Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

It by Stephen King

71 reviews

drone232's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective tense slow-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

4.0

This is an epic of horror literature. It is about a group of children going up against the ills of adult society which have manifested in the form of a horrifying and enjoyably malevolent monster. It is also about their adult selves as they try to remember their childhood and refind their childhood hopes and selves. Interspersed are narratives about a great many side characters and their woes. A deep and expansive work, bogged down by occasional instances of going over the line with the horror and sexism. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Hate crime, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Fatphobia, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, and Torture

haven_k's review against another edition

dark 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? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexism, Antisemitism, Murder, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Body shaming, Bullying, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Death, Grief, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Child death, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Homophobia, Blood, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Gore

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Cancer, Death of parent, Addiction, Terminal illness, and Mental illness

kyliemeyerman's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.25

After just finishing this, I really feel like I’m leaving a whole real world and want to restart the 1200 pages all over again, which is saying most of what you need to know. It isn’t perfect. There’s things I wanted more of (idyllic childhood fun and maybe some clarification on the supernatural elements) and some I wanted less of (backstory on every side character although kind of fun and stuff I never want to read about children doing). But overall, and awesome, epic, deeply emotional work. And I never got bored, which is a massive feat in such a large volume. There’s some amazing themes here tightly interwoven with an absolutely cracking horror story. I love the characters and would crawl headfirst into a spider’s abdomen to protect baby Ben Hanscom. I would recommend this to everyone - I think anyone CAN find something to love here even if it’s not their thing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Bullying

Moderate: Sexual content, Sexism, Fatphobia, Sexual violence, Gore, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Vomit, Infidelity, Medical trauma, and Gun violence

dannybailey's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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

3.0

I believe reading this as a woman is a different experience from reading this as someone of the male sex. But, I suppose, you could argue that for all books, yet I think that this book really has a notable difference in experience compared to all the other books I've experienced/read/listened to.

In saying that, I am aware that it is very much a personal thing and not a problem with King and his story-telling that made it difficult for me to get through and enjoy this book (especially since I was expecting to enjoy this one in-particular). 

I love King's novels and stories, but upon reading this one, I am forever disappointed in the discovery that I do not enjoy all his novels and stories. This one had a lot of upsides— definitely. But the second half of this book really drained me. I was very done with all the sexual references and activities, all the violence often associated with that sexual content and context, it really raised red flags in my head that made me feel sick and deeply disturbed, to a point where it overshadowed a lot of the good stuff in this story, for me.

Aside from my own personal perception and experience (of which I'm sure will be relevant to others who read this book), as a story it is still one I can understand why a lot of people love and find compelling. It is well written, full of vivid detail (which I found both good and bad) and a very epic story that is most certainly an intrigue to take part in.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Pedophilia, Domestic abuse, Suicide, Racial slurs, Child death, Cursing, Gore, Hate crime, Animal cruelty, Murder, Misogyny, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Homophobia, Drug use, Racism, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, and Sexism

locoemsky's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Antisemitism, Sexism, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Animal death, Toxic relationship, Torture, Sexual harassment, Racial slurs, Fatphobia, Sexual content, Death, Racism, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Cursing, Bullying, Body horror, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Homophobia, Hate crime, and Gore

oleaceae_18's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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

2.75

I would call this book outdated at best. I think the premise of the book and the monster is pretty interesting, and I can see why it's a classic. But there's too much racism and misogyny for me to actually enjoy the reading experience. The female characters are written in a way that you can tell they are written by a man, too over sexualized, traumatized, and not enough depth to them.

The weird child sex part totally turned me off the book and didn't seem necessary to include.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Racism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Violence

child sex, N word

malthe's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

5.0

Alright… I do think there are weird scenes in this, like THAT scene, but even those have an explanation that makes sense… but it doesn’t make it less weird.

BUT, this is the first book I’ve read after my 3 year reading slump AND I finished it pretty quick for how long it is (I would say). So it was able to keep my interested the whole way through, which is amazing. The writing can also be so so good. 

I really don’t have that many negatives, except for the weird stuff like THAT scene. If you don’t look at those, this book is so fucking good!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Blood, Bullying, Dementia, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Sexism, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Violence, Animal death, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment

theshonz0705's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

If I could pick apart the central plot of this book from its infuriatingly problematic elements, it would be a 5. But I can’t, and It is spoiled by too much that is irredeemable. Take a look at some of the content warnings to see what I mean. I’m the first person to go to bat for King, but this isn’t a case of challenging writing that’s simply hard to read. The author just got this one really wrong. A lot.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Alcoholism, Blood, Body shaming, Child death, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Murder, Suicide, Cultural appropriation, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Sexism, Violence, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Racism, Self harm, Grief, Hate crime, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, and Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Antisemitism and Incest

emccardel's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Very mixed bag. Some elements were 5 ⭐️ and others were 0 ⭐️ 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Misogyny, Incest, Sexism, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Sexual violence, Racism, Antisemitism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Child abuse

kreglow's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

A bit overlong, and some of the content is questionable to say the least. Still one hell of a ride.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Drug use, Hate crime, Infidelity, Stalking, Body horror, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Vomit, Xenophobia, Pedophilia, Rape, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gun violence, Incest, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Torture, Cancer, Chronic illness, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Homophobia, Misogyny, Police brutality, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Physical abuse, Antisemitism, Fatphobia, and Fire/Fire injury