Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

7 reviews

hookerkitty's review against another edition

tense slow-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

2.0

Well this was incredibly disappointing. I think I fell asleep just about every time I tried reading this, regardless of how tired I felt beforehand.

And don’t know if it’s my ADHD or what, but so many of the sentences were sooo long (one even had two semicolons!) that I had no idea what was happening by the time I got to the end of it. I had to keep re-reading sections bc I kept zoning out of boredom. 

I also wish that Eleanor and Theodora had more dissimilar names, bc I could not keep track of who was who for way too long. Mrs. Dudley felt like an NPC who’d only been programmed with a few set lines and very rarely deviated from them. 

I was left with WAY more questions than answers. Many say this is done on purpose to be creepier - there are times where that works, but it just feels like lazy (or unskilled) writing to me. I don’t care how many awards it’s received. I love a good psychological horror/thriller/mystery, and while there were a couple times I actually got really into it, it’s disappointing that they were such short sections of the book. No good payoff in the end. While this isn’t even that old, it further cements my previous belief that older books are not for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Blood, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Minor: Misogyny, Sexism, and Fire/Fire injury

thelittleoddling's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

I went into hill house expecting it to be a lot scarier than it was. Which I think is part of why my rating is not higher. It turned out to be less edge of my seat terrifying and more surreal. So if you want a book about an old house that drives a young woman mad I’d say it’s definitely a good read. 

Also Mrs. Montague is the most annoying woman I’ve ever read. And I can’t tell if that’s a testament to the authors skill or something I hated about the book. Maybe it’s both.

Journeys end in lovers meeting. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexism

Minor: Suicide

abicaro17's review against another edition

challenging dark funny mysterious 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

3.75

As four characters come together to investigate the psychological effects of a haunted house, Eleanor narrates the effect on both her and the others. As the lively aspects of the house become increasingly creepier, Eleanor and the house mates begin to devolve. The set up of this book is incredibly interesting and I actually really enjoyed the slow burn. I think my issues stem from two parts. Part 1: no one in the house ever really addresses any haunted occurrences unless it's during or immediately after. Part 2: The last third of the book was incredibly confusing. I think if I was actually reading it and not listening to the audiobook, it might be different. Overall it was an interesting book and i'm intrigued to see how the show modernized it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

wickedgrumpy's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

2.5

If I based everything purely on vibes, this book would have rated higher but it kind of got to the point where I was having trouble picturing what was going on and so I got confused about what was actually happening..

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Content Warnings

Minor: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

vaguely_pink's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Big thanks to my newest literary heroine Shirley Jackson for yassifying the ghost story. You truly were ahead of your time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Car accident, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Minor: Confinement, Gun violence, Mental illness, Sexism, Blood, Grief, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

louiepotterbook's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• 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

1.0

Eleanor deserved better and the fact that Theo lived and she didn’t is absolute bullshit

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Dysphoria

bwwilhelm's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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? Yes

5.0

This book is a slow-burner. It takes a while for things to start happening, but Shirley Jackson did a *fantastic* job of building tension. And, of course, once the ball gets rolling, it's a dead sprint right through to the last page. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicide, Car accident, and Death of parent

Minor: Bullying, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Violence