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readingoverbreathing's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I have to say that having now lived through a global pandemic, this book hit home all the harder, even made it seem like we all got off pretty easy. Pre-2020, I might have found this a lot less believable and emotionally engrossing than I did. The first part especially really brings you back to March 2020, when everything descended into chaos almost overnight and suddenly all the problems you had before paled in comparison to the fear and uncertainty. That chapter where King traces the spread of the superflu from the one state trooper — wasn't that all what we spent months trying to reconstruct in real life?
I recognize that the classic moral battle between good and evil that King imposes here may not be for everyone, but I found it utterly fascinating, especially against the backdrop of 20th-century America. That being said, I will add that I was rather frustrated that we never hear much about how the superflu affects the rest of the world. I get that there was no way for the characters to really find out and that this is already 1200 pages long, but I found that Americentrism as equally frustrating as I did thematically fascinating.
Okay, I know there are those out there sick of hearing me talk about Ayn Rand, but there was a lot here that honestly reminded me of Atlas Shrugged. There's that same wide, continental, truly American reach, coast to damn coast, the sanctuary in the mountains, the moral crisis at hand. Fran and Stu, I'd argue, even could have been Dagny and Rearden in their previous lives. But thankfully, here King lays off the capitalist crusade (in fact, even seems to argue against).
Let's go back to the characters, though. Stu, Fran, Larry, Glen, Nick, Tom — I loved them all so much, again in a way that's rare for me these days. I also loved how, once we got to the Free Zone, King incorporates such an array of equally vivid side characters and townspeople. This attention to character and detail, science fiction though it may be, really lent the story a sense of reality. The variety of perspectives offered in the early part, where we get a sense of everyone's pre-flu life and early experiences and loss, again reminded me of March 2020. Like the Free Zoners, we all had our own tales of plans that were cancelled and knew exactly what we were doing when we realized just how serious the virus had become.
1200 pages afford a lot of detail, but King did not waste any of it. You get every angle, every ounce of desperation, every inner struggle. Few could take on a book of this magnitude and make it work, but King sure does. It's a commitment and it can get gross, but to me, it was so worth it. Talk about a great American novel.
Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Trafficking, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Blood, Vomit, Car accident, Murder, and Abandonment
Minor: Abortion
thebookishrose's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Cannibalism, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , War, and Pandemic/Epidemic
urnee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
lilashelly's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
abimi's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.75
This book might be my true first horror read, or at least it feels that way. Other horror books I’ve read were not nearly as terrifying.
Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Rape, Torture, Violence, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Ableism, Sexism, and Suicide
Minor: Child death, Drug abuse, Vomit, and Cannibalism
shelfofunread's review against another edition
Graphic: Death, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent
Minor: Ableism, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and War
_leitmotif_'s review against another edition
writing style and story are so engaging, i get why king has such a rabid fan base…AND NO ONE SHOULD READ THIS BOOK.
it is deeply racist and misogynistic to its core. like grossly, blatantly so. casually, ‘i definitely meant to do this/it’s so rooted in me i also didn’t even notice’ so. and it’s not just the relentless use of racial slurs in the dialog, and the description of women’s bodies and gross sexualized pov’s written for some of the female characters, it’s how the Black and brown characters are written and the positionality they take up in the story; covering all bases; from ‘thug’ to ‘magical being’, all as foils to the white characters.
oh, and this book is ALSO riddled with horrible ablism and fatphobia. all around fucking trash.
he wrote this in the 70’s. i get it, people felt REAL free to be super open with their white supremacy and misogyny. perhaps he’s grown? and even if so, where is the rewrite/updated version of this story or the disavowal?
disgusting.
Graphic: Ableism, Fatphobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, and Sexual assault
calypso_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Excrement, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
As usual, Stephen King has unprotected sex with racial slurs. Just something to be aware ofmon11's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Pregnancy, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Ableism, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Medical trauma, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Drug abuse, Sexual content, and Grief
gagereadsstuff's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Trafficking, Lesbophobia, and Colonisation
Minor: Abortion