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gudrqa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, Sexual assault, Animal death, Cancer, Car accident, Child death, Cursing, Death, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Terminal illness, Torture, and Violence
tifftastic87's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I really wish the only black character in the book hadn't been King's typically magical being and that we didn't have to have him be magical for his incarceration to be in question. I do like that King made some comments early on that minorities in prison are rarely given the same freedoms, or excuses, or even pardons that white people are. But some of the use of Coffey in this story is hard to hear because not only is he incredibly large, he's incredibly dim witted. He is simply a being of instinct with a deeper sense of the world than the rest of us. He is almost childlike in some aspects, being afraid of the dark, not being able to tie his shoes etc. It is uncomfortable at times to hear it that way.
The other thing is that listening to it as an adult versus reading it as a teen I really wanted Paul to stand up to Brad a bit more. There never was any consequences for him and that just didn't sit right with me. But then, rarely are there consequences in life.
Criticisms out of the way, the episodic writing really made the whole feel of the book different than most other King books. Usually we sit with the main character for half to two-thirds of the story before anything really happens and we just get to know them. But with an episodic story like this, you have to get to know them organically and to me that really felt like Paul was sitting down and telling me the story of the fall of 1932 on the green mile. It felt comforting, like a story my own grandparents would have told me around a campfire. Apart from all the brutal murdering that is.
It really felt King did some work here to make criticisms of our prison system, nepotism, and, of course, capitol punishment. There is some light commentary on how race plays into a lot of these things and I think for a book published in 1996 by an older white man, that is maybe not as common as it would be today. While the commentary was clunky and not without it's fair share of white saviourism, it was nevertheless, at least broached.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Homophobia, Violence, Child abuse, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Cursing, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Cancer, Child death, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Drug abuse, Grief, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Animal death, Blood, and Car accident
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Rape, and Vomit
Minor: Ableism
rmfickfack's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child death, Child abuse, Death, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Suicide
leila_reads_too_much's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Gore, Rape, Racism, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Medical content, Murder, Vomit, Blood, Body horror, Car accident, Child death, Confinement, Terminal illness, and Violence
alaskaisback's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Rape, Murder, and Medical content
booksthatgotmeshook's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Dementia, Gun violence, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Medical content, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Violence, and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Blood, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Violence