Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

The Exorcist: 40th Anniversary Edition by

10 reviews

blacksphinx's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

My feelings are complicated. I cannot possibly assign a star rating to this book.

The book itself reads more like a modern thriller than a horror, moving at a quick pace with constant swerves. The dialogue is quick and often witty. I had seen the movie a couple of times but I had forgotten what a long and winding path there is to the iconic scene chosen for the movie's poster. The language in this book astounds me. Blatty has some amazing turns of phrase, and the way he writes when following the third-person perspective of Father Marrin was exquisite. It's a true page turner to this day. It's not perfect: the character of Dennings is completely absurd, having our doubting priest character be ethnically Jewish sure is a Choice, and the ending is jarringly abrupt. I'd like to read another novel like it. 

And yet... Like how Psycho and Silence of the Lambs both explicitly state that the serial killers in the movies are not trans, and yet still fed into and reinforced narratives of bigotry about trans women, I can't help but think about this book in relation to the Satanic Panic. This book was published nine years before Michelle Remembers acted as the torch igniting the pyre of that horrid moment in history, but I can't shake the feeling that it was one of many logs present in that fire. The characters in this novel are absolutely convinced that the Black Mass exists, that blood libel is on some level real, and that in the moment it was published there were groups out there doing ritual sacrifice. Did you know when put under the highly suggestive state of hypnosis to "recall repressed memories", many people actually wind up recalling movies they've seen? How many people were convinced they were abused by a satanic cult when they were actually remembering scenes from the movie adaptation of this book? Is that the fault of the book, or the society the book was published in? I don't know and I can't stop thinking about it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Mental illness, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexual violence, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Antisemitism, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol

Minor: Homophobia, Racism, Suicide, and Abandonment

Lots of misogynistic slurs. I didn't know you could be racist against Germans but this book proved you could!

gnraud's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Very, very good book. It's very intense and it's a lot more graphic than the movie in a lot more ways. If it were a direct movie it would be NC-17.

Read it when you have plenty of time to put the book down and process what you just read; in a place where no one can glance over your shoulder and see obscenities; and nowhere near mealtimes. 

I recommend reading an ebook instead of paper, if you can. This has some pretty intense vocabulary ("inchoate presentiment", anyone?) and it would have been very helpful to be able to define them quickly. There are also some snippets of other languages (ie, Latin during liturgy) and I'm sure it would be much easier to translate in an ebook! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Cursing, Gore, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Forced institutionalization, Antisemitism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Abandonment

Minor: Animal death, Homophobia, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Abortion, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Deportation

natfoster's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Alcohol

This book would be excellent if not for two specific scenes involving CSA (by the "demon") and while some may argue they're needed for the horror, I would argue that there's never a need for an adult male author to imagine a 12yo girl inserting things into her vagina against her will. And it could be argued that it was a different time but by then I'm wondering why you're arguing so hard in favor of graphic CSA scenes. It's sus.

stobblin's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-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

There's a reason why this is a classic and it showed by how easy it read and how compelling it was.

However, it very much is a product of its time and while I generally appreciate darker themes and shocking scenes in novels, some parts felt shocking just for the sake of shock. 

I'm glad I've read it at almost 30 and not at the first time I picked it up when I was 19.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug use, and Alcohol

grapes666's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? No

4.75

I was surprised by my love for this. The author is a fantastic storyteller 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Dementia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

There’s an infamous scene where a child is forced to inflict a pretty upsetting act and it’s basically impossible to appropriately and accurately describe in trigger warnings. So, WARNING WARNING WARNING

bonesnhoney's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

5.0

I knew a lot about the story when I started reading the book due to the movie. I saw that when I was young, and was overwhelmed by the evil entity that invaded Regan. What I did not know or expect of the book was the poetry. The language used while narrating this horribly fascinating story was alive with beauty and depth. I suppose I expected something a bit more gutteral and base. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Vomit, and Murder

looneysoysauce's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Gore, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Chronic illness, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Excrement, Grief, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Minor: Homophobia, Forced institutionalization, and Antisemitism

jackbifrost's review against another edition

fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, and Murder

Moderate: Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Alcohol

Minor: Homophobia

eininthebird's review against another edition

dark sad 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

3.0

Big content warning for this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Lesbophobia, and Injury/Injury detail

xwritingstoriesx's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.75

I wasn't expecting that ending whatsoever but i think it worked well. This book was a little slow-paced for me personally but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I'd never watched or read any content related to The Exorcist prior to this read so I wasn't expecting such crude horror scenes. I wish it had taken it further as the horror did feel as though it plateaued, not really reaching its full potential in my opinion. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, and Vomit

Moderate: Death, Suicide, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Alcoholism