Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

The Shining by Stephen King

96 reviews

marimaria's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I would recommend reading this book if you're a fan of the film. They're very different from each other, so reading this was like a whole different experience to watching the film. I like how fleshed out the characters were, and the scenes were very descriptive. There was definitely a lot of detailed descriptions of violent occurrences in story. And the atmosphere was just so creepy. I think King was able to capture that really well.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Sexual content, and Blood

martestbr's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

aaliyahwalker's review

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

hurrikane's review

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.75

I love how King describe all the process of Jack going crazy and that this book is not only about murdering, killing, dyong etc. but what is more important about inner state  of characters and I love it because I don't find it in many horrors.

I would like to know what happen to Dick's jaw after all

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Car accident, and Death of parent

Minor: Child death and Car accident

shiftycow1313's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Car accident

ee_comins's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, and Murder

mxpringle's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism

andrea1975's review

dark sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Violence, Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Fire/Fire injury

asourceoffiction's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I watched Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of The Shining 20 years ago, and I can remember struggling to understand the reasoning behind Jack's descent into madness. Now reading the book all these years later, it's so much clearer to me. King's original hugely outmatches the film in so many ways, but where it is most superior is in the quiet, creeping sense of dread and tension that builds agonisingly slowly, from the ominous beginning right to the conclusion. There are fewer iconic jump-scares (I was surprised by how much was created for the film), but what is there instead lingered, hanging over me long after I'd shut the book.

I always love that King spends time with his characters. Their histories and relationships are laid out in detail, and it makes the whole story rooted in humanity, which in turn makes it all the more scary. I didn't have a lot of sympathy for Jack from the start, but I did sympathise with Wendy's fierce desire to keep her family together and safe, and the way they all shine during their fleeting happy moments at the Overlook, before it's all taken away. It's such clever writing and confirms, as I've said many times before, that King's books are about so much more than the horror.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Gore, Racial slurs, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, and Mental illness

torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

challenging 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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail