The Shining Summary

The Shining begins with Jack Torrance being interviewed for a job as the caretaker at the Overlook a hotel in Estes Park, Colorado. The Overlook Hotel will close for the winter. Once the first snowflake falls Jack, his wife, and his son will be isolated in the closed down hotel. Which is why the interviewer, Ullman the hotel manager, is tentative to giving him this job, and he makes sure Wendy (his wife) knows that her and her 5 year old son will be there for the whole winter. Ullman tells Jack some of the Overlook's history including the winter of 1970 where the hotel caretaker, Delbert Grady, murdered his wife and two daughters in a drunken rage and then committed suicide. Ullman knows Jack was fired from his teaching job in Vermont at a

Ullman says he has the job, because Jack's friend Al Shockley, who has a lot of power in the Overlook Hotel insists. During this interview Wendy waits with Danny for Jack in their inferior apartment in Colorado. She has been worrying about Jack and his temper lately. She reminds herself of the time Jack broke Danny’s arm a few years ago, and Wendy hopes he can overcome his temper. While Wendy waits, Jack tours the hotel. Watson the grandson of the hotel builder shows Jack around, and warns him to check on the boiler room. As Jack drives up to the apartment, Danny is waiting for him on the curb. Danny is afraid that Jack’s drinking problem could lead to his parents getting a divorce. Then Danny’s friend Tony arrived. A horrible thing chases Danny with a mallet and on a mirror appears the word “REDRUM” appeared. Then Danny saw a dead women decaying in the bathtub. After a short while Tony leaves just as Jack shows up and and Danny is thrilled to see him. He and Jack go into town so Jack can call Al Shockley in Vermont and thank him for getting him this job. Al is Jack's old drinking buddy. They both stopped drinking after they crashed into a kid's bike, but never found the dead

The constant phrase in the book “REDRUM” backwards is MURDER. I found this book goes at a very slow and boring pace, which did not hold my interest in this book. All the characters spoke like a normal person of their time would, expect Danny who knows a lot about divorce, and suicide when he is only five years old which I believe is very unrealistic. There was a lot of foreshadowing warning that something bad is going to happen latter in the book including “REDRUM”. The beginning of the book started at an interview at the Overlook Hotel, then takes it back to Boulder, Colorado where their miserable apartment is. In September of 1975 the hotel closed and the Torrance’s came to take care of the hotel. This is where i stopped and abandoned this book. The title “The Shining” I know is explained later in this book, but the the Chapter titles are very good and foreshadows what is coming up in the story. The second section of this novel is titled “Closing Day” which i could infer is when the Overlook Hotel closes and the Torrance family moves in. So far it has not been very suspenseful and it is a very long and over detailed