Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

The Shining by Stephen King

157 reviews

elisabethkatee's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

holy shit. what a story. felt both very short (compared to others like ‘the stand’ and ‘it’) but also terribly long and in depth… it really sucks you in and makes you question things, just like the Overlook does i guess ! really loved this anyway and gonna read dr sleep next wooh!!

also i can see a little more why king didn’t like kubrick’s adaptation, especially when jack in many ways was a reflection of king himself in his drinking days… that slow descent into madness from a really genuine guy/father just doesn’t show through as much with nicholson, he’s kinda just like mad to begin with. haha idk i’ll have to watch the film again.

kinda hated all the racial slurs but we just close our eyes and pretend we do not see🫠🫣

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iamthelizardqueen's review against another edition

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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? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Finally picked this up and just devoured it. Excited to watch the movie and find all the differences. 

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k327's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • 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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arealpageturner's review against another edition

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

1.5


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ohmseloquent's review against another edition

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

4.5


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breama2022's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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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yellow_leaff's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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

4.5

Whenever I now hear a person in real life say: 'Take your medicine', I get a bit of a shock because of this book. 

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irene_addler's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

2.0

THE SHINING ends on a surprisingly strong and face-paced note given how much of a slog the rest of the book felt like. 

Stephen King, at times, has very strong prose and vivid exposition, but he weakens his own tension with odd breaks in the middle of sentences. They're jarring and while I can see how they would serve the story, it's too often and drew me out of the story.

Then his tendency to go too far into the weird (often concerning nudity--sometimes with children) was also extremely unsettling in a way that didn't feel like it served the book. Unsettling in a way that made me question his decisions as an author, not unsettling in a way they left me creeped out. I even had a scene I loved and felt spooked by ruined by him going too far.

The book also aged very poorly with ample use of the n-word and some other slurs. I don't believe any of the usage was out of a personal racism he felt, but his attempt at writing a Black man while being a bit out of touch. I would be curious to hear a Black person's perspective on it, however. 

Women are disproportionately objectified.

Much of the story felt like he didn't know where it was going, particularly in the middle. Luckily, many elements he seeded early were brought together at the end, but other elements sprinkled throughout felt like they could have been foreshadowed better. 

He jumps perspectives too much. Some of the ending's tension was lost on me because of that, in fact. 

I think a lot could have been cut from this book to create something solid, but it's too long and there are too many moments where the tension is ruined. 

Final Verdict: Had I not been reading this for something, I would have DNFed. 

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sleepyjohnnie's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-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

A powerful story with some problematic moments. A terrifying modulation of addiction. 

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kdefran117's review against another edition

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

4.25

Takes a while to get into it, but once you do, you won’t want to stop reading. Some characters are very well written. Others are very stereotypical. The hotel’s character doesn’t really come alive until the end. I wasn’t a fan of the language used in the chapters about Dick Hallorann.

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