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meridith_bex's review against another edition
Graphic: Murder, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Mental illness, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Rape, and Sexual violence
Minor: Excrement
megbroache's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Murder, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Hate crime, Car accident, Homophobia, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Kidnapping, Racial slurs, Chronic illness, Rape, Racism, Cancer, Physical abuse, and Pedophilia
robynrenais's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Minor: Mental illness, Child death, Sexual assault, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Torture, Gore, Hate crime, Murder, and Rape
rat_leoo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Hate crime, Slavery, Pedophilia, Blood, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Police brutality, Violence, Child death, Sexual assault, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Cursing, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, Death, Grief, and Murder
talia03's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Sexual violence, Rape, Racism, Child abuse, Racial slurs, Body horror, Violence, Sexual assault, and Child death
alma_lurie_04's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Sexual assault, Child abuse, and Death
Moderate: Terminal illness
Minor: Racism
tifftastic87's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I really wish the only black character in the book hadn't been King's typically magical being and that we didn't have to have him be magical for his incarceration to be in question. I do like that King made some comments early on that minorities in prison are rarely given the same freedoms, or excuses, or even pardons that white people are. But some of the use of Coffey in this story is hard to hear because not only is he incredibly large, he's incredibly dim witted. He is simply a being of instinct with a deeper sense of the world than the rest of us. He is almost childlike in some aspects, being afraid of the dark, not being able to tie his shoes etc. It is uncomfortable at times to hear it that way.
The other thing is that listening to it as an adult versus reading it as a teen I really wanted Paul to stand up to Brad a bit more. There never was any consequences for him and that just didn't sit right with me. But then, rarely are there consequences in life.
Criticisms out of the way, the episodic writing really made the whole feel of the book different than most other King books. Usually we sit with the main character for half to two-thirds of the story before anything really happens and we just get to know them. But with an episodic story like this, you have to get to know them organically and to me that really felt like Paul was sitting down and telling me the story of the fall of 1932 on the green mile. It felt comforting, like a story my own grandparents would have told me around a campfire. Apart from all the brutal murdering that is.
It really felt King did some work here to make criticisms of our prison system, nepotism, and, of course, capitol punishment. There is some light commentary on how race plays into a lot of these things and I think for a book published in 1996 by an older white man, that is maybe not as common as it would be today. While the commentary was clunky and not without it's fair share of white saviourism, it was nevertheless, at least broached.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Homophobia, Violence, Child abuse, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Cursing, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Cancer, Child death, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Drug abuse, Grief, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Animal death, Blood, and Car accident
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Rape, and Vomit
Minor: Ableism
rmfickfack's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child death, Child abuse, Death, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Suicide
chopspy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Moderate: Mental illness, Child death, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Violence, Emotional abuse, Racism, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Murder, Gun violence, Death, Cultural appropriation, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Grief, and Child abuse
autumnruth's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Rape, Kidnapping, Murder, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Animal cruelty
Minor: Animal death