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Misery

Thrilling suspense from the No. 1 bestseller

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Misery

By: Stephen King
Narrated by: Lindsay Crouse
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About this listen

 Misery Chastain was dead. Paul Sheldon had just killed her - with relief, with joy. Misery had made him rich; she was the heroine of a string of bestsellers. And now he wanted to get on to some real writing.

That's when the car accident happened, and he woke up in pain in a strange bed. But it wasn't the hospital. Annie Wilkes had pulled him from the wreck, brought him to her remote mountain home, splinted and set his mangled legs.

The good news was that Annie was a nurse and has pain-killing drugs. The bad news was that she was Paul's Number One Fan. And when she found out what Paul had done to Misery, she didn't like it. She didn't like it at all. And now he had to bring Misery back to life. Or else . . .

(P)1992 Penguin Highbridge Audio©1986 Stephen King Contemporary Fiction Genre Fiction Fiction Scary

Critic Reviews

This terrifying story of imprisonment by a demented fan is one of the greatest thrillers ever written (James Smythe)
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
A writer of excellence
King at his best . . . a winner
All stars
Most relevant
This book should be high on the list for KING fans as it came out later it is a reflection of the authors own struggles. The story is interesting and excellently constructed. Crouse’s performance is solid.

One of the best writers of our time

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One of Stephen King's best.
The story grabs you by the throat and wrestles you to the ground and doesn't let you up for air until the last sentence.
Near the end of the book I found myself pausing the audio for a while so I wouldn't finish too quickly. I didn't want it to end.
I read the paperback of this story when it came out back in the late 80's and to my great pleasure I was just as frightened for Paul Shelton now as I was back then.
The narrator does a fantastic job of telling the story and has the ability, at least with me, to completely immerse me in the story.
Make sure you listen to this book before anything else.

A true masterpiece of writing.

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My only con was to do with some of the music cues, which were a bit confusing occasionally. However, I think this is a consequence of translating Stephen King's narration style to audio form, where spoken dialogue and inner monologue frequently interrupt and overlap each other. This might have been better shown with two narrators, but even so, I think Lindsay Crouse did an excellent job giving each character a distinct voice.

The story itself is tense, terrifying and yet still lulls you into a kind of Stockholm syndrome (I know the term is a terrible misnomer). I highly recommend it.

Excellent book

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Different than the film, in more depth of certain aspects. Performance was average mostly.

Different than expected

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Great story and the narrator was fantastic! In so many instances I swear that I could hear Kathy Bates in her voice.

Amazing

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