Misery

[Whitney @ First Impressions Reviews]

Kathy Bates ruined the novel Misery. She was just too good. Her role has become so iconic that it is hard to picture anything else.

Having said that, the novel is creepy and much more gruesome than the film and to be honest, I'm a bit neutral about it. It wasn't so over the top that I was repulsed by it but wasn't exactly what I was expecting either.

One thing Stephen King managed to do, that Kathy Bates could not accomplish was that there were moments where I actually felt sorry for Annie, what occurred in her life that led her to be so fucked-up or was she doomed from the start. This lingered in my mind throughout. Although, I was reminded of how evil she was when the ax went through Paul Sheldon's bone, so one cannot say she was innocent by any means.

I will say that I skipped over the excerpts of Misery's Return that were included in the book. It felt cheap to me and I don't think Stephen King's novel would have suffered without them. Secondly, the amount of paper that was filled with Paul screaming out in pain did get a little repetitive and tedious, just move along already.

Overall, Misery is a great horror novel who's mouse hunt keeps one spellbound and is the perfect read for a cold winter's night.