Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
Woah :-O
The less you know before reading this book the better...
The less you know before reading this book the better...
dark
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
My first Stephen king book. This book was SO SLOW. Definitely had a lot of potential but by the time it got interesting I was too bored.
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Pet Sematary serves as a staunch and haunting reminder that the grass isn’t always greener.
Here we find a captivating read based in magical realism. The tale is made creepier than it already is (King himself calls it his scariest novel) by its albeit loose basis on true events.
What this book is to me, at the end of the day, is a riveting portrait of what it means to grieve, how people deal with loss, and the impact of grief on our lives.
Themes of denial and a twisted sense of hope for change persist throughout the book and are central to its plot. We see characters routinely act on brash emotion and be left to deal with the consequences.
All things considered, I would recommend this book to readers looking for a ghastly and mystic portrait of death and all things encompassed by it. I will however note that readers coping with grief in their lives may find it a particularly poignant and/or turbulent experience.
Notable prose includes the following:
“The old have their tricks, Louis thought. Small ones, but some of them are good ones.”
“When a good animal gets run down in the road, a kid never forgets.” (My childhood cat was hit by a car during my senior year of high school, so this line hit particularly hard.)
“You learned to accept, or you ended up in a small room writing letters home with Crayolas.”
“It’s like many other things in life, Ellie. You keep on the path and all’s well. You get off it and the next thing you know you’re lost if you’re not lucky.”
“What they don’t think is that maybe they should be questioning those feelings of doubt before they question their own hearts.”
“… but let there not be these dark and draggling horrors on the nightside of the universe.”
(Read along with the audiobook narrated by Michael C. Hall, which was enthralling and added to the experience.)
Here we find a captivating read based in magical realism. The tale is made creepier than it already is (King himself calls it his scariest novel) by its albeit loose basis on true events.
What this book is to me, at the end of the day, is a riveting portrait of what it means to grieve, how people deal with loss, and the impact of grief on our lives.
Themes of denial and a twisted sense of hope for change persist throughout the book and are central to its plot. We see characters routinely act on brash emotion and be left to deal with the consequences.
All things considered, I would recommend this book to readers looking for a ghastly and mystic portrait of death and all things encompassed by it. I will however note that readers coping with grief in their lives may find it a particularly poignant and/or turbulent experience.
Notable prose includes the following:
“The old have their tricks, Louis thought. Small ones, but some of them are good ones.”
“When a good animal gets run down in the road, a kid never forgets.” (My childhood cat was hit by a car during my senior year of high school, so this line hit particularly hard.)
“You learned to accept, or you ended up in a small room writing letters home with Crayolas.”
“It’s like many other things in life, Ellie. You keep on the path and all’s well. You get off it and the next thing you know you’re lost if you’re not lucky.”
“What they don’t think is that maybe they should be questioning those feelings of doubt before they question their own hearts.”
“… but let there not be these dark and draggling horrors on the nightside of the universe.”
(Read along with the audiobook narrated by Michael C. Hall, which was enthralling and added to the experience.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death
Moderate: Gore
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Cannibalism
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
tense
fast-paced
3.5stars : the mastery of Stephen King is at display here - more so in the writing than in the story, which is what made me drop a couple of stars.
King's manifestation of grief through his characters shows him at the height of his powers and his ability to write visceral scenes is among the greatest of writers.
Perhaps because the story itself has been spoilt or been made into movies, it doesn't really convey the shock that you'd expect from a book of this type. Nonetheless, a classic King experience that you can pick up if you're new to his works.
King's manifestation of grief through his characters shows him at the height of his powers and his ability to write visceral scenes is among the greatest of writers.
Perhaps because the story itself has been spoilt or been made into movies, it doesn't really convey the shock that you'd expect from a book of this type. Nonetheless, a classic King experience that you can pick up if you're new to his works.
dark
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is technically my second Stephen King (I’ve also read The Green Mile), and Pet Sematary completely threw me around. It’s basically a beyond-exasperated look at how awful and inhumane grief can be, and the immeasurable insanity it drags you into.
As someone who has experienced deep and horrific grief, I felt really seen and called out here. King captures that raw, unhinged side of loss in a way that’s both terrifying and painfully real.
I was entertained, horrified, and honestly kind of impressed the whole time. That said, it was published in 1983, and the language shows its age. The Indigenous references in particular were lazy and offensive (cannibalism?? really, Stephen?).
Flaws aside, I still enjoyed it—and I’ll probably be haunted by it for a long time.