Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

Se by Stephen King

10 reviews

fkshg8465's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

The only scary thing about this book was the cover. (I’m going to have to find a longer book to read before the end of the year so that I don’t have to look at this cover anytime I revisit my 2024 year in books!).

Book was difficult to read and weird. There were a lot of characters, and time was too fluid. It wasn’t like many books where chapters vacillate between past and present or future. Time actually would switch within the same chapter (at times, even the same paragraph or scene). It made it hard to follow the events.

Also, I failed to see how Beverly’s act of love did anything at all for any of them, especially given how the book ends. And what was up with the Yoda turtle????, especially its explanation of its stomach ache???? Definite two most WtF moments for me.

I kept thinking I was reading an early version of Stranger Things, but Google assured me this book had no contribution to the show, despite a number of similarities.

I’m glad I didn’t DNF it, but neither am I glad I read it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Antisemitism, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

kchamberlin04's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

stephen king writes such beautiful things about friendship. unfortunately he also writes graphic misogynistic underage sex scenes so

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Torture, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Car accident, and Sexual harassment

uhh. just be careful

sav_22's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

rtthalia's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

jackbifrost's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Kidnapping, Stalking, Death of parent, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Vomit, Toxic friendship, and Classism

klor's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

An absolutely dense story filled with rich character studies, friendships, and the horrors of a small town in New England. There are a lot of things I loved here: the tenderness of the Losers' friendship, the nostalgic callbacks to their summer in their childhood, how IT could also be an allegory for how ambivalent a small town is, the Derry Interludes and Mike's voice and stories that gives the world they live in a very rich context, the genuine scares I got reading some parts of the book

from the built up of Stan's suicide and the very human violence of Tom and Henry to the claustrophobia in the sewers

, I'm glad we also got to explore everyone's backstories and their motivations even if sometimes, as a reader, you know the choices they make aren't the best. There were also a few problems like how the women in this book on how it deals with excess whether it's the racism or misogyny in order to drive the point home. The near end also felt a little unfocused as if King didn't know how to end the novel but the actual endings tied things up well and gave readers a hopeful look on the Losers' futures. I do love the book format a lot and hope the adaptions follow the back and forth more ala Little Women (2019) rather than splitting it up in two parts. The childhood nostalgia and trauma hits more within the context and really tells a story less about freaky clowns and more about children trying to navigate their early years with all this tragedies (big or small or personal) around them and how their experiences manifested even further in their adulthood, and vice versa.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, and Murder

cinderrunner's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad tense slow-paced

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

1.0

Please excuse any typing errors as I am too lazy to edit
There are some good things about this book, but the bad significantly outweigh them. This is one of the most needlessly offensive and problematic books i have ever read. The only thing horrifying about this novel is that King had the audacity to include so much needless hatred and is still being praised for it. The level of racism, sexism, pedophilia/sexualization of minors, anti semitisim, etc is FAR beyond anything that is warranted by the plot and its honestly inexcusable. If you took a shot everytime King used the N word with a hard R, you'd die of alcohol poisoning somewhere between the one third and halfway mark. King is constantly using language and scenarios that sexualize Beverly, constantly mentioning the way her 12 year old body is maturing, painting her as a (and im quoting here) "whore" from almost every chatacters POV. Shes even sexualized in her own POVs.

Bill's catatonic wife is literally likened to a blow up doll at a sex store

Richie is known for doing voices and almost all of them are racist stereotypes, his go to one being the charactature of a black child like you'd see in a minstrel show. They are constantly using Stan being jewish as a punchline. It feels intentional that

the jewish character is the one he kills before they even get together as adults

, the female is the one who spends her whole life abused, and

the black character is the one King cast to stay in Derry and remain poor while the others prosper as adults

. And this isnt even the big shit like the ENTIRE CHILD SEX SCENE. With literal 11 to 12 year olds. Which King has never retracted or apologized for (from what I've seen) but only said it aged poorly cause people now are more sensitive....like its irrational to take offense to an adult writing kids having a, for lack of a better term, gang bang. And again, most of this is completely irrelevant to the plot and could have been excluded with zero detriment to the story. I will admit that if you are writing about minorities and setting it in the 50s, a certain level of bigotry is warranted. But the level to which King took it is gross and uncalled for. He could have just as easily NOT written any minority characters if this is his idea of representation. The fact that he, of his own freewill, wrote this level of offensive stereotypes, micro aggressions, bigotry and full on volatil hate and has never apologized for it, or made a statement against it, is sick. And the fact that it got through editing and publishing and is STILL being praised and rated 5 stars speaks volumes to what we are willing to let straight, cis, white men in power get away with. I can't imagine a single POC, female, or religious minority character writing the story the way King did, even in the 80s.
It is also overlong, it could have easily been 400 pages shorter than it was. It dragged on and on. It doesnt genuinely pick up or reach a true climax til around page 950 (in my edition) so like 150 pages away from the end. That's ridiculous. King is constantly overloading the book with lore building and exposition that really isnt needed past a certain point. It took me 4 months of on and off reading to finally get through this thing. Ive never taken more than a month to read a book, even dense ones like the entire Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones) series, in my adult life. 
Most people I have seen, even those who praise this book, don't count this as a book they would ever reread. If that's not a red flag i don't know what is. I cant think of a single book, even thick and complex ones, that i loved and wouldn't pick up again. 
PROS: King is a genuinely skilled writer on a technical level and the book is well crafted. There are very thoughtful and interesting themes around childhood vs adulthood, the transition between the two, and the power of faith/belief. It really could have been a gorgeous novel if he leaned more into that earlier in the book and cut down on all the unnecessary bigotry and lore building. I likely would have loved this if it was shorter and less hate filled. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

The whole book is a trigger warning. It is full of violence, GRAPHIC bigotry, and the sexualization of women and especially minors.

izzettl's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense slow-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: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Biphobia, and Antisemitism

starlessnights's review against another edition

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

mayakinsley's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Gun violence and Infidelity

Minor: Antisemitism