Misery by Stephen King
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Stephen King undoubtedly has one of the best resumes of any author, with works like The Shining, Carrie, and The Shawshank Redemption standing out as his best works. However, recently I came across one of his vastly underrated books, Misery. It tells the story of an author, Paul Sheldon, and one of his extremely devoted fans, Annie Wilkes, who saves him from a car crash. Slowly, Annie’s intentions seem less like those of a concerned fan who nursed him back to health out of the goodness of her heart, and more like an obsessive, temperamental monster who would rather break her toys than share them. Annie’s behavior masterfully escalates, and the reader is left in horror of what she will do next, or if Paul can make it out of her house alive. The book is a masterclass in suspense, with the scenes that shine being the moments where Paul sneaks around the house, doing his best not to make any noise. The entire time, the reader is on the edge of their seat, just waiting for Annie to jump out from behind a corner and for Paul’s luck to run out.
Misery masterfully keeps the reader in suspense for most of the story, and Annie’s cruel behavior results in one of the most vindicating endings of any novel I’ve read. My only true problem with the book is it sometimes becomes a story within a story, with Paul’s novel that he’s being forced to write taking up chapters. I found this story much less compelling than the one that took place in the prison of Annie’s house. These chapters, while a nice break from the tension in the house, sometimes broke my engagement with the book, especially when they went on for an exceedingly long time. However, Stephen King makes these chapters occasionally worth it with the small textual details that remind us of the reality this book is being written in. As Paul’s typewriter slowly loses letters, the chapters of the book are left with more and more spaces, reminding us of how much time has passed.
Annie Wilkes is one of the most terrifying villains in literature, with her mood swings and violent nature keeping me glued to my seat. As the reader, we spend all our time with Paul, and feel his helplessness in moments where Annie gets mad, as he is unable to do anything about it. Oftentimes gory and uncouth, the book does a brilliant job of showing us how indomitable Annie is, and the miracle it would take for Paul to make it out. The characters are what make this book shine, and it’s no wonder Kathy Bates won an Oscar for her portrayal of Annie in the movie. Misery might be my favorite Stephen King novel, as no work of his has left me so nervous for the fate of the protagonist, or so joyous at the fall of the villain.

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