Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

28 reviews

hannahpings's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense slow-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Car accident, and Suicide

Moderate: Alcohol

Minor: Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief

filipa_maia's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

So... I was expecting a little bit more from this book. Being my favorite genre and so acclaimed (this book was the inspiration for the Netflix series) I was expecting pure, dark horror.

Don't get me wrong, the book is good: a haunted house and a bunch of people living in it is the perfect plot to a great book. We get all the classics: knocks on the doors, footsteps when nobody is around, people acting in a very weird way. But that was not enough. The dialogs are long, superficial and, sometimes, very confusing - almost as if it was written to be a script and not a actual book. The characters are annoying and you never, truly, understand if that's how they really are or if that's part of the house's influence. Maybe that's the intention, after all. But we will never find out.

For me, there is a lot of talking and not enough action. I hear very nice thing about the series so I'm going to give it a try. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Grief, Gaslighting, Child abuse, Toxic friendship, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Car accident

Minor: Alcohol

loveisabird's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

this book kicks mike flanagan’s ass

journeys end in lovers meeting!!!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Grief, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Suicide and Toxic friendship

hocuscrocus's review against another edition

challenging dark funny 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Car accident, and Death

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Grief, and Suicide

lilifane's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

To be honest, I didn't expect to like this so much. I knew it was different from the Netflix show and classics are always a hit or miss for me, but I really enjoyed this one a lot. The writing is great, the atmosphere fantastic, I liked the characters and their dynamics. I didn't like the ending that much, though. But the more I think about it, the more I understand and appreciate it. There is just something that bothers me about it. Maybe it was too abrupt, maybe I needed a little more time at the end? Maybe I was identifying with Eleanor too much? 

I kind of wish I had read the book before I watched the show. It is a different story, but it still influenced my reading of the book, my expectations, and the way I saw the characters. Can't say I was surprised by most of the things that happened here. I'm curious how I would have felt the other way around. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Blood, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Car accident, Death, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, and Grief

starlit_pathways's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad slow-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Confinement, Car accident, Suicide, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, and Grief

kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.5

I think perhaps it was intentional, but this book was so disjointed that I had a hard time enjoying it. There were bits and pieces that I found enjoyable but overall it was confusing and strange. I think the possession of one of the characters affected their interactions with the others but I can’t be sure because it’s never clearly stated. If I hadn’t seen the show first, I think my expectations would’ve been different or less and I may have enjoyed this more. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Death, Grief, Toxic friendship, Classism, Gaslighting, Violence, Abandonment, Child death, Car accident, and Confinement

mme_carton's review against another edition

dark emotional 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, Car accident, Death, Grief, Mental illness, Suicide, and Toxic friendship

mimeticats's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

Such a beautiful book! A fantastically well constructed story of four strangers coming together to experience an extraordinary house. It starts with fantastic portraits of the characters and their growing relationships as well as of the house itself and really manages to seamlessly escalate as experiences and relationships change. 

As someone who watched (and enjoyed) the Netflix adaptation by Mike Flanagan this is a very different beast. I thoroughly recommend the book whether or not you have watched the show. Neither can really spoil the other because they are so different, though if you enjoyed the character focussed emotional heart of the show do especially try the book but be prepared for something very different.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Grief, and Death of parent

amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad fast-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: Death of parent and Suicide

Moderate: Grief, Death, Emotional abuse, and Car accident