Strictly real horror discussion

Ok, so far I love the book. The detail and background is great. I am maybe 2/5 of the way through and I have a question.
After Danny gets stung by the wasps, during his visit to the doctor - the doctor is talking to Wendy and he says this:
" 'And of course you two must understand why Danny's invisible friend is named Tony instead of Mike or Hal or Dutch.'
'Yes,' Wendy said.
'Have you ever pointed it out to him?'
'No,' Jack said. 'Should we?'
'Why bother? Let him realize it in his own time, by his own logic.' "

OK - is there some reason later that it is important that the "friend" is named Tony? Is there some significance that has not been revealed, or am I just missing something?

THANKS!

I didnt get that either and had wondered the same thing lol

Anthony (Tony for short) is Danny's middle name. His imaginary friend is actually an older/future version of himself.

oh ok, I thought - why is Tony such a different name from the others the doctor suggested? I didn't realize his middle name was Anthony. Thanks!!

It's funny how horror novels are so much scarier at night. I read the part last night about the fire hose coming to life, and I seriously left the light on. In the morning I just laughed at myself. I don't know if it's being tired or because it's dark.

lol if that scared ya, your going to be alot more scared. Yeah I know thats not proper english lol.

yeah the thought occurred to me...heh.

I mean about being more scared, not about your English LOL ;)

I shouldnt do this but if your a king fan you should join this group: http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/2...

Thanks! Don't worry I won't leave though. I hope Mella comes back soon. I saw on her page she was sick.

Wow that sucks. I hope he she feels better soon!!

page 459 in my edition - which is the beginning of the chapter The Ballroom.

I am at work right now and I am simply DYING to finish. The pace has really picked up. Danny has just decided there are safe places and unsafe places. I wonder if that's going to hold true! Somehow I don't think so...

I've lost count of the number of times I've read The Shining, Pet Sematery, It and some of his others. Probably about once a year since I first got them.

After that many times, I still occasionally come across nuances or insights I'd mised before.

I absolutely loved it. The theme of the wasps throughout the book really struck me. I mentioned this in the SK group, but toward the end, as Jack is almost totally crazy, he thinks to himself 'living by your wits is always knowing where the wasps are.' Then - at the end of the book Halloran turns as he's driving Danny and Wendy away on the snowmobile, and he sees the black cloud flying out of the Presidential Suite. As it floats out into the night it separates like wasps leaving a nest. That brought it all together for me - like Jack truly had lost track of where the "wasps" were.

I think The Shining is one of King's best books. Very well written and not as dense as his later books.

Some people think Jack Nicholson was wrong for the role of Jack Torrence because he seemed crazy and out of control from the beginning (and this is mainly because people project their own nuttiness on any character Nicholson plays), but re-reading The Shining a few months ago it's clear that Jack Torrence is full of rage and seething with madness on the first page when he's sitting in the manager's office. He is a hateful, selfish, violent man and it slowly comes out as we learn about his father and his early childhood.

Tressa wrote: "it's clear that Jack Torrence is full of rage and seething with madness on the first page ..."

The Overlook really took advantage of his demons, definitely. It would be interesting to find out more about the Grady character at some point too. That would make for a great short story if King ever wanted to revisit that...
Does anyone else wonder why Danny wasn't killed when the Overlook had the chance - the lady in the bathtub does a good job trying to strangle him leaving puffy bruises on his neck - but she doesn't finish him off? The book never says whether Danny got away or whether she just let him go. Obviously the story needed to continue at that point, but I'm sure there's a reason for it that maybe just isn't revealed - or I missed it somehow.

I just assumed Danny was able to get away from the bloated old lady corpse. But she still managed to strangle him hard enough to leave bruises.

The Overlook really did chip away at Jack's self-esteem. His job losses; his crappy childhood. That dinner table scene from his childhood still gives me the willies. As does the "take your medicine you little pup!" his bully of a father yelled at various people.

I've spent the last couple of years trying to figure out if I've read The Shining or if I just thought that I did because of the impact of the movie. From these posts, I can see quite clearly that I have NOT read the book and will need to correct that.

I'm finally reading it. It's only the third Stephen King book I've read. It's so different from the movie, but it is excellent as well. I had no idea that topiary could be scarier than that hedge maze.

Hehe yeah, wait til later lol

Oh definitely - much scarier! The whole room 217 was so much scarier than the movie. It was given a lot more attention and detail - as were many aspects of the story.
I saw on Stephen King's website that he is considering a sequel to The Shining - how great is that!!?

Rebekah wrote: "Oh definitely - much scarier! The whole room 217 was so much scarier than the movie. It was given a lot more attention and detail - as were many aspects of the story.
I saw on Stephen King's webs..."

As for the sequel, can't agree more. Hope you voted for it :)

I so did!! :)

I just finished it today. I think it was, at best, an inspiration for Kubrick's film, not a text. There are just way too many differences. I will give the book four stars--that's pretty high for me. The movie remains as one of my favorites, but as it's own work of art.

I'm off to write my review.

Not going to say much just that I think Kubrick got the movie right. The book was very good which meant the movie should be good as well. IMO it was. From the casting to the music The Shining is a classic.

Yeah, like you didn't know! That's why i'm only saying so much.

Rob wrote: "Actually.....the movie The Shining is quite complex as well, but in a totally different way than the book. The emphasis is less on the supernatural (although it IS there) and more on the breakdown..."

(I copied your post from the why horror discussion, since it seemed to fit better here)

I think that is a very intuitive, well-made point! :)

I agree with loving both the book and the movie. They're not the same, but they're both great.