Tragic Reviews The Shining or
All work and no play makes Tragic a dull boy, All work and no play...

Jack Torrence is struggling on the edge. A recovering alcoholic, Jack's teaching career was shot after he attacked a student who had vandelled his car. His marriage is strained to the limits, having injured his son, Danny, when on a drinking binge. Jack has been to rock bottom and is trying to claw his way back. The job at the Overlook seems to be just what Jack needs.

The Overlook is a majestic hotel, nestled deep in the Rockies. Closed for the winter, the hotel requires an off-season caretaker. Jack's old drinking buddy happened to have a seat on the board and pulled some strings to get him the position. For Jack, this job would be ideal. An opportunity to stay dry, to work on his unfinished play, and to try to mend his broken family.

But Jack's son has a gift and the hotel has a dark past and a life of its own.

Of the bajillion and one Stephen King novels in the world, this is likely the best. King is best when he is writing about his fears, and the pages of this book are ripe with them. Many of Kings later works seem strained... but this particular work is so raw and truthful. In the best tradition of American horror - a tradition King had a large hand in creating - the book takes a typical family and then throws them hip deep into the supernatural. The fear of the ghosts and creeps in this book are made all the more frightning as they're co-mingled with fears such as providing for the family, the fear of hurting a loved one, the fear of losing one's grip on reality.

And then there's the hotel.

Ranking with Jackson's Hill House or Matheson's Belasco House, the Overlook Hotel is one of the best realizations of the haunted house in American literature.

There have been two attempts to adapt the book to film. The first being Kubric's much ballyhoo'd adaptation, which I frankly didn't like much. The second being a made-for-tv adaptation, which came closer to the spirit of the book -if you'll pardon the pun- but still wasn't quite right. Do yourself a favour and give both films a miss and curl up in front of the fire with a nice cup of cocoa and a copy of The Shining.

The Shining -- Tragic gives this book a full 10 out of 10 bottles of Redrum.