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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
sophiareadswaytoomuch's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I was genuinely impressed with how many good decisions the characters made, and watching the tragedy continue to unfold despite their best efforts was heart-wrenching.
The family, including Jack, was impressively emotionally intelligent and honest with each other. Until the very end it still seemed like they might be able to salvage some of the situation.
I found myself really invested in the characters and their relationships, and I thought Danny was very well written for a child character.
This has immediately become one of my favourite King novels, and potentially one of my all time favourite horror novels. It’s a classic for a reason.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Mental illness, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Grief
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
alaskan_bull_worm'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
4.0
The disembodied style of the nightmare sequences weren’t as effective as they could have been. I think the looking-into-characters’-minds had the highest quality writing. (I’m not saying King was horrible in other ways. Just that you win some, you lose some.) The huge violent scenes near the end didn’t work as well with me, is what I’m trying to say. I really don’t know why. I guess my previous point was really the “why.”
I loved the parts where we get into Jack’s mind to see his slow degrade into madness (or loss of self-control, or the hotel taking over him, whichever way you see it). It was interesting to see his perception of his father shift later on. He kind of changed the story of why his father did what he did.
I have mixed feelings about Wendy. Her personality was kind of just “mother and wife,” though she certainly was a round character. I guess it’s just that near the end we see how strong she really is (willfully, mostly) compared to her more empty threats to Jack during their relationship. I mean, Jack did lots of bad things, and she was always upset about him doing that, but she rarely did much about it. I guess I like her?
So . . . yeah? Altogether it’s a pretty good book that I guess I’d recommend. I am likely to read more King in the future.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Death, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Car accident, and Death of parent
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
reed_ing's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
milohno's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, and Gaslighting
Minor: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Blood, Grief, Car accident, and Death of parent
bailee_c'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
3.25
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
ninah17's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting
corleone's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Biphobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship