Try free for 30 days

1 credit a month to use on any title, yours to keep (you’ll use your first credit on this title).
Stream or download thousands of included titles.
Access to exclusive deals and discounts.
$16.45 a month after 30 day trial. Cancel anytime.
Misery cover art

Misery

By: Stephen King
Narrated by: Lindsay Crouse
Try for $0.00

$16.45 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $26.99

Buy Now for $26.99

Pay using voucher balance (if applicable) then card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions Of Use and Privacy Notice and authorise Audible to charge your designated credit card or another available credit card on file.

Publisher's Summary

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 best sellers. 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 had painkilling 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....

©1986 Stephen King (P)1992 Penguin Highbridge Audio

What listeners say about Misery

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    339
  • 4 Stars
    69
  • 3 Stars
    16
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    3
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    313
  • 4 Stars
    52
  • 3 Stars
    14
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    302
  • 4 Stars
    63
  • 3 Stars
    12
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    3

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

One of the best writers of our time

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.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic

had me from start to finish. love that the reader sounded like Kathy Bates did in the movie when she read her lines

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Blew me away

Loved the way it was so different from the movie, as per usual I guess

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic

Much better than the movie, it keeps you listening non stop. Classic King and great reader also.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

How would he survive and get out from beneath her grip

This is the third book I’ve listened to by Stephen king, I find I do enjoy his audible books more than I prefer to read or watch his work. This isn’t my favourite Stephen king book, but it is definitely a cult classic amongst his fans.

It’s a slow burn but it really does get you invested. If you’re thinking about starting this as your first Stephen king audible, I would say go ahead with this one. Otherwise if you like a bit of fantasy, try starting out with his newer novels like fairy tale.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Beautifully disturbing

In some ways I think my partner is lucky to have aphantasia -- a phenomenon where one cannot see images in their mind. If he is on one end of this spectrum, I am firmly on the other, where I picture things sometimes too vividly.

When it comes to the book "Misery" by Stephen King, written in 1987 after vehicles such as "Carrie" and "The Shining," King is both friend and enemy to the bright imagination. His writing is so good and so incredibly descriptive, that while completely horrifying, one does not try to shut off said images. As protagonist and author Paul puts it, one experiences "the gotta." They have to know, even in the depths of the most grotesque humanity, what happens next.

This is one of the ways the book and movie -which is absolutely a must watch - differs. The movie primarily focuses on the psychological torture villain Annie inflicts on Paul, with only a few gut sickening thwacks of physical violence.

Initially, the book presents a slow burn of this torture, which gradually unravels and becomes more monstrous and intriguing until suddenly, the torture is gradual no more. The physical violence then come in waves and ultimately in a bloody, chanpagne soaked tsunami, not unlike how Paul's pain and discomfort rises, falls, and increases.

The reader does thankfully get moments of relief, mirroring Paul's moments of drug hazed rest. In those moments of flashbacks and ponderings we learn more about Paul, Annie, as well as the Misery books that form their connection. King even manages to occasionally paint Annie as a pitiable creature. When Paul feels for her while observing locals taunt "the dragon lady," it is hard not to feel the same. Yet, when Paul finally breaks free from King's unpredictable villain, and in the most deliciously ironic way possible, we are glad she is gone and celebrate his win over her.

She is, after all, a prolific and cruel serial killer. One which Paul often learnt too slowly was much more clever and resourceful than her marm-like appearance suggests.

Misery is many things. It is a crime thriller and horror, it is a window into the mind of a flawed and genius writer in Paul, and a psychological study into a character who is equal parts unwell, cunning, calculated and evil.

It is also a brilliant text book for any budding writer, and King is generous in his lessons, from the very moment that Annie breathes foul life back into Paul, foreshadowing the journey we are about to take while we become victim and captor of "the gotta."

Note about the narrator: they pleasing sound like Kathy Bates, but also make the performance entirely their own. Not an easy feat and an absolute triumph.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Wanted to love this but was bored

I really wanted to love this, had read so many good reviews but I just found it a bit dull. Not sure if it was the way it was written, or how it was narrated, because the story itself was a thrilling idea, but the way it was told, I didn’t find it thrilling or exciting, just pushed through to finish it, which was super disappointing

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Incredible Narration

This is some of the best audiobook narration I’ve ever heard. Lindsay Crouse does an excellent (and terrifying) job of bringing one of King’s best books to life.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant story and narration

Lindsay Crouse becomes Annie Wilkes. She brings the character to life so perfectly that every word is terrifying. This is one of Stephen King’s best novels. It embodies true terror based on human behaviour and is so credible that it really gives you the creeps. The characters are so fully created that they seem real and the interplay between Paul and Annie will keep you riveted to this. Just amazing,

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

much better than the movie

..and so much worse. hold on to your reality. mr king will take you to some dark places.. wonderful.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.