Misery has been referred to as King's love letter to his fans.There's plenty of horror and nail biting suspense within these pages but there are also glimpses of hope for Paul. I cheered him on as he devised plans on freeing himself from Annie's clutches. The writing in the story is wonderfully descriptive and I felt like I was in the same room with Paul as I read. I wanted him to escape so badly, but I knew the odds were against him. Annie is a psychopath and you see that very early on in the book. King wastes no time beating around the bush here. I think she is one of his best villains. He does a great job at giving this wicked nurse a background story. She's also quirky, using bizarre old fashioned language, words like 'dirty birdie' and 'Mr. Man' when she's angry. There's plenty of OMG and cringe worthy moments in Misery and that is just what I have come to expect from a scary King novel. What made this book even scarier for me is that there's no supernatural forces at work here, no dark magic being used, this is plain and simply realistically terrifying. Technically speaking, in real life a crazy lunatic can hold a person hostage and torture them. I think that's what makes Annie so scary, it seems like someone could really do what she does to Paul.If you are in the mood for a scary suspenseful story that will get under your skin and have you jumping at the slightest sound, look no further than Misery. When I was done reading this book, I wanted to turn to the first page and read it all over again.
    • 5/5
      Excellent.
    • 5/5
      Wow.Misery... a thrilling, dark, claustrophobic, occasionally gross, far-fetched yet believable, page-turner which seems to make a game out of pushing all the right buttons at exactly the right time.Without wanting to spoil anything, Misery is about a writer, Paul Sheldon, who ends up in what turns out to be a pretty bad spot. Think you know what will happen? You don't. Think it can't get any worse for the main character? It does.I get the impression that Stephen King could probably write about anything at all in a way which would make millions want to read it. Though, the guy can certainly construct a plot as well. Misery is more of a situation-drama than anything else, but every drop of juice has been squeezed out of the premise, in a good way. The story is in many ways driven forward by the main character's state of mind. The way his mind develops, and the way in which this is described, is fascinating and scary in equal measure.No, this book hasn't had a profound impact on me, and no, I probably won't be thinking about it a week from now, but wow, it was a great ride. It is the perfect read-in-the-dark-in-the-middle-of-the-night book, and is genuinely one you won't want to put down.
    • 5/5
      Simply put, this was the novel that started me on that long, dark road through the mind of Stephen King. And years later, it is still my favorite.
    • 5/5
      Better than the movie, and in this case that's saying allot. There's a good number of reviews already posted on this one so I'll spare you the details but if you thought the "hobbling scene" in the movie was crazy just wait till you read the book.
    • 5/5
      I'm not sure of the genre on this book. It's Stephen King book so it must be horror, right? But I've always interpreted the term horror to refer to a genre of books where there is some kind of supernatural entity causing people to be, well, horrified. Like a creepy clown who comes out of the storm drains. Or a hotel that's possessed by evil spirits. Or a young girl who can move objects with the power of her mind. In "Misery," the object of fear is a dumpy ex-nurse named Annie, living alone in the Rocky Mountains. She's mentally unbalanced, but she's not possessed by an evil spirit. She doesn't have kinetic powers. But she doesn't need any. She manages to terrorize Paul just fine without any supernatural help.Annie starts off as an angel of mercy, rescuing best selling author Paul Sheldon when he's injured in a car accident on a lonely, snowy road. She's thrilled to have him under her roof, because she is the "Number One Fan" of his series of books about a character named Misery.The only problem is he killed Misery off in the last book so he could work on a more serious, literary novel. Annie insists that Paul write another Misery book, and that this book have a plausible explanation of how she died and came back to life. With both legs broken, Paul is dependent of Annie for everything and struggles to appease her. He sets about writing a new Misery book on Annie's old manual typewriter.I loved how the Misery story progresses. It's written in the same font as an old typewriter that's lost a few keys, with missing letters written in by hand. Stung by bad reviews, and longing to be taken seriously as a writer, Paul finds himself writing for his harshest critic yet. Because Annie will torture and possibly kill him if she doesn't like what she reads.I loved all the observations about writing, how the critics panned his writing, but Paul had the ability to write real page turners, the kind of book you just have to keep reading because you've got to know what happens next.This is by far, my favorite Stephen King novel
    • 4/5
      This book shows why Stephen King is a master. It is not his monsters that are so scary, it is his monstrous people. The fact that he can (and does) make Annie sympathetic, even to her victim, just for a moment is horrifying. An excellent book, a scary book.
    • 5/5
      Completely absorbing page-turner, could not put this down despite my then future-ex-husband's insistence that I turn off the light and come to bed!!The movie casting of Kathy Bates was AMAZING and really surpassed my high expectations. This story permanently altered the way I feel when folks say "I'M YOUR BIGGEST FAN!" Yes, I now NEVER forget that the term "FAN" is short for "FANATIC" thanks to Mr. King and then when Kathy Bates made Misery her own on the big screen. LOVE this tale and YEARN to add a hardcover to my permanent select Library... as well as to Re-read again, of course!!Mr. King set the bar of suspense , horror and terror to all time new heights with MISERY!! Yes love CAN kill you... but what DOESN'T kill you makes you so much stronger!! James Caan was even sexier with the cane & limp ;)
    • 4/5
      This is how I got hooked on King. It's a tight novel, no wasted words. It's frankly horrific, his situation and what she does to him. If you are claustrophobic or squeamish then this is the book for you. Almost as good as The Shining... almost.
    • 4/5
      A terrific book...one of his best. And a great film, with an oustanding performance by Kathy Bates.
    • 3/5
      Suspenseful story of an author trapped by a wacko. What I thought might be a self-licking ice cream cone became much fun to listen.
    • 4/5
      After reading ‘The Stand’ while I was still in school I became a huge fan of Stephen King, and read most of his subsequent books up to ‘Thinner’ (published under his pseudonym of Richard Bachman). I am not really sure why I stopped reading him then. Perhaps I become less enamoured of fiction involving the supernatural in general. I had also been a keen reader of science fiction up until my early twenties, though that was another genre I largely left behind. In the last couple of years I have rediscovered Stephen King through his excellent books ‘Mr Mercedes’ and ‘Finders Keepers’, both of which feature Bill Hodges and his posse, and are straight crime novels. The latter of those featured an over enthusiastic literary fan, and the reviews offered a lot of comparisons to King’s ‘Misery’, published almost thirty years earlier. ‘Misery’ is a great book, utterly gripping from the outset, and while the villain of the work is a larger than life character, everything is grounded in the real world. No intrusions from the supernatural, though the horror is still there in the shape of a twisted character driven by obsession and psychosis. The plot is fairly simple but completely captivating. Best-selling novelist Paul Sheldon has just completed his latest novel and celebrates by drinking rather too much champagne and then, ignoring warnings of an impending snowstorm, attempting to drive through the Rockies. The storm takes hold and he skids off the road. Fortunately, he does not hit anyone else, but, less fortunately, he is badly injured in the crash and passes out in the wreckage of his car. The next thing he knows he is in bed with horrific injuries to his legs. His rescuer is former nurse Annie Wilkes who, it turns out, is a huge fan of Sheldon’s books, particularly those featuring his character Misery Chastain, an adventuress in Victorian England. The series of novels featuring Misery has been immensely successful, far outselling Sheldon’s other books. He had, however, come to hate the character, seeing her as a millstone preventing him from the proper exercise of his literary skill, and in the most recent volume he had succeeded in killing her off. As it happens, Annie Wilkes has only just started reading that latest book.Sheldon is unsure why Annie Wilkes has not taken him to hospital, and gradually comes to realise that she has only the most tenuous hold on sanity. This becomes apparent as her disgust at the fate that Sheldon directed towards Misery Chastian, which provokes a dreadful rage which she takes out on Sheldon, withholding the painkillers that she had, thitherto, been dispensing to him. Annie’s fragile grasp on reason becomes increasingly evident, and Sheldon is pitched into a dreadful ordeal as he tries to placate her while wondering how (or even if) he can escape.The book treats a lot of serious issues: mental health, obsession, the art of writing and addiction. Sheldon offers all sorts of insights, presumably channelling King himself, into how he develops a plot, fleshes out characters and constructs a book. He also shows great self-awareness as to his own qualities, and the frustration that his ‘potboilers’ featuring Misery consistently outsell his other, more serious’ works.The book was published in 1987 around the time, as I understand, that King’s family stage a major intervention to address his own addictions (alcohol, various prescription medicines and other illegal drugs). Sheldon proves an interesting vehicle for analysis of these problems – he had already been a drinker and smoker, and owing to the circumstances of his imprisonment by Annie Wiles he can feel himself becoming addicted to the powerful painkiller that she feeds him.The novel is a great success. King maintains the tension throughout, and there is a frightening plausibility about the whole story. I just feel rather sad that I didn’t read it nearly thirty years ago when it first came out.
    • 3/5
      I would like to rate this novel higher because it is very well written (in terms of syntax, symbolism, narrative structure, etc.), but it's just so gruesome. It's not a pleasant read because of this, although it does get you hooked and you won't want to put it down. If you're a fan of horror fiction, then I'd recommend this title. If not, then like me, you might be less than overly enthusiastic about it.

    Book preview

    Misery - Stephen King

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