Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Pet Sematary by Stephen King

139 reviews

bomenvernietiger's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

This isn't a book it's a depression machine. Jesus Christ Stephen. Incredible

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Classism, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Antisemitism, Blood, Body horror, Suicide, Ableism, Animal cruelty, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Alcohol, Child abuse, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Addiction, Violence, Alcoholism, Cannibalism, Car accident, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Chronic illness, Medical content, Terminal illness, and Vomit

Moderate: Infidelity

Louis says some ableist shit. You could interpret this as the author agreeing with that stuff, but since Louis is an asshole in other portions of the book too, I think it's just a symptom of the assholery.

ikeda89's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Child death, Grief, Death, and Animal death

aleesquer's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Car accident, Child death, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Blood, Alcohol, Antisemitism, Cannibalism, Chronic illness, Ableism, and Colonisation

ycboots's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense 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

4.5

This book was certainly written in 1983, and readers should be aware of that when going in--ymmv on the amount you can handle of typical Stephen King misogyny (though I personally found it on the lesser side of the scale of "grating" in his books), + as you can imagine, there are issues with his handling of native mythology and peoples (

of course we have the classic "indian burial ground" as a key plot element, though I found it less egregious than it might have been due to the micmac people being just one people who came across this awful place over time, and a wendigo, or the idea of one, is present. From my understanding, folks with the wendigo as a part of their cultural story do not generally approve of the use of this figure by outsiders, especially in a horror/shock value context

). 

That aside (a phrase I use not to dismiss concerns--you may very well be unable to accept those things and need not do so), as a work of storytelling this book is fantastic and one of my favorites. Horrifying, meaningful and emotional, satisfying. It isn't fast paced, if that's your thing (if you have read other longer King books, like The Shining or It, you'll find it about the same in terms of pace), but it builds tension and slowly plants its story in a very skillful, horrifying way. At several moments I felt nauseous from the dawning horror of what was inevitably going to come, and once you know of this inevitability, the story doesn't lose its suspense, its horror, or its shock. If you like to watch a story come together, it is definitely satisfying in that way, and if you enjoy horror relying more on a slow building dread than sudden shock, I think this is excellent for that.

I found what it has to say about death and grief, as well as our small place in the universe, very meaningful. I like that King is (not always, but very often!) able to go to very emotional places about the meaning of life, death, and age (considering both children and the very old especially), without getting so sentimental it cuts off the impact of the horror or keeps him from facing very bleak and terrible places. 

Overall, I think this may be my favorite of his books so far. Many lines and images will stick with me for some time. Stephen King has his faults, for sure, but the thing about him is despite them, damn him, he's a really good writer. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Animal death, and Grief

Moderate: Misogyny and Alcohol

ghostblush's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Child death, and Grief

madamenovelist's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Terminal illness, Blood, Death of parent, Medical content, Grief, Sexual content, Excrement, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Murder, Violence, Vomit, Ableism, and Car accident

Moderate: Xenophobia and Racism

Minor: Antisemitism

laurus_nobilis's review against another edition

4.0

Not horror but a tragedy 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Mental illness, and Grief

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

deathcabforkatey's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

This is the most chilling book I have ever read. I'm positively horrified in the most awesome way. A book about death, grief, and the ways in which we seek to run from both. Stephen King at his absolute best. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Child death, Animal death, and Death

Moderate: Violence

oktrouble1401213's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Chronic illness, Animal death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Terminal illness, Child death, and Death

silversparkles50's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Murder, and Grief