Reviews tagging 'Eating disorder'

Misery by Stephen King

19 reviews

tyelperinquar's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense 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? Yes

4.5

Funny that the last book I finished before my reading break was a King book and this book, the one that got me back into reading again, is also a King book.

Anyway, I really enjoyed this one. Everything takes place within Annie Wilkes’s house, and the tension in the book comes from wondering what Annie will do to Paul next, and wondering if Paul will be able to get out of it alive. (Can you, Paulie?)
For fans of more traditional thrillers, there may not be enough action, because there’s a lot of Paul writing and a lot of him just being cooped up in the bedroom Annie keeps him in. But for people who enjoy psychological thrillers, tense character interactions, exploring the psyche of the main characters, and watching how a traumatic situation can change a person, there’s a lot to enjoy.

This is only the second King book I’ve read, but the guy’s a bit weird about sex. There are some non-rape situations in the book that he describes as rape which are really uncomfortable to read, but I guess that’s the goal? Still, I don’t  particularly appreciate them. That’s the one thing about King’s writing that irks me— otherwise, I adore how he’s able to craft a narrative and portray characters and the scenes they’re in.

I listened to an audiobook recording of this book— Lindsay Crouse was a phenomenal narrator. Her voice for Annie was absolutely spot-on, and the emotion she can conjure up made the story that much more immersive. Highly, highly recommend giving it a listen for her voice work.

I was really worried the book was going to end with

the scene where Annie chops Paul’s head off

, but that ends up not being the case. Thank God. Figuring out the details at the end about

where Annie was found in the barn and how she was holding a chainsaw

… that was chilling.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book! Very easy to listen to and pick up. And what can I say, I love reading about men who get into awful situations and are traumatized about it. It’s cathartic. Thanks for your service, Paulie!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Car accident, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Minor: Cursing, Racial slurs, and Terminal illness

There’s no actual rape, but King describes several non-rape situations (ie.

Annie performing mouth-to-mouth on Paul and Paul stuffing paper down Annie’s throat

asurasantosha's review against another edition

challenging dark 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? It's complicated

4.5

Not my style, not my genre, BUT it's a good book and Stephen King is a household name for a very good and very valid reason. He sure can write. There's so much tension in this book!!! Even though there aren't really any "surprises" or twists- I very much knew how the entire book was gonna go- I was still on the edge of my seat the whole time and audibly gasped multiple times due to the intensity of the scenes and how well he pulled the reader in.

It also had a good plot, good prose (though genre-appropriate), and real-feeling characters. Good exploration of the human psyche and human condition for both of the main characters: the perpetrator and the victim.

There's a fictional book in this book and "excerpts" from it and, as contrived as the fictional book was, it also honestly didn't sound terrible. I'd read it. Lol.

So I'm not sure if I'll continue reading Stephen King as I'm not a fan of horror and will need to recover a little from this experience, but I'm still glad I gave this a shot. And I think anyone who can tolerate horror should give him a chance, at least for one book. And this is a good one. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Cursing, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Stalking, Car accident, and Alcohol

makeshift_human_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Racial slurs, Medical content, and Cannibalism

humanhalfofachilleus's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

as with most Stephen King, it could have ended 50 pages earlier and the "creepiness" relies heavily on "gross-out" rather than true terror or horror.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Car accident, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit

Minor: Rape and Sexual assault

ginniereads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Kidnapping, Murder, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, and Gaslighting

Minor: Vomit

sfranklinwriting's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Gruesome and full of psychopathy, an absolute twister and a story that maintains its sense of terror throughout. Annie’s mental unraveling peeling away simultaneously with Paul’s hope of actually living is displayed well. King is truly the king of descriptors…

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

brookebatesratesbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug abuse, and Physical abuse

Minor: Eating disorder, Racial slurs, and Rape

bella613's review against another edition

dark 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was my first Stephen King novel (although I have seen some other movie adaptations) and… wow. Very well written. As hard as is it to listen to in some parts, it is definitely worth the read (or listen) and did not disappoint. I’d highly recommend this book to anyone who likes the horror genre. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Car accident, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Excrement, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Minor: Gun violence

thomasmagee_'s review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-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

5.0

Mr. King’s love letter to writing. The first book I can truly say I could not put down.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

jessthanthree's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Child death, Death, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Excrement, Vomit, Car accident, Murder, and Gaslighting

Minor: Gun violence, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, and Colonisation