Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Carrie by Stephen King

47 reviews

hiddenfallacies's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

4.5

Celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, Carrie is a landmark achievement in horror for many reasons. It's the start of King's long and celebrated career, a novel that centers around women and places their pain at the epicenter of its plot, and it created a cultural memory that endures to this day - one that empathizes with Carrie rather than demonizes her. Told over three parts that function as three long chapters, the novel tells Carrie's story in retrospect through a collection of articles, interviews, and varying point of views. Going through the past, present, and future of the ill-fated prom night, the reader gets to know Carrie and all she has endured. Above all else, this novel is a tragedy about Carrie White's last hope to become a person and the ways in which society crushed that dream.

The first of the three parts suffers the most, lacking the natural momentum and masterful framing that surrounds the prom night itself and its aftermath in the story. This fact alone is what keeps this novel from garnering five stars for me. The novel is also littered with the artifact of being King's first, lacking some of the grammatical and structural prowess he cultivated over time. It's also important to note that there's a fair bit of racism present throughout the novel, dropped in small phrases and cultural references that leave the modern reader wondering if King meant to include them to indicate moral failings of certain antagonists or the time period itself, or if he simply was ignorant of certain biases he held himself. I believe informing potential readers of this is crucial, as I was blindsided by their sporadic inclusion while reading, taking me out of the story.

Although King has published better novels, as well as worse, I believe Carrie deserves a space not only on an essential reading list for King, but for horror as a whole. It remains culturally significant and moving to this day. May Carrie White never be forgotten. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Racism, Religious bigotry, Fatphobia, Self harm, Sexism, Body shaming, Sexual harassment, Animal death, Car accident, Child abuse, Violence, Sexual violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Animal cruelty, Blood, Bullying, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Mental illness, Murder, Racial slurs, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Antisemitism, Alcohol, Cursing, Abortion, Classism, Drug use, Confinement, Grief, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Pregnancy

shannonredwine8's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

Alot of womanizing/abuse. Mention of animal cruelty. Alot of use of the word GD.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Grief, Animal death, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Bullying, Death of parent, Sexual content, Cursing, Murder, Body shaming, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Death, Sexual violence, and Emotional abuse

biammonite's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

I really enjoyed the book. People always compare the movies, but after reading the book I'm not really fully satisfied with any of them anymore, at least the portrayals of Carrie. I read it in practically one day, it was well paced and easy to read in one sitting. Carrie is a brilliant character, and I liked that she was less redeemable. It was good to get several peoples point of view as well as snippets from the aftermath and news stories dotted in, it added a lot to the overall world building. 
Sometimes Stephen King is a bit of a freak with high school students but we already knew that.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexual content, Animal death, Child abuse, Mass/school shootings, Bullying, and Sexual violence

octagon's review against another edition

dark reflective 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Death, Bullying, Child abuse, Religious bigotry, Blood, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Self harm, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Miscarriage, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Confinement

Minor: Racial slurs

cryptofauna's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.0

woah!! okay i can def see how this launched his career. just amazing. 
scary in its honesty and dark but it all feels so authentic? although it is more tense/ a thriller than i think it's a horror story. the events are horrifying but it wasn't scary or spooky in the traditional sense  
i also feel like knowing the vague plot of this book because of how popular it is kind of added to the tense vibe because you know whats gonna happen at prom but carrie goes anyway.  
well written with an interesting style (i do really enjoy a book that's a completion of different sources) but I did find it a little hard to keep track of sometimes, but i think it was mostly the kindle formatting making everything look the same w no breaks in between perspectives occasionally
read all in one day (especially as i tried to beat my kindle battery)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Sexual violence, Violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Murder, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Classism, Drug use, Miscarriage, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

ammm1990's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual violence

ilariasbizzera's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual content, Blood, Bullying, Violence, Sexual violence, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, and Child abuse

Minor: Alcohol, Car accident, Death of parent, and Death

pikkumarja's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.5

Ensimmäinen Stephen King, jonka olen lukenut (toki myös Kingin esikoisromaani).

Kirja on ehkä eniten ahdistava ja kamala, ja on mahdotonta olla tuntematta myötätuntoa useimpia hahmoja kohtaan. Kirjan tarina on loistava kertomus ulkopuolisuudesta, julmuudesta ja välittämisen merkityksestä. Carrien äiti saa oikeasti raivon heräämään.

Kirja on oikeasti hyvä, mutta ei ehkä ominta genreä. Ja välillä kirjan muoto (sekaisin eri näkökulmia, katkelmia kirjoista ja kuulusteluista) tuntui haastavalta.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Religious bigotry, Violence, Blood, and Death

Moderate: Child death and Child abuse

Minor: Sexual violence

ronaefrati's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Genocide, Cultural appropriation, Bullying, Body shaming, Sexual harassment, Child abuse, Blood, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, and Emotional abuse

torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-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: Child death, Fatphobia, Self harm, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Rape, Violence, Emotional abuse, Blood, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Child abuse, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Bullying, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Dysphoria, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Xenophobia