Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

It by Stephen King

170 reviews

gretareadsbooks's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death

dkonstanzer's review against another edition

dark 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

The plot and characters are great, but the book itself (similar to many of King’s other works) is extremely slow-paced to the point of dragging on unnecessarily. The length allows for a great in-depth exploration of the characters, but there are certainly scenes that stretch longer than needed and add little to the plot. There is also something to be said about the author’s portrayal of women—this is a critique often heard when discussing Stephen King’s works, but while the women are certainly multifaceted and have diverse personalities, the objectification of Beverly Marsh specifically can be off-putting to those uncomfortable reading graphic sex scenes (I’d like to make it clear that I’m not referring to the objectification of her by the other characters, as men treating her as an object and her breaking free of those who hurt her is an incredibly poignant part of her character development—I’m more-so referring to the use of her by the author as a way to write unnecessary (and sometimes gross in the case of a particular scene from before the time skip to adults) sex scenes and the objectification of her body by the author himself). While a longtime tradition of horror in both written and visual media is the inclusion of naked and/or sexually exploited women without any sort of plot relevance, more recent takes on the genre have managed to steer away from it, so this type of content may be shocking to some who haven’t interacted much with older works yet (basically—this was written in 1986 and it shows). Overall, I’d call this a good read, and the author does a fairly good job of representing real-life issues in his characters’ development, but I’d recommend caution before diving in—this book is a beast, clocking in at over 1000 pages, and a number of the scenes can feel a little pointless and are hard to get through. While I’d definitely say reading is worth it (as it genuinely is well-crafted with deep characters and an interesting, well fleshed-out plot) it will take up a significant portion of time to read, and can at times be a bit of a drag. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, and Suicide

Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Cursing, and Antisemitism

graphic sex scene between multiple children

jsan22's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infertility, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

carltonatasha's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

garmiet's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Infertility, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Infidelity

Not sure if pedophilia counts for The Scene near the end, because they’re all the same age. But it is graphic and they are all young.

dontquotekonthat's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny hopeful fast-paced

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

4.0

This was my first Stephen King and it was so much easier to read and so much more enjoyable than I ever expected. King managed to capture the joys of childhood and  friendship in youth in a way that whether you had many friends or none, you felt nostalgic for that time in your life. The alternating timelines were very well done and there way the beats of each timeline were matched and eventually flowed into each other helped the story roll along. And it also gave some weight to the overarching idea of recovering the magic of adolescence and the power of belief. There were about seven pages towards the end I’m pretending don’t exist and your man Mike felt a little forgotten at the end but all in all, a really great read. Perhaps not suitable for those who dislike gore but didn’t turn the stomach too much for fans of the genre. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol

witchboyofboston's review

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-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? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Incest, Infidelity, and Alcohol

bagonballoon's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense slow-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? Yes

5.0

This is my favorite book. It means the world to me, and I’ve read it more times than I can count. The audiobook in particular is a treat. It’s a masterpiece of horror for a reason. But it is also a beautiful meditation on childhood and friendship.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Blood, Antisemitism, Death of parent, and Alcohol

skylerhill's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Stephen King was almost certainly gifted the uncanny ability to write horrendously shitty people. Like oh my god. 

Also, Stephen. Steve. Why on God’s green earth did you think it necessary to add the kids’ sex scene??? Personally feel as though you just, like, shouldn’t have done that and that it was in no way integral and you could’ve come up with something different but idk.

Anyway, this book is a lot: it’s thick, it’s outdated, it’s disgusting, it’s mentally challenging… but it’s also well-done classic horror, and maybe the most unsettling book I’ve ever read. I don’t think this is as good as The Shining (read the book, the movie’s mid), and there are plenty of modern horror pieces I’d recommend before this, but it’s still very effective at unsettling, for one reason or another. 8.25/10.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

wickedbastard's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense 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

4.75

Damn near perfect.

This is my second time reading IT and I think I enjoyed it much more this time through, now that I know the main beats of the story. I'm very tempted to give it the full 5 stars outright but can't quite make myself do it. It is an AMAZING book -- but not perfect, and it's good to remember that, especially a book as enshrined as this one.

This time 'round I found myself picking up more on Stan as a character, and really enjoying him as a character. He's the doubter, the skeptic, the one who clings to brickwall reality even when the impossible is threatening to destroy him. It might seem like he lacks the capacity for faith but the reality is far too simple: Stan has little except his faith -- faith in the REAL, the tangible, the logical, the proven. And during his confrontations with IT, he is able to weaponize his faith in the real against IT and prevail.

Two scenes stand out (arguably the main two Stan is in at all).

One: Stan's account of the drowned boys in the standpipe. Even re-reading that, it gave me such chills and gooseflesh. The detail and pacing is absolutely flawless in that scene. It is a pure legend and captures the soul of the child from whose perspective it is told. The second: When Stan uses the names of birds to repel the attacks of IT. There is something powerful about that.

I believe in scarlet tanagers even though I never saw one. Same with vultures, and the New Guinea mudlark and the flamingos of Brazil. I believe in the golden bald eagle! And I think there really might be a phoenix somewhere! But I don't believe in you, so get the fuck out of here! Get out! Hit the road, Jack!
-- Stan, altered for continuity.

Last thought for this time:

During the final Ritual of Chüd, I think it should have been Beverly who finished the ritual against IT. As it actually happened, Bill attempted and lost his grip; Richie went in and saved bill, but couldn't hold on long enough; and then Eddie, outside of it all, dealt a mortal wound to IT and paid with his life.

Those first two points are all good with me, but I don't think Eddie's part should have happened. I think it would have been much better if, when Richie was starting to lose his grip, Bev entered the fray and kicked its ass, out there in the cosmic drift. Woman-to-woman, nobody fucks with my friends but me kinda thing. Woulda been cool.

Okay, last last thought: The audiobook was truly a stellar experience. Mine was narrated by Steven Weber and he worked his absolute ass off. He did all of Richie's voices, and Bill's stutter, plus the voices of IT, plus many voices/inflections for certain characters. He also has a really good sense of how to read a book and make the cadence sound natural, off-the-cuff, casual. Listening to his style is pure delight. I will happily listen to any audiobook narrated by Steven Weber.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, and Murder