Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

Pet Sematary by Stephen King

8 reviews

lillowo's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

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

2.25

Tldr: if you're interested in Reading as much of King as possible, or some of the highlights of his writings, this could be a good book for you. I felt like it was very dated and the characters who we most engaged with were not the most enjoyable. The basis of the plot and the story are super cool, but I didn't feel like it was explored fully.

I totally understand why when this book came out it was really popular. It blends the hard conversations of talking about death with children and the horror of losing a child and really interesting ways. 

That being said, if you are not intending to read a King book because you want to read King's stuff, I would suggest the book How To Sell A Haunted House instead. I found there was a lot of dated language used (the r slur as a major example and ableism generally, the use of an "ancient indigenous burial ground" that brings people back to life), and the perspective of Louis that we got, felt like the idea of her King was looking at was grit and dark things to say to make it feel like a darker read. There were multiple comments that were just made offhandedly that gave the main character this air of being incredibly cynical but without much to back it up. I also felt like some of the through lines that were there weren't fully explored for the sake of

a darker ending. Two of the four family members die, and I brought back to life, and we had no real exploration after the initial moment of how do you talk about death with children.

 

I also felt like a lot of the logic that the characters explored in the book were very half-hearted at best.

the idea of exploring death through this cemetery that brings dead things back to life, is super interesting! I just don't think the logic that was used to explore the impact of it really made sense. Jud decided that it would be a good idea to bring a cat back to life because it's a way to teach kids about death and to make them less scared of the fact that people and creatures die because you just stop liking them. Which also to me felt like King did not really understand cats. Like at one point there's a line about how he's glad that cats are such independent creatures because no one notices that church is different. If my cat started acting like church, I would immediately know something is wrong. They are the snuggliest babies ever. As I was reading that line I had a cat begging for affection. They're also isn't much exploration of this mysticism around the burial ground. It's become a trope in my lifetime, but I don't know if it was a trope then. I do know that it felt very tropy and a mystical element that with the knowledge of the 20th century, felt gross and something that I intentionally distanced myself from on a cognitive level. I think there could be a lot of ways to explore a burial ground that brings people back to life that doesn't engage on tired and egregious tropes around mysticism of indigenous peoples practices.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Ableism, Sexism, and Murder

pholcidae's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? Yes

4.75

Aside from the casual racism (using outdated terms for Native American people and unnecessarily bringing people’s skin colour to attention), a near-flawless book.

The story is paced perfectly and I have been reading it nonstop. The author’s use of language to create suspense and terror is reminiscent of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. 

This was my first King novel and I think it was the perfect one to start on! Very tense and lots of fun easter eggs in there :)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Cultural appropriation, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Animal death, Child death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Violence, Gore, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Sexual content, Medical trauma, Death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, Murder, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Mental illness

Moderate: Cannibalism, Suicidal thoughts, Animal cruelty, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Self harm, Abandonment, Infidelity, and Cursing

Minor: Vomit, Cancer, War, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Excrement, Dementia, Misogyny, Sexism, Addiction, Antisemitism, Domestic abuse, Incest, and Religious bigotry

ddspirittt's review

mysterious 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? Yes

0.25

It is the most expository, dull, and boring book I have ever read. I was thankful to avoid any and all plot points before picking this up, but it was so predictable! I got so excited to see where it would go because of that.

Then I read. And read. Read. And read. Read some more. Read. The end.

People keep recommending this as the "scariest" story by King. But if the emotional payoff or lack thereof is "scary" to some, then dear lord, go read some more. The action at the end was neither suspenseful nor emotional but laughable.

Part two could be interesting, but this was the biggest letdown and snoozefest of a book ever. I don't want to read King again because of it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dementia, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Death, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Medical trauma, Alcoholism, Murder, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Ableism, Car accident, Child death, Chronic illness, and Cursing

archaicgambit's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

3.5

The only Stephen King book I’ve ever read. Some passages were truly gripping. Others were clumsy and dated. There’s a lot of era-typical misogyny and racism in this. Found myself particularly fascinated by the airport scenes & other 80s references. The extended wizard of Oz symbolism was interesting too. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child death, Animal death, and Murder

Moderate: Racial slurs, Medical trauma, Ableism, and Racism

Minor: Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Antisemitism, and Sexism

megselyane's review

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Violence, Mental illness, Animal death, Car accident, Child death, Gore, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Alcohol, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Animal cruelty, Infidelity, Sexism, Misogyny, Vomit, and Sexual content

amiegold's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

Oh man, what a ride.  I think this is the best portrayal of death and grieving that I have ever read.  King explores different kinds of death, as well as different reactions to it.  He even touches on different religions and views of death.   His portrayal of a funeral hit spot on.  

And in all reality, if most people had a chance to bring someone they loved back from the dead, especially in those painful first days, wouldn't they give anything to do it?

I didn’t love the condescending way Louis treats Rachel, even if it’s coming from a good place.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Car accident, Murder, Child death, Violence, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Gaslighting

Minor: Sexual content, Cursing, and Sexism

becca_w_'s review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Ableism, Grief, Infidelity, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Blood, Chronic illness, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Cursing, Drug use, Animal death, Child death, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual content, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Colonisation, and Addiction

Minor: Gun violence, Alcoholism, Confinement, Cancer, Car accident, Genocide, Cannibalism, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Sexism, and War

ely1996's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Murder

Minor: Sexism