The #1 national bestseller about a famous novelist held hostage by his “number one fan” and suffering a frightening case of writer’s block—that could prove fatal. One of “Stephen King’s best…genuinely scary” (USA TODAY). Paul Sheldon is a bestselling novelist who has finally met his number one fan. Her name is Annie Wilkes, and she is more than a rabid reader—she is Paul’s nurse, tending his … nurse, tending his shattered body after an automobile accident. But she is also furious that the author has killed off her favorite character in his latest book. Annie becomes his captor, keeping him prisoner in her isolated house.
Annie wants Paul to write a book that brings Misery back to life—just for her. She has a lot of ways to spur him on. One is a needle. Another is an axe. And if they don’t work, she can get really nasty.
“Terrifying” (San Francisco Chronicle), “dazzlingly well-written” (The Indianapolis Star), and “truly gripping” (Publishers Weekly), Misery is “classic Stephen King…full of twists and turns and mounting suspense” (The Boston Globe).
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As an author I found this book to be rather too close to home. I know authors who’ve had crazy fans. Luckily, most of mine seem rather sane, even though I do write about some strange topics, such as the mothership and aliens, etc.
I have had some interesting letters and emails, but always courteous.
I am glad Stephen King writes his nightmares instead of living them.
Question of the Week wants to know a good book to read during a snowstorm. I say Misery by Stephen King – you won’t want to even TRY to leave the house once you see what happens to author and protagonist Paul Sheldon… It’s a story about book obsession and celebrity obsession and just plain obsession obsession. This is classic King – crazy, wild, scary as hell and all too believable even when it shouldn’t be. And if you haven’t seen the movie version, that’s worth a look too (but only after reading the book – you don’t want the movie spoiling the book!) – Kathy Bates is deliciously creepy, and James Caan is spot-on as Sheldon…
This is one of my favorite books! You know the moment in a book or movie when you ask “What is WRONG with this person!?!” Well this book takes it to a totally different level. The book takes being a number one fan to extremes. Of course if you’ve seen the movie you think you’ve got the gist, but the book is so much more…desciptive and of course so much better. The movie had to, let’s say, clean things up a bit to make it suitable for its rating.
I started reading King books probably younger than I should have since my dad, too, is a fan. I started sneaking from his collection when I ran out of my own material. Much, much younger than my mom would have liked! (Love ya, Ma) But this was always my fave. Poor author Paul crashes his car in a snow storm to be found by his number one fan who insists on nursing him back to health while he writes his next book (due to the storm they can’t get to or reach emergency services, doctors, or a hospital), dedicated to her of course, while in her care. But things aren’t always as they appear, are they? If you’re a horror fan or a King fan and haven’t read it yet, do it! You’ll love it!
I am not a huge fan of horror, but I read this way back in college and couldn’t put it down.
How Mr. King tells stories is truly incredible. Scared the ever-living crap out of me.
Better than a roller-coaster drop.
Some fan’s will go to great lengths to read another story about their favorite character. This is one tale that will keep you on edge and make you shiver.
A great Halloween read! Terrifyingly realistic, creepily believable. Annie Wilkes is one of the scariest and most unpredictable characters in fiction history, and Paul Sheldon a strong protagonist you’ll root for until the last word. A big favorite of mine to re-read this time of year.
As always Mr. King leaves you setting at the edge of your seat with his own vision of the world. One of my favorite books. I am always looking for his new work and am never disappointed with what he writes.
Just a brutal book to get through. A “What else can go wrong?” type of novel. I was exhausted when I finished it, but the payoff was pretty good.
Kings detailed story telling is rediculous. for one man to produce so many great storys with so much detail and realism is unbelievable. A true master at work in every book he writes. misery is twisted story that is 100% realistic and believable. almost seems like he’s telling what happened to him or someone he knows. To come up with so many ways to be kept captive it seems almost to real. Thats what I love about King, he draws you into stories with his realism and details.
This book gave me the willies, but I couldn’t stop turning the pages. I love it when a book gives me the willies.
One of King’s best.
Steven King at his best. A very long book but hard to put down. A great story written years ago that is now fresh during these trying times. The first third is depressing but it leads to hope and a warm but believable conclusion.
Not my favorite Stephen King, however, all King’s work is pretty much gold. Paul is a jaded author of a much loved character who is taken prisoner and held captive by his ‘number one fan’. I enjoyed the suspense and horror of this excellent novel.
One of Stephen King’s greatest characters, Annie Wilkes is a force to be reckoned with.
I always enjoy stories where the protagonist is themselves a writer (i wonder why that is…), and hoo boy, is this the one that takes the cake or what? Annie Wilkes is one of SK’s scariest antagonists because of her unpredictability. Trapped in a house with someone who is a ticking time bomb, it’s a thriller the whole ride through. Also one of my favorite SK movie adaptations because of Kathy Bates.
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Can I just say that Kathy Bates was the PERFECT choice for this role? Love this book.
Stephen King can make a character so real in your own head that you felt like you know them. And that you are in their room and reading their minds. Not every author can do that for me. There is no spooks in this book, just the horror that one person can do to another for their own twisted reasons.
This is a classic in the genre as far as I’m concerned, and one that deserves a read. Unsettling and yet you just can’t look away.
Not strictly King’s first non-supernatural novel – you could argue that CUJO lacks supernatural elements, although it’s suggested the dog is a reincarnation of someone from DEAD ZONE, and some other King novels read more like speculative science fiction than supernatural horror – but the first that works entirely as a realistic, grounded thriller. And a dazzling one at that. To make a two-character, essentially one-room story this compelling takes brilliance and inspiration. MISERY offers both on every single page. Pretty damned close to unputdownable. (When he tried to top himself with a ONE character, one-room story in GERALD’S GAME, he didn’t quite hit the target, although mediocre King is still better than ninety percent of everything else.)
Annie wants Paul to write a book that brings Misery back to life—just for her. She has a lot of ways to spur him on. One is a needle. Another is an axe. And if they don’t work, she can get really nasty.
Paul Sheldon is driving through Colorado, drinking, driving too fast and icy roads make a very dangerous combination. After driving off the side of the road, Annie Wilkes a local retired nurse finds him and realizes who he is, her favorite author of all time! She makes the decision to take him to her home and nurse him back to life herself.
As I write this, I’m kinda bored. The book seems like it could have ended around page 150 or so, but I sadly look at the page count and see that I am only 35% done. That’s a long way to go when I think the story could have been wrapped up. We shall see.
I’m now 200 pages in and things are getting good again, but I’m still not sure how this is going to get stretched to 400 pages. One thing I can be sure of at this point, is that Stephen King tries to show off his intellect by using all kinds of fancy and French words. It’s annoying and I have a much higher vocabulary than the average person. To me it just means he feels superior to the reader and this is his little jabs at you that you are inferior to him and you should look up to him.
I don’t know quite how to explain my feelings about this book. I felt the book was pretty much over around page 200 but I slogged through it all the way through. Even though it was interesting and kept me reading, I also had this nagging feeling in the back of mind of, “Why won’t this book end already?”. How can I like a book and enjoy what I’m reading but yet also want it to be over with?
Overall, it was an enjoyable read and I’m glad I read it. But it won’t be one that I re-read at some point (TBH, I almost NEVER re-read books).
Great read for a snow storm!