Misery (novel)
| Misery | |
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 First edition cover |
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| Author(s) | Stephen King |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Horror novel |
| Publisher | Viking |
| Publication date | June 8, 1987 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Pages | 320 |
| ISBN | 978-0670813643 |
| Preceded by | The Eyes of the Dragon |
| Followed by | The Tommyknockers |
Misery (1987) is a psychological horror novel by Stephen King. The novel was nominated for the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel in 1988,[1] and was later made into a Hollywood film and an off-Broadway play of the same name.
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
Paul Sheldon, the author of a best-selling series of Victorian-era romance novels surrounding the heroine character Misery Chastain, has just finished the manuscript of his new crime novel, Fast Cars, while staying at the Silver Creek Lodge in western Colorado; since 1974, he has completed the first draft of every one of his novels in the same hotel room. With his latest project finished, he has an alcohol-induced impulse to drive to Los Angeles rather than back home to New York City. However, a snowstorm hits while he is driving through the mountains. Sheldon drives off a cliff and crashes upside down into a snowbank.
Paul is rescued from the car wreck by Annie Wilkes, a former nurse who lives in nearby Sidewinder. She takes him to her own home rather than a hospital, putting him in the guest bedroom. Using her nursing skills and stockpiled food and medical supplies, including an illicit stash of codeine-based painkillers, Annie slowly nurses Paul back to health. She proclaims herself as Paul's "number one fan," being an avid reader of the Misery Chastain series. However, when she reads the manuscript for Fast Cars, Annie argues with Paul on its violent content and profanity, causing her to spill his soup. Saying that the accident was "his" fault, she punishes him by withholding his medication, then forcing him to wash it down with soap water. Paul, who has done extensive research into mental disorders, suspects that Annie is dangerously disturbed.
When Sheldon's latest novel, Misery's Child, hits the shelves, Annie buys her reserved copy. She doesn't know, however, that Paul has killed her off at the end, intending to end the Misery series and re-establish himself as a mainstream writer. Upon learning of the main character's demise, Annie rages at Paul before leaving him alone in her house for over two days lest she do something "unwise". During this time, Paul suffers from extreme pain and withdrawal from the painkillers; by the time Annie returns, he is close to death. Annie forces him to burn the Fast Cars manuscript - the book he hoped would launch his post-Misery career - and presents him with an antique Royal typewriter, for the purpose of writing a new Misery Chastain novel, one that will bring the character back from the dead.
Paul bides his time and writes the book as Annie wants, believing she fully capable of killing him. He manages to escape his room while Annie is on an errand, touring the house in search of more painkillers. He is almost caught by Annie, but manages to return to his room before she enters the house. On another occasion when Annie is absent, Paul escapes his room again and steals a knife from her kitchen, intending to kill her. On the way back to his room, he finds a scrapbook full of newspaper clippings from Annie's life, suggesting that she is a serial killer who murdered her own father, her college roommate, and numerous patients in several states--39 people in all. She was arrested and charged with killing several babies at a Boulder, Colorado hospital, but was acquitted. He also finds a magazine clipping about his status as a missing person.
Annie eventually reveals that she knows about Paul's excursions from his room, and punishes him by cutting off his foot with an axe, cauterizing the wound with a blowtorch. Later, when Paul complains about a missing letter on the typewriter, she punishes him by slicing off his thumb with an electric knife. A Colorado state trooper eventually arrives at Annie’s house in search of Paul. Realizing a chance for escape, Paul alerts the officer by throwing an ashtray through the window. However, Annie surprises the trooper, stabs him repeatedly with a sharpened wooden cross, then finally rides over him with her lawnmower. She temporarily hides Paul in the basement while she departs, meaning to dispose of the trooper's body and his police cruiser.
Paul finally finishes the book, Misery's Return. As a celebration, he asks Annie for a cigarette and a match, as per his normal practice after finishing a novel. He uses the match to seemingly light his manuscript on fire in front of her. When Annie to frantically tries to put out the flames, Paul throws the typewriter at her. The two engage in a violent stuggle, with Paul stuffing Annie's mouth full of the burning pages. Annie gets him down and runs to find a weapon, but trips on the typewriter, causing her to crack her skull on the mantelpiece. Mortally wounded, Annie exits the house through a window while Paul loses consciousness; he later learns that she went to her barn to retrieve a chainsaw, but succumbed to her head injuries. Two police officers find Paul and take him to a hospital.
Returning home to New York, Paul submits Misery's Return to his publisher; it is revealed that he burned a decoy of the manuscript instead of the book itself. Paul's publisher tells him that the book will become his greatest bestseller. However, the ordeal is far from over for Paul: he suffers nightmares about Annie, and continues to have withdrawals from painkillers. He has also become an alcoholic with writer's block. Eventually, after a random encounter with a child in the street, he has the same spark that inspired him to write Fast Cars. He begins typing about this boy and the skunk he had with him in a shopping cart.
[edit] Background
In the introduction to The Bachman Books, King relates how Misery was supposed to be another novel published under his pseudonym Richard Bachman. King was revealed to be Bachman before the book was published. King theorized that the book would have been a breakout hit for Bachman and might have made him a household name.[citation needed]
King has recently stated that Paul's addiction to Novril, and his dependency on Annie to supply it, was a metaphor for his substance abuse at the time and how he was unable to clean himself up before his family intervened. This was a theme he had also explored in The Shining, which he had been disappointed not to see in its subsequent film adaptation.
[edit] Connections to King's other works
- Annie speaks of the ruins of the Overlook Hotel and the fate of Jack Torrance, both from The Shining.
- King's novella "The Library Policeman", published in Four Past Midnight, references a character renting Paul Sheldon's novels from the local library.
[edit] Adaptations
A 1990 American film, was adapted from the novel, directed by Rob Reiner.
James Caan and Kathy Bates star as Paul and Annie, with Lauren Bacall, Richard Farnsworth and Frances Sternhagen as the only major supporting actors. The film was a critical and commercial success, making US$61,276,872 domestically on a $20,000,000 budget. Kathy Bates won the 1990 Best Actress Oscar for her performance.
Additionally, Epik High, a South Korean band, featured a music video based on Misery called, "Fan". The video consisted of a star who is kidnapped by a psychotic fan who chains him to a bed in a room while she builds a rocket to send him to the stars.
The novel was also adapted into a moderately successful Off Broadway play. The play was revived to critical acclaim in 2005 at the Kings Head Theatre in London, starring Michael Praed and Susan Penhaligon. The play also opened in Athens in 2007, starring Nikos Psarras in an after-midnight theatre production. It was a huge success and ran for two years. In 2012 the play was produced in a new production in Dubai UAE starring Darren Day and Yvonne O'Grady.
One episode of the sitcom Family Guy featured Peter retelling some stories of Stephen King. When retelling the story of Misery, Brian plays Paul and Stewie plays Stewie Wilkes. In addition, Joe plays the Colorado state trooper.
[edit] References
- ^ "1988 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=1988. Retrieved 2009-07-24.
[edit] External links
- Misery at the Internet Movie Database
- Official Website for the play
- Misery at Worlds Without End.
