Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Der Exorzist by William Peter Blatty

13 reviews

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.

devynrj's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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

4.75

A heavy and immaculate slow burn. It was honestly a bit hard to get into at first, the writing and voice of the characters is very specific in a way that was a bit hard for me to read before I got used to it.
I love the realistic build up and interpretation of Regan’s symptoms. It really kept me hooked. We all have a pretty good idea of what’s going to go down based on the prologue, title, and popularity of the film, but it was still very engaging and interesting to read exactly how it would play out. 
Because of the slow burn nature, there were some points where it felt like we were just treading water and the story sort of plateaus, but it really does pay off eventually.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Vomit, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Alcoholism and Homophobia

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

meaghanelizabook's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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: Alcoholism, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

bearystarry's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

4.0

Very similar to the movie, which isn't a bad thing. The antisemitism was ... gratuitous and unneeded. Other than that and a few other brief things I enjoyed this a lot.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Racism

thereadingdude's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Blood, and Vomit

Moderate: Death, Gore, Sexual content, Suicide, Excrement, Medical content, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Alcohol

poirot's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• 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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Excrement, and Murder

Minor: Addiction, Child death, Drug use, and Suicide

cinderrunner's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Brilliant example of a horror novel. Genuinely one of the best books i have yet to read in the genre. The horror isnt extremely in your face but it is still deeply unsettling. Its a bit of a slow burn. The way its written constantly challenges the notion of if Regan is truly possessed or just mentally ill, which mirror social beliefs and functions in a brilliant way. It really haunts you. The movie is, of course, iconic. But the way the book is constructed just flows and builds so much better. A must read for horro fans. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail