Reviews tagging 'Abortion'

Insomnia by Stephen King

21 reviews

lmcl's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

I love this book. I love the main characters, I love the story. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abortion

maclunkeyy's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

I really enjoyed this book. It's a very long, very dense, and very conceptual story. I found myself wishing it would just be over at times, but it always managed to pull me back in and keep me invested. 

The emotional aspects of this book hit me pretty hard, and I found the story of Ralph and the other old-timers very unique and interesting. The ending was beautiful, and definitely touched my heart (especially that

handshake between Ralph and Clotho/Lachesis

. Ralph reflecting on

Carolyn's death in the hospital

ruined me; the line about his metaphors falling away and the inability to explain his deep grief was very raw and painful to read. 

The themes of this book felt unique and well explored. Abortion rights and the fighting between 'Pro-Choicers' and 'Pro-Lifers' is, sadly, still relevant today. Abortion was used as a metaphor a few times during the plot, and felt appropriate and well used. I felt King did well exploring both sides of the issue in a fair and even manner.

The imagery of the auras was beatiful and well done, and built a wonderful and unique backdrop for the story. Big fan of Derry as the setting as well, and the small references to IT and even Pet Semetary.

This book is great, but I feel it should really only be read by people also reading the Dark Tower series. It seemed a little complicated and maybe baseless without prior knowledge of the universe. I read this book years ago, before starting the Dark Tower series. The stakes felt low during that read through, and the climax wasn't really that satisfying. This time around, I felt differently.

Spoilers for the Dark Tower series:

I think the book does a great job explaining the purpose of the Dark Tower, and I'm excited to see how the ending of Insomnia impacts Roland and his ka-tet. There is some fantastic worldbuilding present in Insomnia, and I feel that I understand a lot of complex moving parts in the backdrop of King's universe now.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Abortion, and Murder

Minor: Infertility

killerpancake's review against another edition

After listening to the Just King Things ep I’m glad I didn’t continue. The center of the story is about abortion and atm I don’t have the ability to separate my feelings from the time period this was written. I just want to scream “protect women and don’t apologize for it!” 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Violence and Abortion

lavendercayde's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Cancer, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexism, Suicide, and Torture

kaitzo's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Violence, and Abortion

Minor: Car accident

zone_a3's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Car accident, Abortion, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Miscarriage, Rape, Suicide, Pregnancy, and Lesbophobia

julienicole1106's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Dementia, Grief, Car accident, Abortion, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

f_amiliar_happine_ss's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

What a fun read :)

While I can't compare this novel to Stephen King's other works, I enjoyed it just the same. My first King book and now it's one of my faves.
Set in the nineties, we follow Ralph Roberts after his late wife passes away and he begins to experience complications while falling asleep. His condition deteriorates greatly, causing hallucinations beyond comprehension. Eventually, his hallucinations begin to align with current political events. Others soon experience insomnia induced hallucinations as well, luckily that's to Ralph's advantage.
I don't think I can explain any more of the plot without giving spoilers, though the book ended swiftly and concisely.  
Character-wise, I appreciated our MC's with their quick thinking. Ralph and his love interest, Lois, made quite the pair. Side characters were just as unique, significant to the plot and MC's development.
Five stars.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Gore, Violence, and Abortion

Minor: Animal death and Car accident

elisweets's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

This book took me on a damn roller coaster ride, that’s for sure, but I loved every minute of it. I loved the little details that connected this book to IT and added more depth to one of my favorite Stephen King stories. There’s a whole other world… many of them in fact… but they're especially active in Derry, Maine.
This is one of Mr. King’s stories that I think has a perfect ending and it had me bawling my eyes out at almost midnight. The one thing I will say is

Bill, my favorite character, deserved better.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Cancer, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Abortion, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts

thesicaeffect's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.0

dos estrellas menos por la hipersexualización de las mujeres

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Abortion

Minor: Miscarriage