Misery

One of the true classics of psychological suspense, about a writer and his No. 1 fan, now with a stunning new cover look.Paul Sheldon used to write for a living. Now he's writing to stay alive. Misery Chastain is dead. Paul Sheldon has just killed her - with relief, with joy. Misery made him rich; she was the heroine of a string of bestsellers. And now he wants to get on to some real writing. That's when the car accident happens, and he wakes up splinted and in pain, in the remote mountain home of his rescuer, Annie Wilkes. The good news is that Annie was a nurse and has pain-killing drugs. The bad news is that she has long been Paul's Number One Fan. And when she finds out what Paul has done to Misery, she doesn't like it. She doesn't like it at all . . .

This terrifying story of imprisonment by a demented fan is one of the greatest thrillers ever written, Not since Dickens has a writer had so many readers by the throat, King's new novel, about a writer held hostage by his self-proclaimed "number-one fan,'' is unadulteratedly terrifying. Paul Sheldon, a writer of historical romances, is in a car accident; rescued by nurse Annie Wilkes, he slowly realizes that salvation can be worse than death. Sheldon has killed off Misery Chastain, the popular protagonist of his Misery series and Annie, who has a murderous past, wants her back. Keeping the paralyzed Sheldon prisoner, she forces him to revive the character in a continuation of the series, and she reads each page as it comes out of the typewriter; there is a joyously Dickensian novel within a novel here, and it appears in faded typescript. Studded among the frightening moments are sparkling reflections on the writer and his audience, on the difficulties, joys and responsibilities of being a storyteller, on the nature of the muse, on the differences between "serious'' and "popular'' writing. Sheldon is a revealingly autobiographical figure; Annie is not merely a monster but is subtly and often touchingly portrayed, allowing hostage and keeper a believable, if twisted, relationship. The best parts of this novel demand that we take King seriously as a writer with a deeply felt understanding of human psychology., One of the greatest thrillers ever written, It's being on this familiar territory that makes his fictions so addictive. It's so good you just want more

STEPHEN KING is the author of more than seventy books, all worldwide bestsellers. His recent titles include Billy Summers, described in The Sunday Times as 'A dazzlingly shapeshifting novel . . . equally good at action scenes and in-depth psychology', The Institute, which was described by the Sunday Express as a 'masterpiece', The Outsider (voted winner of the Goodreads Choice Award for best Mystery and Thriller 2018), and If It Bleeds.Many of his titles have been turned into celebrated films, TV series and streamed events including IT, Misery, The Shawshank Redemption and Stand By Me.King was the recipient of America's prestigious 2014 National Medal of Arts and the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. In 2007 he also won the Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America. He lives with his wife Tabitha King in Maine.

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