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Misery
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Plot Summary of Misery
"Probably one of the greatest thrillers ever written, "Misery" captures the reader from the very beginning. I'm sure everyone has seen the movie, but the book brings you so much more. You get to read the book that Annie is forcing Paul to write, "Misery's Return" throughout. The book within a book concept is brilliant! Up until the explosive ending, you find yourself cheering for Paul and fearing Annie. If you haven't read this one yet, you need to. "
Anthony, Resident Scholar

"An author by the name of Paul Sheldon ends up having a terrible car accident on the highway. He awakes to find himself in a bed that is not his own, nor a hospital bed. Instead, an ex-nurse named Annie Wilkes is standing over him, telling him she is his number one fan.
But he later finds out it isn't fortunate to have been found by her. Enraged that Paul killed his main character in his series "Misery", she insists that he write a book, just for her, of the character coming back alive.
But while struggling to write the book, he finds out more about Annie and why she is no longer a nurse as she physically keeps him from leaving the house in a torturing way.
"

Mariann Lilly, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of Misery
Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 50%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 20%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 10%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20%




Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
Time/era of story: - 1980's-1999
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Crime Thriller Yes
Crime plotlets: - escape/rescue from kidnappers
General Crime (including known murderer) Yes
Who's the criminal enemy here? - crazed boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - writer
Age: - 40's-50's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
How much violence does he/she use? - a little - just the right amount
Ethnicity/Race - White/American
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings - hard edged
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - average physique - missing body parts/abilities

Main Adversary
Identity: - Female
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status: - unemployed - criminal
Eccentric: Yes - obsessed - wild - mentally ill - emotionally unstable
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a substantial amount - a lot
Motive of antagonist - insanity
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged - mean, arrogant
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - bulging muscles - quite fatty

Setting
United States Yes
The US: - Northeast
Farm/Ranch? Yes
Farm/Ranch: - farm

Style
Person - mostly 1st - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - very gorey references to torture
How many deaths? - 0 (not a murder mystery) - 1
Unusual forms of death - flamed - impaled
Unusual form of death? Yes
Amount of dialog - mostly dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
Most similar books to Misery
Endless River by Elizabeth Fackler
Shadows at Garner Lake by Hank Kellner
Fade to Clear by Leonard Chang
Where The Road Ends by Tara Taylor Quinn
Shadows of the Past by Sherry Moore


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Stephen King Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:
  
Mellie  

SCHOLARS:
William Henning  Yosef Shapiro  Tom Fletcher  Mariann Lilly  David Fletcher  Janet Johnson  Gary Pullman  Stephen Bailey  David Rhodes  


Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).
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