Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Pet Sematary by Stephen King

7 reviews

lecheeese's review

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-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? Yes

4.0

A study in the hold grief can have on a person

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Car accident, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Medical content, and Murder

Moderate: Infidelity, Cursing, and Gaslighting

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Aside from the casual racism (using outdated terms for Native American people and unnecessarily bringing people’s skin colour to attention), a near-flawless book.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

mlovesbooks's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

My first official Stephen King read did not disappoint.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Child abuse, and Child death

Moderate: Gaslighting and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Racism and Racial slurs

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

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

our_bookish_reads's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

It has been well over 15 years since I last read Pet Sematary and I am so happy I got to read it again. I had forgotten so much about this book and how much I actually love it. This has to be one of the few books that SK wrote that isn't long-winded and drones on the whole time. Don't get me wrong, there were some parts where this fid happen, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. There's such a creepy and great atmosphere, and the pacing is just perfect. I must admit, I think some parts went by too fast while other parts (that I personally didn't think mattered much) were lingered on. You can bet that I will read this again. Oh yes, I will read this again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Alcohol, Animal death, Medical trauma, Murder, Violence, Blood, and Cursing

Moderate: Sexual content and Suicidal thoughts

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