The Shining, by Stephen King

I normally don't like horror books, but I'm such a big fan of Stephen King's writing that I decided to give The Shining a shot, and I wasn't disappointed. Once again, the strongest part of this King novel was the characterization, letting us inside the heads of the father, mother and son staying at the hotel and the caretaker who also has the shining.

I had seen the movie with Jack Nicholson many years ago and it was impossible not to picture the actors in the movie while I read the book. For most of the characters, it wasn't too distracting, but the character of the wife, Wendy, was so different that it was a distraction. The character in the book was much stronger and it's a shame the movie changed it.

I'm still not sure how King makes us want to keep reading. There were long stretches where we were inside the father's head when he's thinking horrible thoughts and generally going crazy, but it's compelling. Maybe it's the sheer nakedness of seeing what the character is thinking, even as he lies to himself and then battles with himself to uncover the lies.