Stephen King – Misery (1987)

Stephen King – Misery (1987)

The horrible story of Paul Sheldon… a long time before we discovered Sheldon from “Big Bang Theory”! I can’t help but give this nod, given that the name was so popularised by this geeky, asocial but hilarious character.

Here’s what happens in the book:
“Caught in a terrible snowstorm on his way back to New York, famous writer Paul Sheldon crashes his car into a ravine. Seriously injured, he is saved by a strange nurse, Annie Wilkes, who takes him back to his isolated house. She is a fan of Misery, the heroine of Paul Sheldon’s novels, with whom she has totally identified. She discovers the writer’s new manuscript… and the horror begins for him. His only chance of survival: to write, write, write, for the monstrous, insatiable Annie…”

I usually try to read a book before seeing the film. I tried to do the same with Green Line. It’s rare not to be disappointed by a film. The first that regularly springs to mind is Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. I loved the book and I loved the film with John Malkovich & Gary Sinise directed by the excellent Sinise himself!

Rob Reiner has adapted Misery (1990) for the big screen.
Yes, Rob Reiner had already adapted Stand by Me (1986) by the same author, and that was also a master stroke. Rob Reiner made a fabulous film with a fantastic cast (Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore, Kiefer Sutherland, Kevin Bacon and Kevin Pollak) entitled A Few Good Men / Des hommes d’honneur (1992). Rob Reiner, who made The Princess Bride (1987), which has undoubtedly become a cult film. And finally Rob Reiner who made the masterpiece The Bucket List / Sans plus attendre (2007) with The Bucket List (2007), but also This Is Spinal Tap (1984) in which he played a big role.

The film Misery is wonderful and very faithful. Kathy Bates and James Caan are a terrific duo in this terrifying and deadly face-off.

Misery is the only book to date that has paralysed me and made me sweat with fear. Without monsters or ghosts, Stephen King, at the height of his powers, traps us here in the most terrifying closed-door setting imaginable. In fact, I can still remember the scene: the main character is in a wheelchair, heading for every locked door. And all the while, danger lurks and retraces its steps…

Firestarter, on the other hand, is the only book that made me cry like crazy. I had to put the book down for a while before I could pick it up again and finish it.

The story starts fast and strong. Horror and terror are present throughout.
Stephen King has done something that, on its own, deserves the status of a masterpiece: while the writer, the hero of the book, keeps writing, some of the letters on his typewriter wear out. As a result, the author has to write some of the letters by hand. And reading these lines, you really get the impression that the author has taken the time and trouble to write these letters by hand. I still can’t believe it when I think back on it.

It’s always interesting to see the differences between book and film. A body part can be broken in a film, whereas it’s cut off in the book. A young character may cry in the film (as in the Green Line), whereas in the book it’s the older character who sheds tears. Different points of view are always interesting.

No, I have nothing to add!
I think you can easily feel my love for this book, for the film and for this story in general. It’s not a happy love that I could talk about every day, or even dive into too often, but it’s a love of admiration for so much talent and imagination coupled with real knowledge and narrative power. And no literature teacher today could deny that!

This book also encouraged me to write, to write a lot. Write to release my pain, write to forget the pain, write for those who don’t, write to pass on important messages and share them with others… or simply to free myself of an immense weight.