Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

The Shining by Stephen King

161 reviews

emnime's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I love reading Stephen King but every time he writes for women or black people it just… doesn’t work.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

pinkelefant_78's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Alcohol

sophiadorothyy's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I enjoyed this as someone who’s seen the film many times. The book has a lot more details and is more engaging than the movie. Could definitely do without all the unnecessary racism though, it took me out of the story sometimes. I was surprised how different the plot is from the film! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Blood, and Murder

irwinfinkle's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Misogyny, and Gaslighting

Minor: Racial slurs, Racism, Vomit, and Fire/Fire injury

lindsaygp_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

***This review is going to have spoilers throughout***

Let me start by saying that The Shining is an absolutely incredible novel— I was not a fan of the Kubrick film at all and everything that it was lacking was here in King’s novel. The slow degradation of Jack’s mental state from loving father to crazed murderer feels well-paced and horrifying. By chapter 12 I felt like I had an excellent understanding of each of the characters.

What I have an issue with and why this book gets 4 stars and not 5 is largely because of parts of this book that simply did not age well. Uncle Stephen loves a magical negro trope, the racial slurs (especially frequent toward the end), and the nonchalant and frequent usage of the term “schizo”— just to name a few. I found myself having to remind myself a lot that this book was written in the 70s... One section that particularly floored me was the doctor’s office chapter where the common idea was that children can either grow out of schizophrenia or grow into it, and that it can also cause… autism…… the groan that I groaned….

The yucks aside, I do love how much we learn about Danny and his shine, that Wendy has it too, but that Jack has none— that in all of his fighting and beating and scraping to be special and unique, Jack is the only one in the family that is painfully normal.  The moment where we learn about Jack’s sick satisfaction that Wendy’s novel isn’t picked up paints such a gross picture of the man he really is beneath his curated “press perfect smile”.

The insight into who Jack and Wendy are and were before Outlook is so detailed and intimate. I haven’t read a King novel in years; I think I forgot just how good he is at his craft. The reflection on their marriage, on their parenting, on the trauma that they brought into parenthood— and how Wendy tried to break it all off just before their stay at Outlook, is devastating as it is relatable. King’s personal reflection on addiction and the pressure to remain sober is written so well that I feel like I understand the disease better— and I’m literally a child of an alcoholic.

While parts of this book aged like milk, the majority of it really shines (pun intended) and I’m glad I read it. It was so well-written, descriptive, terrifying, and well-paced. I’m looking forward to reading Doctor Sleep in 2025 and hopefully Uncle Stephen will redeem himself of some of the yuckier choices he made in the 70s.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

Toward the end of the book there are a slough of racial slurs. Use of magical negro trope.

kteag's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

3.5

This is the first horror book I listened to/read, but I think this part of the genre probably just isn't for me. Glad I read it, as it is always good to try new things, and this book is part of the culture!  

The Shining is about a family who care for an old isolated hotel in the winter. Throughout their time there, they all begin to mentally unravel, and because of their history, the husband and wife begin to turn against each other. 

I guess my biggest issue was that for most of it, I just didn't really care. I feel like Jack just kind of sucks and for awhile I can't tell if we are supposed to think hes an ass or not. But he sucks. I also thought that sometimes, Danny was not thinking like a 5 year old. He was having extremely complex thoughts and although we are told he is very smart, I just didnt buy it.

I did like how things were building up over time, and how each of them wasn't sure if things were actually happening or if it was in their head. And as the reader,

I also couldn't tell (until of course, jack and danny both see the hedge animals move).

I liked the character digressions, adn at the beginning, as they are explaining everything that Jack has done, I definitely had that feeling of doom knowing that Wendy and Danny would be trapped up there with him. The image of Dick coming up to save them on the snowmobile was also pretty fun.

I didn't realize that Jack died at the end, but I thought that was the right ending. 

I thought the last stretch of the book where shit was hitting the fan was very engaging and scary. 

Maybe I will try more Steven king one day, but maybe in a slightly different horror subgenre.  

also after reading the other reviews, I forgot to add--(and I know its an old book but its still) jarring to hear the N word so many times!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse

Minor: Addiction

vintagesunkist's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction and Alcoholism

Moderate: Death, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Sexual content and War

ajosaurus's review

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Blood, and Alcohol

Minor: Addiction, Racial slurs, Sexual content, and Injury/Injury detail

eadrianschmitz's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

<Spoiler>
At first I was like omg ok I get it, he's an alcoholic. But then the emphasis made sense. I kind of wish it had been Jack that unravelled on his own rather than the hotel's fault for possessing him. Still a wonderful read and quite different from the film! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

jaimc's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Death of parent

Minor: Car accident