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_shayshay's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
3.75
ibunnygirl's review against another edition
Like every other King book I have ever read (Misery, Cujo, The Shining, It) I find his books so extremely, unusually waffly, pretentious and just pointless, utterly unengaging, that’s it’s just not worth the effort. His prose drags on and on interminably and never goes anywhere. He sentences often appear to be several sentences tacked on the ends of themselves, all saying the same thing repeatedly. His characters are so boring and dull that I’ve forgotten who they are three pages after they have been introduced. He is the most boring, painfully, stultifyingly boring, writer I have ever read. Easily so. The furthest I have ever got in any of those books was about 50% and that took me months, literally months, because I just wasn’t getting anything out of it at all. I don’t know or care who anyone is on page 40? Sorry, I’m out. By page 11 I had already reached the stage where my eyes were moving across the words but nothing was going in my brain. By page 26 I had reached the stage where I was having to force myself to continue. By page 34 I was groaning aloud. Who cares? About anyone in his books or anything that happens on them? I know many do, but I don’t.
I will never “get” this author. I just won’t. It’s weird because I love horror but….i truly don’t get King. It’s on me. It’s a me thing. I know.
I promised myself I wouldn’t try again with this author but I got this book in Abominable
I’m sorry. I just *can’t* read any more
I’d literally get more out of reading an old school phone directory is how boring and pretentious I find this author.
I’m sorry. I just…no
Charity shop
I will never “get” this author. I just won’t. It’s weird because I love horror but….i truly don’t get King. It’s on me. It’s a me thing. I know.
I promised myself I wouldn’t try again with this author but I got this book in Abominable
I’m sorry. I just *can’t* read any more
I’d literally get more out of reading an old school phone directory is how boring and pretentious I find this author.
I’m sorry. I just…no
Charity shop
simcha13's review against another edition
5.0
In my opinion, this is the most underrated King novel. It’s a story about family, madness, and grief. And it is rich in its complexity. I first read this book 15 years ago and absolutely loved it. When I decided to reread it recently, I wondered if it would hold up and if I would still feel the same about it. The answer is that I absolutely do. Heartbreaking and wonderful!!
bbrassfield's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this novel. Such an intimate portrait of a marriage wrapped in a truly imaginative supernatural story. I've read a lot of stories and novels by Mr. King but this story might be the most personal of his that I have read. Certainly the intimacy between Scott and Lisey goes beyond what we see even with Jack and Wendy in the masterpiece that is The Shining. I love the place Mr. King creates where the Long Boy lives. It's both a fairy world, a forest of horrors and a creative and healing wellspring of both physical and mental properties. Wonderful world build in this one. If you have somehow missed Lisey's Story before, I recommend you add it to your list. Even if you are not a King fan but just a fan of good horror, Lisey's Story is brilliant. Fair warning: The writer is cooking with a lot of varied ingredients in this one and the main dishes take a while to come to fruition, but the feast is worth the patience required for completion.
sevvv23's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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
4.25
matty_barone's review against another edition
3.0
Lisey's Story will not go down as one of my favorites of King's novels but it is not the worst. Smucking really wore on me the entire time. This book was on my bookshelf for years and part of me wishes I left it there. I did enjoy the first bit about the attack, and the wrap up near the last eighth of the book but the rest of it sort of dragged for me only really pulling me in momentarily. A lot of this story felt like a task and I never feel like that with King's writing.
In all honesty, if the word smucking was not in there so frequently, I might have been able to tolerate it a bit more. Maybe it was how it was used, or maybe that I find the idea of replacing a cuss word absolutely ridiculous, or maybe it was that just as I would be interested in dialogue or a perky part of the story, smucking was thrown in there. I would have probably given this four stars had it not been for that but it was grinding my gears.
In all honesty, if the word smucking was not in there so frequently, I might have been able to tolerate it a bit more. Maybe it was how it was used, or maybe that I find the idea of replacing a cuss word absolutely ridiculous, or maybe it was that just as I would be interested in dialogue or a perky part of the story, smucking was thrown in there. I would have probably given this four stars had it not been for that but it was grinding my gears.
mayflxwer's review against another edition
3.0
I honestly don't know what to think about this book, let alone what rating to give.
It was definitely well written, I enjoyed the carefully crafted time jumps, and the blur between the past and the present is what made it a really accurate portrayal of grief.
I liked the love the characters of Lisey and Scott shared.
But, oh boy, was it difficult to read sometimes. Not only in a 'it's taking so long to develop' way, but also in a 'I have to take a break to cry' way. It was very heavy with all kinds of abuse and violence, and the long and bloody descriptions made it feel extremely real.
The ending was a bit underwhelming, but also quite cathartic.
I don't know what else to say, I haven't been this affected by a book in a while.
It was definitely well written, I enjoyed the carefully crafted time jumps, and the blur between the past and the present is what made it a really accurate portrayal of grief.
I liked the love the characters of Lisey and Scott shared.
But, oh boy, was it difficult to read sometimes. Not only in a 'it's taking so long to develop' way, but also in a 'I have to take a break to cry' way. It was very heavy with all kinds of abuse and violence, and the long and bloody descriptions made it feel extremely real.
The ending was a bit underwhelming, but also quite cathartic.
I don't know what else to say, I haven't been this affected by a book in a while.
chefjeng's review against another edition
4.0
A good solid King tale
The first 50% of this book dragged for me but the last 50% made it all worthwhile and make sense. Not my most favourite King tale which is why I've given it 4, but a middling King book is still leagues above most other mediocre stories.
I connected with Lisey only in the final third of the book but loved Scott all the way through. This is a clever and thoughtful look at the power of imagination, mental health, alternate realities, grief, sibling relationships and so much more. Definitely one I would recommend to fellow King fans but not to a beginner as their first foray into his work. The use of silly words like "smucking" or "bool" really grated on me after a while and did so throughout the whole book, but I can see the purpose the childish phrases served within the big picture of who Lisey and Scott are..
The first 50% of this book dragged for me but the last 50% made it all worthwhile and make sense. Not my most favourite King tale which is why I've given it 4, but a middling King book is still leagues above most other mediocre stories.
I connected with Lisey only in the final third of the book but loved Scott all the way through. This is a clever and thoughtful look at the power of imagination, mental health, alternate realities, grief, sibling relationships and so much more. Definitely one I would recommend to fellow King fans but not to a beginner as their first foray into his work. The use of silly words like "smucking" or "bool" really grated on me after a while and did so throughout the whole book, but I can see the purpose the childish phrases served within the big picture of who Lisey and Scott are..
reverienb's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0