Reviews tagging 'Body shaming'

Gerald's Game by Stephen King

9 reviews

lethargicbat's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

0.75

The more I think about this book the more my feelings shift from just disappointed to outright anger. The handling of the CSA in graphic detail yet barely a glimpse of attention to the death of the abusive men. The fact that a book centered on Jessie and her trauma and the feminist themes that were encoded in the premise alone of breaking free from her handcuffs that shackle her life by two differently awful yet still similar men, was handled poorly. The voices of these people in her life that make up her and their banter wasn't a slog when it could have been providing insight for this character. The way the ending shifts to be reassuring about the police and that the big baddie wasn't her father that molested her nor her husband that was going to commit martial rape but instead was a random ‘figure of death’ that actually turns out to be a gay, necrophiliac pedophile that likes to wear lingerie and has schizophrenia. 

There was so much potential for an empowering and horrifying story but King, like always, fails miserably to the point that the only potential his stories have is the general plot premise. His work remains best as living in the a bargin bin and reading the plot on a back before being tossed back and privately mused on while alone. Otherwise his writing sucks the potential out of these premises to make you so utterly exhausted that you don't even care enough to reimagine the better story you were hoping for.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Death, Gore, and Grief

Minor: Animal death, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Transphobia, Vomit, Antisemitism, Cannibalism, and Death of parent

adutcher's review

dark emotional sad tense medium-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

5.0

Wow. I love King & I love horror and I love this book but god it was uncomfortable to read. I really had breathe deeply through quite a few parts of this book if not close it and walk around for a bit to manage.

I normally don't love women written by men but I'll give credit, King really did a wonderful job in this book. Jessie & the many variations of voices she hears throughout this book was so interesting and for a book with primarily one location setting it is absolutely fascinating.

I really truly love this book so much, I don't know if I'll ever be able to read it again but I LOVE it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Blood, Cannibalism, and Car accident

kelseyholler's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-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

4.5

Did I like it? No. Was it the most horrifying and brutal book I've ever read? Yes. Rating it highly because it was well written and terrified me, so all in all a good horror book. With that being said, I'll never read it again and you can bet I'll never ever recommend it to anyone.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Gore, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Cannibalism

Minor: Ableism, Body shaming, Eating disorder, and Mental illness

theimposter's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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 book is a beautiful and traumatizing expression of trauma (sexual trauma specifically) and of the mind’s internal family system which Stephen King writes so accurately and in such a personifying way. It was also the most triggering book I’ve ever read and I wouldn’t recommend it for anyone who is triggered by sexual abuse/rape or anyone who doesn’t want to read gore and body horror. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Blood, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

nenaveenstra's review against another edition

dark reflective 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? It's complicated

3.75

I was impressed by how deeply and respectfully this book discussed sexual assault - this was way more than just a thriller surrounding a BDSM game gone wrong, it was a psychological event. I was deeply entertained and shook to the core with everything that happened. I'm not 100% sure how accurate the depictions of schizophrenia or multiple personality disorder as well as sexual assault were, but they felt respectful and I appreciate that.

I do think this book could've benefited from killing some darlings, if you know what I mean. Especially the last thirty-ish pages - which read as a sort of epilogue - could've been scrapped in my opinion, leaving the ending a bit more open. It was all tied up too neatly.

Anyway this was a fun time, and I'm glad to have read it. Nothing tops The Shining, though ;)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Body shaming

Minor: Ableism, Animal death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Suicide, and Antisemitism

The book is based around an idea of BDSM that isn't entirely accurate and can be very harmful. This is not what BDSM looks like, everyone!! Because BDSM would imply mutual consent!!! Also there are two subtle references to Nazi Germany in this book which were kind of odd - they were supposed to be funny I think, but I thought they were a little bit tasteless.

joshoonet's review against another edition

dark 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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Gore, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Grief, and Car accident

Minor: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Alcohol

ma_bster'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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I read this book after watching the movie (which goes against everything I typically am), hoping that it would provide more insight into the character or the ending. Honestly, I thought the adaptation was faithful enough and better-paced. As always, King is great in building tension and god, did I squirm while reading

the degloving scene

but overall, I felt the conclusion of the book was just fine.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Gore, Incest, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Blood, Cannibalism, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Sexual assault, and Murder

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, and Car accident

queer_venus's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-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

3.75

Literally made me feel physically sick

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Stalking, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Suicide attempt

btrz7's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Blood

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Death, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis