A disturbing depiction of mental illness, Stephen King’s Misery (1987) is a novel about obsessive madness and one very crazy lady.

After reading The Shining (1977) we were left with mixed opinions on King’s most famous work. But there’s no denying (for us, at least) this one is a big step up. Misery is terrifying. From the word go it’s disturbing and unsettling.

King just excels at putting readers in an uncomfortable place and taking them down some deep, dark uncomfortable paths. Such is the name of the game in the thriller genre.

Addiction, Imprisonment, and Suffering in Misery (the book)

Annie Wilkes. What an absolute crazy bastard.

Hailed as one of the best thriller books ever written, it’s easy to see why. Misery grabs you immediately and doesn’t waste any time in letting you know Paul Sheldon, the main character, is in serious trouble.

Themes of imprisonment are ahead, topics King had already explored in his novella Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption (1982). But Misery is a different type of imprisonment.

Almost solitary confinement levels (something we looked at recently in our Papillon film review), but with an appalling dose of psychological horror thrust in your face.

Wilkes haunts the twists and turns of each chapter.

As the reader, from Sheldon’s tormented real-time narration, you don’t know what she’s up to. She just bursts in and out of the room she’s imprisoned Sheldon into and wildly veers in and out of insufferable sweetness to uncontrollable rages.

Sheldon had crashed his car on snowy roads near her home, shattering his legs. She’d brought him in and, as a nurse, got him hooked on pain killer drugs.

He’s a famous novelist of Victorian era romance novels. She’s his biggest fan—plus, she’s completely out of her goddamn mind.

“It might have just been one of those things which happened, but he later came to suspect she had nearly killed him with an accidental overdose. She didn’t know as much about what she was doing as she believed she did. That was only one of the things about Annie that scared him.

He discovered three things almost simultaneously, about ten days after having emerged from the dark cloud. The first was that Annie Wilkes had a great deal of Novril (she had, in fact, a great many drugs of all kinds). The second was that he was hooked on Novril. The third was that Annie Wilkes was dangerously crazy.”

With his legs pulverised, he’s at the total mercy of Wilkes and her enormously temperamental mood swings.

In a total rage, she forces him to burn one of his manuscripts. She dislikes the developments of another and demands he rewrite the entire work.

If she’s angry, she withholds Novril from him, forcing him intro the crippling agony of his shattered legs alongside drug withdrawal. All the while he must balance a simpering sense of sycophancy towards Wilkes, trying to control her temper by saying the right thing.

And also plot some sort of escape from his prison, strapped to a bed with legs that no longer work.

That’s the setup and over 300 gruelling pages King works his horrific magic.

It’s incredibly tense and King’s writing is simple and to the point. None of the supernatural elements of some of his other works, it’s just the situation Sheldon is in and how he must deal with his tortuous circumstances.

A reminder that for all the joys of life can throw at you, all it takes is one sadistic bastard to ruin your whole world.

We think it works so well as its free from the supernatural focus of, for example, The Shining. In Misery, everything is very believable and all the more horrifying for it. Reading the work is wanting to get the experience over for Paul Sheldon, as if finishing the book ends his suffering (and you’ve achieved that for him).

It’s the very definition of a page turner. Something keeps propelling you along deeper into Sheldon’s nightmare and it doesn’t let up.

King’s inspiration for the work came from fan reactions to his epic fantasy work The Eyes of the Dragon (1984). Not his most popular book, some fans were annoyed by his change in genre. In his 2000 work On Writing he stated:

“It would be fair enough to ask, I suppose, if Paul Sheldon in Misery is me. Certain parts of him are … but I think you will find that, if you continue to write fiction, every character you create is partly you.”

He consulted with MD and doctor of psychiatry Janet Ordway for subtle directions on portraying Wilkes’ state of mind.

And it’s played out magnificently. Wilkes is a total monster, but at the same time you feel some sympathy for her. She is mentally ill and needs assistance. Not that Paul Sheldon cares. His route to freedom is a bloody and brutal one (bone shattering in so many ways).

As a relentlessly brilliant thriller, if you love that type of thing you need Misery in your collection.

Misery’s 1990 Film Adaptation

The 1990 film adaptation of Misery is a classic. With two fantastic performances from its stars, it’s a powerhouse experience of claustrophobic terror.

Kathy Bates was outstanding as Annie Wilkes. This role quite rightfully bagged her an Oscar for Best Actress.

A psychologist reviewed the case of Wilkes for the film’s DVD release. She concluded an individual like this would likely be suffering from borderline personality disorder. Plus, comorbidity with:

• Schizoid personality disorder (ScPD)
• Schizotypy
• OCD
• Bipolar disorder
• Sadomasochism

However, the character also displays considerable signs of narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) and antisocial personality disorder (ASPD). This is just the complexity of the human mind—sadly, some people suffer from serious mental illness.

See JCS – Criminal Psychology for some further insights there.

Elsewhere, James Caan was also terrific as Paul Sheldon. He had to face some serious acting challenges whilst strapped to a bed for large portions of the shoot.

The film is different to the novel in its pacing, initially portraying Wilkes as more of a normal human being. That is until it’s apparent she’s disturbingly nuts.

Kathy Bates nailed all of that with a terrific performance, scaring the bejeezus out of cinemagoers and helping make the movie a critical and commercial hit.