Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

Rose Madder by Stephen King

25 reviews

jennalerm's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gore, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Stalking, and Murder

Moderate: Homophobia, Police brutality, and Lesbophobia

cvrios's review against another edition

dark emotional tense slow-paced

• Strong character development? Yes

5.0

they had this in my middle school library! i first read it when i was like 13! this is not for a 13 yr old to read!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Blood, Police brutality, and Murder

illtakethenightshiftx's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Rose Madder has been on my “King need to read” list for a long time and I’m glad I finally read it! It’s a brutal look at domestic abuse, the dangers survivors face, and their journey to escaping. There are also some magical elements because it isn’t a Stephen King book without them! 

This novel isn’t so much horror like ghosts and killer clowns, it’s much more real. If I had read this in a different point in my life, it probably would’ve become my favorite  book. It’s full of tension, creeping dread, and truly lovable characters who you’re rooting for all the way until the end (except Norman. He’s the embodiment of evil.) This time period of King novels (late 80s-early 90s) shows a marked change in his writing, specifically the subjects that he’s writing about which coincides with his sobriety. The Losers’ Club has talked about this shift in King’s writing in great detail on their podcast, so you should probably listen to their conversations because they’re fantastic. 

There are also several Dark Tower connections mentioned throughout this novel, if you’re a Dark Tower fan!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual violence, and Violence

btrz7's review against another edition

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Homophobia, Incest, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Cannibalism, Stalking, and Murder

stars_and_stags's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.0

I really enjoyed this book, however it is very much a book of its time. 

The first chapter is very dark and the opening pages are horrific to read. 

There are also quite a few words & phrases that were quite shocking to hear in 2023. 

Overall, I like the journey Rose goes on but I perfectly understand why some choose not to read this. It’s a tough read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Grief, Stalking, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

tifftastic87's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.25

Another that I loved as a teen but didnt hit the same way as an adult. 

It made me more emotional this time around for sure but it was... Definitely 90s. Its always hard when King writes from his villain's perspective because they are always truly horrible and its hard to hear the language they use about other people. However it does truly make you hate Norman. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

gemdnnlly's review against another edition

slow-paced

2.25

I don’t even know where to start with content warnings for this. Filled with racist, homophobic and antisemitic slurs. 

There’s so much repetition and it feels like King was just trying desperately to reach 500+ pages 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, and Antisemitism

srags's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

carynamy's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• 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: Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Violence, and Murder

dani_j_norwell's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-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

3.5

For me, this book is between a 3- and 4-star, but I appreciate King's world-building, character development, and use of literary devices so much, I'm pushing it up to 4-stars. Even so, I would warn Stephen King fans that this is definitely not like the other books of his you've probably read.

Personally, I'm mostly only familiar with King's most popular titles (The Shining, Pet Sematary, Misery, 11.22.63) and so I was intirgued when I found this older book of his that I hadn't heard of in an Audible 2 for 1 sale. I'm glad I listened to the audiobook for two reasons:

(1)it was a really cool experience; the production of it was excellent with music, sound effects, and background noise related to the scene AND Stephen King himself reads the parts of book that tell Norman's story but also
(2) I truly don't think I could have powered through this book if I had read it.

Rose Madder needs some serious trigger warnings.
I expected domestic violence due to the blurb of the book, but I was not prepared for how detailed and explicit it was. In particular, the book opens with a scene of Norman abusing his pregnant wife, Rose, and, as a result, she loses her baby. The way I just wrote that is ions and ions more gentle than the delivery in the book, however. Sure, it established how evil of a character Norman is from the very beginning but in a story this long and winding, I think such information could have been delivered in a less revolting manner. Aside from that, there's a lot of murdering (with graphic detail, blood, and other bodily fluids), and there's some really sickening thought processes from Norman as he loses his mind. Childhood sexual abuse is also mentioned. 

As long as you're prepared for the dark nature of this story, I think you'll find that King's real talent for creating characters with depth, flaws, and demons shines through in this book. No one person is pure evil nor pure benevolence, and King's character development clearly shows that. I found the fantastical, mythological elements of this story to be interesting, but at the same time, (not having a deep knowledge of such things) I didn't quite understand the need for so much of it. Unlike in other King novels, I felt like the story relied heavily on the symbolism of the Rose Madder painting but the significance of/necessity for that was never really made clear.

All in all, I don't think this is one of King's best works. It drags on a bit and it gets disgusting at time, but I don't regret reading it. If nothing else, it was cool to experience a lesser-known novel of a well-known author and therefore analyze all the ways in which it was similar to his more popular tiltes as well as the way it was not.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Stalking, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, and Torture