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What better horror story for a group of writers than that of Paul Sheldon’s, a romance writer held captive by his number one fan?<\/p>\n
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Misery<\/em> came to me as my first Stephen King novel right at the beginning of high school. It’s one of his leaner novels, at a mere 320 pages instead of the bloating monstrosities of IT<\/em><\/a> (a whopping 1,138 pages) and other future King novels. Newcomers to the horror genre may be more comfortable here, as opposed to another one of King’s behemoths. Having read nearly all of King’s works, from his non-fiction, his horror, and the occasional epic fantasy, Misery<\/em> is one I made a conscious effort to return to.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n King has the uncanny ability to turn life experience into horror, and wrote Misery in response to an angry fanbase upset over The Eyes of the Dragon<\/em><\/a>, an epic fantasy story. His attempt to publish in another genre, and the consequent backlash, inspired this novel.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Paul Sheldon is a romance writer who recently killed off his main character Misery, the heroine of a series of romance novels set in the 19th century in the series’ final book, and is awaiting its release. Gleeful that he has killed off a character he has come to hate, Paul becomes intoxicated and drives to Los Angeles during a blizzard in Colorado, and crashes (a foreboding foreshadowing to King’s car accident in 1999<\/a>).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Paul awakes to find a mysterious woman has pulled him out of the crash and put him the guest room of her home, located in a remote farmhouse, and suffering from broken legs and other injuries. She introduces herself as Annie Wilkes, his number one fan and a former nurse who can’t wait for the next Misery book to arrive at her local bookstore. Drugged and in pain, Paul blearily wonders why he is not in the hospital, but realizes that he cannot move or do anything without Annie.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Annie asks Paul if she can read his new manuscript Fast Cars<\/em>, which Paul had with him in the car and his only copy. Without a way to call for help or move Paul allows her to read it. Although upset and the violence and profanity in Paul’s new book, she understands that it’s not like Paul’s Misery books. Anyway, she’s excited for the next Misery book, and goes off to grab it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n All goes well until she discovers Misery has died in childbirth at the novel’s end.<\/p>\n <\/p>\nThe Story<\/h2>\n