(it. Shining) Novel, 1977, Stephen King, 429 pp.
Jack Torrance, a former English teacher and writer in crisis, finds himself having to accept, for economic reasons, an uncomfortable work, or to the guardian winter in a hotel secluded in the mountains of Colorado. He and his family, his wife Wendy and son Danny, so he moved all'Overlook hotel for the seasonal closure. But the hotel, which should be abandoned, it is actually populated by dark presences that respond to the powers that soothed the little Danny, triggering a series of catastrophic events that will form the Torrance family in a hallucinatory nightmare.
as expressed in the effective description of Enrico Ghezzi, The Shining is a perfect mechanism. Well, almost. The narrative structure is impeccable: each chapter adds something, in a completely random order, very realistic, which brings out pieces of the past life of Torrance, especially that of Jack, the fulcrum of history along with Danny. The facets of the characters are rendered masterfully: each reading is obtained the valuable elements of the past and how it operates with the present, making it very deep all the figures in the novel - a typical feature, however, almost all books by Stephen King . In particular, the construction of the character of Jack, its slow but steady transformation into what he hates most - the shadow of his father - it is really effective. Little by little, the hatred that has hatched within him for years, and that turned into anger typical of his character emerges as the Overlook psychological attacks.
Jack Torrance is the great protagonist of this story. Around him and taking it upon him the Overlook, consists of the whole structure of the story. We live his past with him, witnessing the birth of resentment and anger, of hatred, which have deep roots. Who does not have these shadows in the heart is not influezato from evil, this is the message of The Shining and writings of Dr. King General. But in the same way in the shadows there is always a glimmer of light, and even the worst evil that can leave the light filters. So Jack save his son from a horrible end, giving up to be a puppet controlled dall'Overlook and putting an end to its essence, crushed by the force that tries to violate it. The scene where he destroys his face and says to Danny "I love you" is symbolic, and makes Jack a figure quite different from what, for example, comes in the scenes of the film by Kubrick. Jack, in the end, is a father, and remains so in spite of everything and better than anyone else - better than his own father, who did not want to ever fight evil, making it dominate lazily. Indeed this Redemption final, sudden and surprising, he adds considerable depth and meaning in the already complex and multifaceted character of Jack Torrance. Connected to
qusto argument c 'is the discovery of the typical trick of King's novels: it is not clear opposition of history to be the real enemy of the protagonists, but that the latter leads to it. Here and in other novels of the King of Bangor, which happens all the background of the characters becomes an integral part of this challenge, as a kind of ordeal due, because the past is what shaped the present and the ghosts that come from that dimension are the most die-hards. So Jack faces the nightmare of alcoholism and overwhelming figure of his father, who is at the source of all, his inner demon, which re-emerge in spinocerebellar dall'Overlook afloat. He is unable to deal with this negative and violent force that drives the soul more deeply rooted in him, and will eventually be trapped in psychological and mental health of the hotel. Even Danny relives the years when his father was in anger and alcohol - his inner demons - but manages to survive, to resist, being more sensitive and mature father in managing violence and anger, certainly this happens because of his age, the intrinsic purity of spirit of children, but also for a reason which will be further taken into examination. So
Overlook becomes nothing more than a catalyst, as each entity of the evil King's novels - the demiurge that pushes the evil that is within each of us to emerge, because it is deposited into our soul, in thin layers, accumulated over the years, little by little, and just waiting to resurface.
The path is dark like that of Jack son, who - like David against Goliath - is facing an enemy much larger and stronger. But the enemy, which is the Overlook, he decided to use his father as a tool to bring to its side. The Overlook wants the powers of Danny, and wants him to be part of the fed host of lost souls who form the body as a colony of cancer cells. The relationship with the father, often difficult due to Jack's alcoholism has always been special - just enough to cause envy of his mother, Wendy, who sometimes feels an intruder among them. This is why the struggle against Danny Jack will be extremely troubled, till the end. A good clue for this terrible conflict, is enclosed on the last page of the novel: a fishing hook from Danny, the lake with Mom and Dick, a fish takes the bait that seems to have considerable size and strength. When Danny asks for help to Halloran, they respond "well you do very well alone, little man. I do not know if it's a pink whale or a trout, but will work fine. Will be fine, believe me.. "The figure of the boy, as shown, is one that stands out more, after his father. His story is fascinating, and his personality is engaging. One can not but feel affection for this child who is forced to avoid being crushed by something much bigger than him - and the adults themselves - while trying desperately to save his father and mother themselves before and after dall'Overlook.
Danny has "the 'aura "is a special power, extrasensory perception and ability to read minds of others, especially if emotions are strong as to be received. Danny has always shown this power, since young, and, no doubt, it helped to make it more mature and aware of the rest of the normal children. Perceive the thoughts of others and know the inner soul of others, have made it mature to a point that is difficult to achieve individually. This is why Danny has the strength to fight against the overwhelming power the Overlook. It is a leitmotif of the early King's novels, that of the mental powers that raise some few who have this "inner vision" to the status of heroes, like it or not, you are confronted with forces and impulses that the rest humanity passively. Often are the pure in heart to have this power, or at least the everyday person who does not know what to do, he does not understand what purpose would have this gift, as long as this does not become, rather than a hindrance in everyday life, the key to defeating the evil, which will often be drawn from these faculties only.
Halloran, cook the Overlook, he has the aura, the "shining", and he is starting to Danny deep awareness of this power. However, Danny is special, much more than Halloran think. His psionic charge, when he tries to contact with Halloran's mind a bit 'of his strength, corresponds to un “colpo di revolver psichico”, come viene definito. Danny è speciale, così come lo è Tony, figura emblematica che vive all’interno della sua mente, come un amico immaginario ma con la peculiarità che egli non è affatto immaginario. Tony è una manifestazione del subconscio di Danny, un “altro” Danny: la sua caratteristica di alter ego si comprende fin da subito, in quanto cerca di aiutare il bambino a non fare determinati sbagli, come quello di andare all’Overlook. E’ come un meccanismo di ricezione del pericolo, che non può che fare parte di Danny: infatti, e qui chi non vuole rivelata la trama sposti lo sguardo altrove, Danny scoprirà alla fine del libro che Tony, il suo angelo custode, altri non è che una proiezione dal futuro di se stesso, che da adulto cerca di aiutare il bambino che è stato. Daniel Anthony Torrance, è questa l’unica informazione che ci viene data, ma non ci vuole molto ad associare a quell’”Anthony” il diminuitivo “Tony”. Qui King realizza un tocco di classe assoluto, che precederà di qualche decennio innumerevoli idee a venire. Di certo Danny è un bambino davvero speciale, e questo si riscontra semplicemente nel desiderio che si ha, alla fine della storia, di poterlo rivedere in un futuro, possibile sequel, se mai King si ricorderà di questo suo memorabile personaggio.
La struttura narrativa è quindi solidissima, although it is a novel one of the first King. Unfortunately, there is a certain slowness in the narrative in the second half of the book, when it is clear that Jack is going to go crazy at all and he'll threaten the family, but despite this, the author does not decide to reach climax , forcing the player to an unnecessary tedium. Apart from this minor flaw (I have to say, unfortunately, endogenous wrote almost every king) is the construction of the art - despite the other negative note, one of Kubrick, that ancient quarrels with the author, called it "not What a masterpiece "the book from which he drew his film work. The film, moreover, focuses only on certain aspects of the novel, deliberately ignoring others. It is a cinematic examination of the novel, seen as a potential scenario where all obstacles to the visual realization is deleted without hesitation - just think of the hedges of animals that come alive in the garden, which would make very little on the screen, making it trivial, at least in final part of the plot, where they move and do not give a clear, attention, the impression of moving, as is the case before.
Kubrick, then, operates a heavy cutting, which makes the film work, but sometimes it shallow, off layers of the background of Jack, demolishing the perfect construction by King. However, it is the only discordant note in the film, which is an absolute masterpiece of cinema and gender, in all its parts, and King should not complain that much - called him "a nice car without an engine, at the time.
Apart from this brief comparison due regard to the film, I must refer to a more certain that future review written specially for it.
Shining, today, can be understood in an engaging, moving, and you always want to go to find out what will happen in the next chapter. Lack the wordiness of the King today, who loves to indulge certain details almost useless, which encumbers the overall plot, and missing, Above all, the lightness of recent times, that is not sincerely regretted. Here the tension is right and the story is kind of like you would always like to be. Shining is an experience that must be lived, fully fledged, with proper attention, and should not be missed by anyone, unless you hate literature in general.
