**This review is a comparison of the book and the movie (with Nicholson and Duvall). The reason is for ones like me that saw the movie and wasn't sure why they would need to read the book.** I love reading Stephen King though I admit I have a lot more books of his to read. I tend to pass over his books that were turned to movies since I initially know what they are about. Same with this book. My decision to read it was because he came out with Doctor Sleep which is a follow up to The Shining. I was told by a few who read the book and seen the movie that they are not quite the same. So I jumped into this one so I could read Doctor Sleep (all the time thinking it might be a waste of time though). I was wrong! Though I do love Stanley Kubrick's movie, I could also see why King was disappointed with it. There is so much more depth in the book (which there almost always is). But this was to a point you could almost understand the madness that Jack went through (unlike the movie where he pretty much seemed like a jerk from the beginning). The book shows his love for his family and his family's love for him. His son idolizes him to the point it almost makes Wendy jealous. This is not something that is shown in the movie. I believe it is a big factor. It shows how strong these "ghosts" were to tear Jack down like that. There are also differences like Wendy's description is nothing like Shelley Duvall, the relationship between Danny and Dick Halloran is more intense in the book, and the ending was totally different. Even with all of that, I still love the movie but now I can say I love the book as well for the same and different reasons.
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