The Shining. (Signed with JSA Authenticated signature)

Stephen King

ISBN 10: 0385121679 / ISBN 13: 9780385121675

Published by Doubleday, 1977

About this Item

Doubleday, Garden City N.Y. 1977. Hardcover. First Edition. Book condition: Very good/Near fine. Dust jacket condition: VG/NF. Stated First Edition. Signed by Stephen King on the title page. Just Stephen King's signature, nothing else. Meets all First Edition points. Printers code R49 in gutter of page 447. Original first issue dust jacket has intact price of $8.95. Binding is tight. Clean front panel, back panel has small dents to corner. Black cloth binding is clean with bright gold lettering. Page edges and text block are clean with no tanning or foxing. Minor rippling to top and bottom of spine and dust jacket. An outstanding copy of this classic - and fragile - book. Signed in person by Stephen King at Pen/Faulkner lecture event, Washington D.C., Folger Shakespeare Library on Friday, April 4, 2008, an event which included a book signing by Stephen King. This book comes with the event booklet "Pen Faulkner Presents Three Kings: Stephen, Tabitha and Owen King" and the event ticket stub. This book has signature authentication by JSA Agency and includes that documentation. Questions are welcome. This book is only available for sale to customers in the United States. This book is available to be shipped to addresses in the United States only. Seller Inventory # wisk100

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Shining. (Signed with JSA Authenticated ...

Publisher: Doubleday

Publication Date: 1977

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Very Good

Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good

Signed: Signed by Author(s)

Edition: 1st Edition

About this title

Synopsis:

Before Doctor Sleep, there was The Shining, a classic of modern American horror from the undisputed master, Stephen King.

Jack Torrance's new job at the Overlook Hotel is the perfect chance for a fresh start. As the off-season caretaker at the atmospheric old hotel, he'll have plenty of time to spend reconnecting with his family and working on his writing. But as the harsh winter weather sets in, the idyllic location feels ever more remote . . . and more sinister. And the only one to notice the strange and terrible forces gathering around the Overlook is Danny Torrance, a uniquely gifted five-year-old.

Review:

Ghostly bursts of plaster dust. A low, rhythmic sound in the background: Red rum-RED RUM-red rum-RED RUM. A sense of something evil swirling inward on itself, like a whirlpool of black ectoplasmic energy. The experience of being inside the actual consciousness ("come out and take your medicine!") of a frightened little boy. Echoes of Shirley Jackson ("whatever walked there, walked alone"), of Poe's Masque of the Red Death and of creepy folk tales (Hansel and Gretel).

How do we love The Shining? Let us count the ways. In 1977, The Shining was the first widely read novel to confront alcoholism and child abuse in baby-boomer families--especially the way alcoholism, a will toward failure in one's work, and abusing one's kids are passed down from generation to generation. The heart of the book is not an evil hotel but a pair of father-son relationships: Jack and his father, Jack and his son. This was both daring and insightful for its time, long before "dysfunctional family" was a cliché.

The Shining was written in a frenzy. Stephen King imagined the whole novel in his head while sitting up all night in the dark, in the very Colorado hotel where the story takes place. He then transcribed it (that's how he puts it) in a burst of sustained energy. He could pull that off because, even at that early point in his career, King had figured out a successful way of structuring a popular novel. The speed of its composition gives the writing a powerful flow that sweeps you along past the awkward wording.

The Shining is one of those rare novels that can burn its images--such as Room 217--into your brain. Time alone will tell, but The Shining may well turn out to be one of the best horror novels ever written. By the way, you know that film starring Jack Nicholson? Stephen King says, "I have my days when I think I gave Kubrick a live grenade on which he heroically threw his body." --Fiona Webster