Misery Review!

10th Book Club Review, Anjel on Stephen King and Isabella on entertainment + mini Q&A

The plot of Misery is that author, Paul Sheldon, is found in a car accident by his biggest fan, Annie Wilkes. We quickly learn that not all is what is seems to be. Anjel enjoyed Misery because “of how the circumstances became worse as Paul Sheldon remained hostage yet he continued finding different ways to keep hope.” Similarly, Isabella enjoyed it because “watching someone find the balance between independence, hope and emotional stability against someone who is volatile, obsessive and violent was thrilling and intense.”

Anjel on Stephen King and Misery

The author’s influence of Misery takes place in the subject of addiction. While slightly similar in description to the theme of dependency, what differentiates  the subject of addiction is through its conceptualization outside of the book. In the Rolling Stone’s 2014 Stephen King interview, he says that Misery was one of the few stories written after his achievement of sobriety. King further details that Annie Wilkes is a literary replacement for cocaine, for the two sharing similarities as concepts. Cocaine, as Stephen King details, is his biggest fan and has made letting go of him difficult. Annie Wilkes’ characterization as a committed figure in the book shows similarities to King’s perception of his history of substance dependency. King detailing cocaine as “his biggest fan” is in strong similarity to Annie Wilkes calling herself Paul Sheldon’s biggest fan throughout the book. The influence of addiction is what contributed to the inception of this story, as King successfully details the full scope of his psychological substance dependence as an allegory of Paul Sheldon’s captivity of the “goddess” Annie Wilkes.

Misery’s themes exist both in the content of the book and in the subtext. Survival is a direct theme observed in all parts of the book, as protagonist Paul Sheldon navigates through different styles of coping and rationale in order to survive the experiences he endures under antagonist Annie Wilke’s captivity. Dependency is another direct one, detailed more through Annie’s unhealthy fixation on the “Misery” series Paul has published. Similarly, dependency can be seen as a theme through Paul Sheldon’s suffering of substance addiction. In captivity, Annie Wilkes provides Paul Novril to help him cope with the pain from his sustained leg injuries. Paul details development of a tolerance to Novril both in and out of captivity, describing the peace he feels when taking the painkiller.

Isabella on reading Misery

About a year ago, my friends and I watched the movie, Misery. I do not remember much from it. I don’t really know why that is but it meant that I was reading the book with a clean slate. All that was really in my head was Kathy Bates as Annie Wilkes, James Caan as Paul Sheldon and the house. After reading Misery, I am both nervous about the movie holding up and how every other Stephen King novel will feel. I knew that Misery was going to be a wild ride. I did not expect it to be absolutely thrilling. I found myself laughing, gasping and thinking about Annie when I wasn’t even reading anymore. It was an entertaining book beyond my belief.

My standard to whether or not something is good is based on two things: how entertaining it is and how technically correct it is. Sometimes pieces of media are absolutely entertaining while being horribly written, have terrible acting, bad plots and more. Sometimes pieces of media have great writing, great acting, and full-proof plots while being boring. Going into reading Misery, I wasn’t really worried about Stephen King’s writing skills. C’mon, it’s Stephen King. At most, I was worried about the rambling he’s known for but that was quickly set aside. I was kind of worried about how much I would enjoy reading it. Sometimes good books are slogs! Sometimes good books are only good when you’re in conversation with them or have finished them and are reflecting. I was surprised when I found Misery to be good and fun.

Call me demented but Annie Wilkes is a hoot. I have problems with Paul Sheldon but he is enticing to read about since he’s constantly drugged up and desperate. I know that I’m always rooting for Paul but I find myself laughing at and feeling bad for Annie often. In that way, I’m not better than Paul who often found himself feeling guilty for deceiving her. That entire dilemma is also enticing. Throughout the entire book, we watch Annie go through mood swings, a great decline and watch Paul go through worse physical torment but gain mental toughness.  At risk of sounding like a total Stephen King stan, I feel like this entire book is enticing and thrilling. That’s all I can say about it. 

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Would you recommend Misery? 

Anjel - Absolutely. 

Isabella - Of course.

Are you going to read another Stephen King? 

Anjel - Yes. 

Isabella - Definitely.

What was your favorite part about Misery? 

Anjel - Annie Wilkes and her competing love between Paul and Pepsi.

Isabella - Finding out that Misery was tied to a tree, naked, surrounded by bees.

What is a lesson you’re going to take away from Annie or Paul?

Anjel - From Paul, don’t drink and drive.

Isabella - From Annie, never meet your heroes.