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Misery

Average rating: 4/5

Based on 14 ratings

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Misery

by Stephen King
Read by: Lindsay Crouse

January 26, 1995 | Other Format

Thrown from the wreckage of his ''74 Camaro, Paul Sheldon, author of a bestselling series of historical romances, wakes up one day in a secluded Colorado farmhouse owned by Annie Wilkes, a psychotic ex-nurse who claims she is his number one fan. Immobilized from the pain of two shattered legs and a crushed knee, Sheldon is at Annie''s mercy. Unfortunately for Sheldon, Annie is mad; mad that he killed off her favorite character, Misery Chastain, in his latest book; mad that he wants to escape; and of course, mad in the most extreme clinical sense of the word. To set the world straight, Annie buys Sheldon a typewriter and some paper, drugs him, locks him in a room, and forces him to bring Misery back to life in a novel dedicated to her. Fear of physical torture is Sheldon''s greatest motivation. One wrong sentence and she is likely to smash his legs with a sledgehammer, cut his thumbs off with a hacksaw, or much, much worse. But writers have weapons too...
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Reviews

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    Rating: 3/5

    Pretty Good

    Bailey Crawly

    2 months ago

    The novel is quite slow to start up but when it does it gets quite good. The concept of an author being in a bad car wreckage and geting picked up by a psyco named Annie Wilkes who claims to be his "number-one fan" gets old after about 200 pages, though. I really enjoyed the story and the near-constant cover of suspense but I extremely disliked how the story dragged on forever. I found it difficult to finish this story to the end. Otherwise, it's a genious idea written by a genious author that never runs out of ideas. I would still recomend you buy this book, however... you won't be disappointed! It's an amazing book AND an awesome movie!

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    Rating: 2/5

    Surprising

    Gemmy

    11 months ago

    When I say "surprising" mostly I mean that as in surprisingly hard to get into. This was my first King novel, and I suppose I was expecting it to draw me in much more easily. However, as I progressed through the novel I discovered why this author is so beloved. King writes intelligently and really does know how to scare a person. I found myself thanking my lucky stars that Annie is only a fictional character, 'cause she's absolutely nuts.

    Overall, it wasn't as fantastic as I was expecting, but it wasn't awful either. I still intend to check out King's other work. Misery was just an...interesting start.

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    Josehf Murchison

    Rating: 5/5

    Good Book

    Josehf Murchison

    2 years ago

    I read the book before I watched the movie. Josehf Lloyd Murchison Author of “Tails of a Gay Incubus” sold at chapters.

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    nicholas lombardi

    Rating: 5/5

    Misery A Pleasure To Read

    nicholas lombardi

    12 years ago

    One of King's very best, and do I dare use the word 'masterpiece'? I think so, because this terror does not deal with demons or vampires or the devil. It is much more psychological based fear. The real horror comes from the fact that a crippled man lays helpless on the bed of a strong, healthy, mentally able, and quite deranged woman. She (Annie Wilkes) is his 'Number 1 Fan'. He is Paul Sheldon, an author who gets into a serious car accident in the country and almost dies. But Annie is there to rescue him, and King established in the first twenty pages that she is not all smiles and sunshine. Is in fact, quite dangerous, and there isn't a thing Paul can do, because he is injured and helpless, and her house is in the middle of the country, nice and remote. She has the power to let him live or die, and she can kill him whenever she wants. This, plus the fact that Annie is crazy and very well COULD kill him is where the terror lies in this book. This is a duel between the injured and the healthy, a battle of wits, that of which the advantage is not in the favour of the good guy.One of Kings greatest, 'Misery' is about the price of fame, and that sometimes the rescue can be far more excrutiating than the accident itself.

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Details

From the Publisher

Thrown from the wreckage of his ''74 Camaro, Paul Sheldon, author of a bestselling series of historical romances, wakes up one day in a secluded Colorado farmhouse owned by Annie Wilkes, a psychotic ex-nurse who claims she is his number one fan. Immobilized from the pain of two shattered legs and a crushed knee, Sheldon is at Annie''s mercy. Unfortunately for Sheldon, Annie is mad; mad that he killed off her favorite character, Misery Chastain, in his latest book; mad that he wants to escape; and of course, mad in the most extreme clinical sense of the word. To set the world straight, Annie buys Sheldon a typewriter and some paper, drugs him, locks him in a room, and forces him to bring Misery back to life in a novel dedicated to her. Fear of physical torture is Sheldon''s greatest motivation. One wrong sentence and she is likely to smash his legs with a sledgehammer, cut his thumbs off with a hacksaw, or much, much worse. But writers have weapons too...

About the Author

Stephen King is the author of numerous novels such as "Carrie," "The Shining," "Christine," "The Green Mile," and most recently, "Lisey''s Story". He is also the author of "On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft." In addition to receiving The National Book Foundation Medal of Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, King was also awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Book Awards in 2003. Stephen King lives in Bangor and Center Lovell, ME and Sarasota, FL.

Crouse was born in Radcliffe, the daughter of Anna (née Erskine) and Russel Crouse, a playwright. Her full name-Lindsay Ann Crouse-is an intentional tribute to the Broadway writing partnership of Lindsay and Crouse. Her father, playwright Russel Crouse, and his writing partner, Howard Lindsay, wrote much of The Sound of Music. Their 1946 play State of the Union won that year''s Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Their last collaboration was Mr. President in 1962. "In our family, the work ethic was held up as some kind of byword," Crouse says. "At any hour, somebody''s typewriter was going."

Other Format

1 Pages, 4.5 x 7.12 x 3 in

January 26, 1995


0453009271
9780453009270

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From the Critics

King''s new novel, about a writer held hostage by his self-proclaimed "number-one fan," is unadulteratedly terrifying. Paul Sheldon, a writer of historical romances, is in a car accident; rescued by nurse Annie Wilkes, he slowly realizes that salvation can be worse than death. Sheldon has killed off Misery Chastain, the popular protagonist of his Misery series and Annie, who has a murderous past, wants her back. Keeping the paralyzed Sheldon prisoner, she forces him to revive the character in a continuation of the series, and she reads each page as it comes out of the typewriter; there is a joyously Dickensian novel within a novel here, and it appears in faded typescript. Studded among the frightening moments are sparkling reflections on the writer and his audience, on the difficulties, joys and responsibilities of being a storyteller, on the nature of the muse, on the differences between "serious" and "popular" writing. Sheldon is a revealingly autobiographical figure; Annie is not merely a monster but is subtly and often touchingly portrayed, allowing hostage and keeper a believable, if twisted, relationship. The best parts of this novel demand that we take King seriously as a writer with a deeply felt understanding of human psychology. One million first printing; $400,000 ad/promo; BOMC main selection. 

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