Misery by Stephen King

As I mentioned in my review of Finders Keepers, I knew Stephen King had written about an obsessed literature fan before, but I had only seen the movie version of Misery, and had not read the book. It was also referred to in William Goldman's introduction to The Princess Bride, because while Goldman wrote the screenplay, he got to know King as a colleague. Not to mention there's now a Broadway version of the story. So it felt like a good time to finally read this nearly-three-decade-old novel.

At the same time as being a thrilling story, Misery is just as much a look inside the mind of a writer as King's non-fiction guide On Writing. Protagonist Paul Sheldon is the author of the popular Victorian-set books about a woman named Misery, and in the most recent one she has died during childbirth. This does not sit well with Annie Wilkes, who has coincidentally found Paul near her house after a car accident and put him up in her home. As a former nurse, she has all the painkillers he could need, and forces him to start a new book that brings Misery back to life, appropriately titled Misery's Return.

All of Misery is told from Paul's point of view, and we can nearly feel the pain of his crushed legs and his rage and fear towards his captor. Near the middle of the book, we get to see the progress that Paul has made on Misery's Return, complete with the n's tediously filled in by hand to compensate for the broken key on the typewriter Annie provides. I think this device adds to the verisimilitude of the story, since you can see how Paul's typed words deteriorate along with the typewriter (it soon loses its "t" and "e" keys) and his situation at the mercy of Annie. Cut off from the outside world and with seemingly no chance of getting out of the guest bedroom, his writing is the only way he can "escape".

I can tell why this story has endured, and been adapted as multiple forms of media over the years. It's filled with suspense as Annie reveals further layers of her insanity and Paul gets more desperate to find his way out of the house. And although Stephen King has written many stories starring authors, his examination of what drives one to create and sustain fictional worlds (even when not under duress) remains a fascinating and enduring subject.