Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

Dolores Claiborne by Stephen King

54 reviews

shrektien's review against another edition

dark emotional funny sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Dementia, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Racial slurs

finnsnowbevi's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Dementia, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

bernard_black's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Dementia, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Sexual content

kirkreads's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad slow-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship

joshkiba13's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious 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

"Time's a reach, too, you know, just like the one that lies between the islands and the mainland, but the only ferry that can cross it is memory, and that's like a ghost-ship--- if you want it to disappear, after awhile it will." -Stephen King, Dolores Claiborne.

This was a unique one for sure in terms of style. No chapters or breaks, just a nearly 400 page monologue-confession. This means we are locked in to Dolores and her personality right away. And it ended with a sfylistic device King uses from time to time with excerpts from fictional articles and journals, which I always like.

I loved Vera Donovan's character and how the book started with Dolores's story of the three ways Vera could be a bitch. Setting her up that way and then having her be such a vital piece in Dolores's life and choices was great.

King does great making us love to hate some characters and just flat out hate others. The development builds over time and eventually gets our stomachs turning and blood boiling. We really start to root for our mama bear protagonist.

It really feels like a person telling a story, since it jumps around time-wise and is filled with rambles, Maine slang, and such. Several of her phrases made me smile while reading.

Some of my favorite parts were the little touches of horror, like Vera's hallucinations of dust bunnies and wires, and Dolores's subsequent nightmares. Perhaps I need to read a true King horror like The Shining . . .

Overall it was an intriguing read that came to surprise me at the end. Stellar character development and a unique style.

". . .the love a natural mother feels for her children [is] the strongest love there is in the world, and it's the deadliest. There's no bitch on earth like a mother frightened for her kids . . . In the end, it's the bitches of the world who abide." 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Pedophilia, Racial slurs, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Child death, Suicidal thoughts, and Car accident

siobhanward's review against another edition

dark fast-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

4.0

This was told as a single, 300 page long stream of consciousness narrative, which I find can be really hit or miss. In this case, it was well done, Dolores was an interesting and surprisingly sympathetic character and the story kept me guessing the whole time. It took a little bit to wrap my head around the style and the writing, but this felt so different than most of what I've read from King that I really enjoyed reading it. I'm also glad that I wasn't just making stuff up when I was picturing Kathy Bates as Dolores the whole time. I thought that I might have just been mixing this up with <i> Misery </i>, but it turns out she played the lead in both movies.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Incest, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol

Minor: Car accident

stephanieelyse's review against another edition

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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Physical abuse

Moderate: Child abuse and Sexual assault

trisjt's review against another edition

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Violence and Murder

Minor: Incest, Racial slurs, and Dementia

lydiavsbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? It's complicated

3.5

Mostly read through the audiobook, which worked really well. Not one of King's most plot heavy stories but a great character study looking at how far people will go to survive. 

I really enjoyed the references to Gerald's game and spotting these kind of Easter eggs the more King I read

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, and Sexual assault

kelseyholler's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, and Sexual assault