Misery Book Review | Teen Ink

Misery Book Review

December 1, 2022
By ilikeburgers SILVER, Hartland, Wisconsin
ilikeburgers SILVER, Hartland, Wisconsin
5 articles 0 photos 0 comments

Misery is a suspenseful novel written by Stephen King that is filled with twists and turns. This book kept me wanting to read more with its twists and turns. King put me through an emotional roller coaster while reading this novel because of how many unexpected events came up out of nowhere. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves thrillers and suspense.

The novel starts off describing a writer who crashes his car while driving in snowy Colorado. A woman named Annie rescues him and it turns out she is a big fan of him. While Paul, the writer/main character, is in Annie's home he uses his typewriter to finish writing his novel. Annie disagrees with the plot of the novel and forces Paul to make changes. She progressively becomes more hostile and aggressive. As time passes, Annie periodically leaves the house for a while and Paul leaves his room. He finds a scrapbook with newspaper clippings of Annie’s previous killings. She comes home and finds out Paul has left his room and consequently cuts off his foot. Paul gets cops to come while Annie is gone but she comes home and kills the cop. More cops come and don’t arrest Annie. Paul finishes writing his novel, Misery’s Return, and trips Annie, putting her on the ground. Then he smashed her face with a doorstop, fulfilling his mission of killing her. The cops come and rescue Paul and he returns home but is paranoid because of the tragic events that took place.

This story makes great use of the setting to enhance the eerie and creepy  feeling given off while reading the novel. The story takes place in Colorado as a snowstorm comes. This plays into how Paul crashes his car and it enhances the feeling of isolation and eeriness. King also did a phenomenal job of evolving the characters in the story. He gradually portrays Annie as more and more aggressive as Paul finds out about her past. This makes the truth about Annie that much creepier after we see her develop throughout the novel. King unwound the plot very well in the novel by creating suspense when Annie gets upset with Paul. The way that the story catches you off guard makes you wonder what you are going to read next, and keeps you on the edge of your seat. 

 I would personally give this book 4.8 stars because it was a fantastic novel, but I believe that there is no such thing as a perfect book. King wrote this novel in a way that made me want to keep reading more. Through his use of characterization, plot development, and setting he enhanced the feeling that the book gives the reader. This is a great book to read if you are interested in reading more about horror and suspense.



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