Reviews with content warning for Racial slurs - The Shining

Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

isabellex111's review

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? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This has a lot of derogatory language and child abuse. It is emotional and really liked it. The pace is a little slow but not in a boring way and although it is sloe it is also tense.

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aniloma's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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ndheredia2's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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danaburger's review

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dark emotional 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

The Shining is a great book (dare I say, a masterpiece), however, one of the reasons I stay away from Stephen King books is because they simply do NOT need to be 450+ pages long… the writing is often times verbose and repetitive; as if the editor was asleep at the wheel. King’s style of storytelling and character development also meanders; there are multiple tangents that leave the reader going, ‘ok, wtf did that have to do with anything,’ not metaphorical or plot driven in any way, seemingly just a device King uses to make a character 3 dimensional for himself and himself alone in his creative process.
As a reader of color I also find it pertinent to add a trigger warning for others, especially if you opt for an audiobook enjoyment of this title: Heavy use of the N word. Completely fitting for the time period’s social climate, and puts an exclamation point on Jack’s descent into madness as well as the notion that The Overlook is an inherently evil entity which resorts to mental manipulation of it’s victims… buuuuuut also gratuitous, and it did make me cringe the 3rd, fourth and successive times reading it. I get it, but we could’ve reined it in with some more thoughtful editing.

Also:

Kubrick killed Halloran, King did not. Meaning, your boy is the hero of the tale and not just another dead black body in a horror film.

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tmayfld's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This book is a keeper for me. It’s the first Stephen king book I’ve completed and I will not stop raving about it. The backstory of the family and flaws of the father hit close to home for me. I think with out it this book wouldn’t nearly be as good. King does a great job slowly building tension throughout the entire book. The pace quickens so much more after part 4 I couldn’t put it down. He does throw in some unnecessary racial slurs at the end otherwise there weren’t any glaring flaws. Skip the movie and read the book. You’ll be happy you did.

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elelellen's review against another edition

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dark tense slow-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? It's complicated

3.0

so so different from the film, i understand why king doesnt like it. so much better than the film too, and thats saying a lot. having said that, it was too description heavy for me personally, and an unnecessary amount of racist and sexist language.

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mrgriffit's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

It’s clear to see why this book is a staple of the horror genre. King’s writing flows easily and the pacing is nice and tense, even when the story gets stretched out in the middle and towards the end. That said, I think King is holding himself back with his own narrative.

I honestly could not find any sympathy for Jack by the end of the book like I think King wants you to; I only found pity. There was ample opportunity to center the story on the very human ways that Jack is evil and actively choosing to be so, irregardless of how he was raised or how other people treat him, instead of making the hotel actually possessing him. By doing this, it comes off that King is saying that Jack is just a victim and not at fault for his own actions.

All that to say, for all the things King does right, there’s a better version of this story out there somewhere (and it may be the movie version, which I’ve never seen, since I know that there were some bigger changes to the story in it). Still, it’s a well crafted story and is worth the read.

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sayacanread's review

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Really ended up loving this. As a fan of the movie, getting more in depth backstories of these characters helped me understand how these events unfolded. As unlikeable as Jack is, his character is very well written and his decent into madness feels a lot more believable - which makes the story all the more horrifying. Also Wendy and Danny were given a lot more autonomy and I honestly wish the movie had too.

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snap7037's review

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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 was very impressed by this book by Stephen King. Of course I'd seen the movie and have read plenty of other Stephen King books, but this being one of his earliest works, you can really see the effort he puts into the story, the characters, and the setting. Comparing this to one of his more recent works, it's very easy to see the change in his writing style, and I prefer the early King. It's also interesting that you can see inklings and ideas for IT and The Dark Tower in this prose if you look close enough.

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