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chaptersbydani's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Word on the street is that every one of Stephen King’s books have been banned/or challenged at some point since their publication. The Shining was challenged for “containing violence and demonic possession and [ridiculing] the Christian religion” in Wyoming and Alabama.
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I’m honestly shocked that I liked this as much as I did. This book broke my reading slump and kept me up all night. This is my first Stephen King book and I totally understand why he is the icon he is.
The way he writes is just mind blowing. It’s so simple. You never feel like it’s over your head and you always feel so close to figuring everything out. But you just never quite do until he reveals it. And despite the fact that basically every character is the most awful person I’ve ever encountered (Jack being the worst), I was sucked in immediately.
And the way the text was formatted??? Cherry on top. It added so much suspense and really illustrated the flirtation/ descent into madness.
There definitely was violence and demonic possession. I didn’t see the ridicule of Christianity (and wouldn’t have cared if it was there tbh.) My only issue is that I didn’t love King’s use of racial slurs. It made sense when the hotel used them and I could halfway accept that. Capitalism is an incredibly racist system and is violent- emotionally and physically- to Black folks (understatement). It makes sense that the Hotel, the symbol of capitalism here, was verbally violent to our main Black character. The other uses just felt out of line considering the author is white.
I wish that our main Black character, Dick, had more purpose in the book than guiding Danny and saving him and Wendy. It felt like he was just a tool for Danny’s development than anything. He’s a cool character and deserved a little bit more.
I will say, this is a book that I was pleasantly surprised lives up to its hype. I’m excited to watch the movie and see how it matches up. Also apparently there’s a sequel? I’m thinking of checking that out too.
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
ten_telegrams's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Gore, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexual content, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
rebeccalaur's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
One downside for me was some of the language used. Unnecessary details that made me feel a bit uncomfortable.
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Car accident
nyctxnthus's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, and Alcohol
Moderate: Drug abuse, Misogyny, Racial slurs, and Fire/Fire injury
pjsans's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Grief, and Gaslighting
kaykad's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
It's not.
Wanted to read a classic King beofre diving into his new book and this did not disappoint! Totally understand the friends episode where Joey puts his copy of the shining in the freezer.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
binderjo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, and Suicidal thoughts
annikw's review against another edition
- 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
2.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Suicide, and Violence
Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Murder
Minor: Cannibalism
m_hates_reading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Took me over a month to get through, which isn’t exactly the book’s fault, but it’s not a plus either.
Again with Stephen King, I think there’s a lot of stuff towards the start that could have just not been there.
Really hated the way Wendy was written, but that’s nothing new with King.
I would have liked more focus on Danny than Jack; I get that the idea is you’re following the antagonist, and your meant to watch him loose his mind piece by piece, but it just rly wasn’t doing it for me. I just wasn’t invested in Jack’s story; possibly bc I already (more or less) knew the ending, but I think a good book is one you can know the ending to and still enjoy.
It wasn’t bad, there were things I liked. I probably would have liked the book better if there was more straight-up horror from Danny and Wendy’s perspectives (217, the fire hose, the elevator…) but again, I appreciate that’s not what King was going for with the book - he was looking for reality. “Would Jack still have done it if not for the Overlook? Was he really possessed or had he finally just snapped?”. But honestly I couldn’t care less.
Not my favourite concept wise, and I know for an absolute fact King can and has written better.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Violence, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
msradiosilence's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Read my full review at: https://www.rainyreader.com/single-post/the-shining/.
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail