Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

Misery by Stephen King

67 reviews

booksandacuppa's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.0

This is my first Stephen King book and it really had me hooked. He, of course, knows what he's doing! His writing style makes you turn page after page. 
Although I found the pacing to be a little too slow in the beginning, I was looking forward to reading the book and couldn't put it down at times. However, at certain parts I had to put the book down for a second because I was so shocked. 
I wouldn't say it's scary, but it definitely makes you feel uneasy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death

nathan_ryan's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Confinement, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Alcoholism, Gun violence, Sexual content, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

peppypenguin'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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I can see why this is a classic. It’s an intense thriller that I had so much trouble putting down. The suspense in many scenes was incredibly painful, and I loved it. Paul's internal dialogue is great—it feels real, and it’s essential to understanding his actions as well as how the reader interprets what’s happening to him, bringing us closer to his pain. His understanding and terror of the situation make this book so good. 

Annie is an interesting character herself. King does a good job of describing her as a complete monster while also giving her an intelligence that Paul and the reader can’t help but respect. The build-up to discover more about her, and the descriptions of how she zones out into her psychotic states, add a lot to the suspense and horror. 

The pacing is perfect and while the setting is simple the goings on certainly are not. Even if it’s not a chapter moving the plot forward, each one is interesting, there’s never a lull. Strongly recommend it, though it’s not for the squeamish. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Car accident, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction and Cursing

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit

sassyykassie's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Car accident, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

t_bun's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child death, Mental illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Rape

dantemkunc's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Car accident, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death

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

emileeandherbooks's review against another edition

3.75

My first Stephen King! Woo! 

Pretty intense and interesting for the most part! Sometimes I felt it dragged (like when I had to read the MC’s book chapters that he was currently writing - too self referential for my taste) but overall I was invested. 

I’m looking forward to my next Stephen King read!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Physical abuse, and Torture

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Violence

hjb_128's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

clairebau's review against another edition

tense medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.75

Great thriller. Characterization and description were wonderful. I would've liked more obvious symbolism between the plights of Paul and Misery, if King was going to put her story in there anyway. This book does a pretty good job of staying fresh despite 99% of it taking place in one room, but it could have done a better one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Child death, Confinement, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Torture, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Vomit