stevendemo7's review against another edition
5.0
Holy shitt
Ok this was incredible. Im so happy I’ve never seen the movie/knew anything about this going in.
We’re following Teddy who is a Marshal going to investigate a missing patient of an insane asylum. This patient appears to have just disappeared and Teddy and his partner Chuck have to find her.
When actually this isn’t the plot AT ALL.
Major spoilers here:
But Teddy is NOT Teddy but instead missing patient 67: Andrew Laddis. He has been at Ashcliff for 2 years being treated for a breakdown he had following having to murder his wife who murdered their 3 children. This whole story was staged to let Andrew live out his fantasy that he created to cope in order to make him see the truth.
Ultimately, the ending leaves it up to the audience to decide if the plan worked or if Andrew regressed back into his fantasy life.
Ok this was incredible. Im so happy I’ve never seen the movie/knew anything about this going in.
We’re following Teddy who is a Marshal going to investigate a missing patient of an insane asylum. This patient appears to have just disappeared and Teddy and his partner Chuck have to find her.
When actually this isn’t the plot AT ALL.
Major spoilers here:
But Teddy is NOT Teddy but instead missing patient 67: Andrew Laddis. He has been at Ashcliff for 2 years being treated for a breakdown he had following having to murder his wife who murdered their 3 children. This whole story was staged to let Andrew live out his fantasy that he created to cope in order to make him see the truth.
Ultimately, the ending leaves it up to the audience to decide if the plan worked or if Andrew regressed back into his fantasy life.
milesmiles's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Aside from the racism it’s really good.
Black men are referred to as “negroes” and used solely as support for the white men in the book on their white men journeys to self-actualization. I’m sure if there were more women in it there’d be a lot more sexism too, there just aren’t many women characters.
If you can look past that it’s a really good insight into the mental health field in the 50s as well as a look into the psyches of men returning from WWII and the effects that state-condoned violence has on a person once they re-enter a society that says violence is wrong.
Similar to The Shining in its analysis of the “white man’s burden” (King), but with more of a focus on mental disorders like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
Black men are referred to as “negroes” and used solely as support for the white men in the book on their white men journeys to self-actualization. I’m sure if there were more women in it there’d be a lot more sexism too, there just aren’t many women characters.
If you can look past that it’s a really good insight into the mental health field in the 50s as well as a look into the psyches of men returning from WWII and the effects that state-condoned violence has on a person once they re-enter a society that says violence is wrong.
Similar to The Shining in its analysis of the “white man’s burden” (King), but with more of a focus on mental disorders like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
nhdiary's review against another edition
4.0
"This world can only give me reminders of what I don't have, can never have, didn't have for long enough."
I haven't rewatched the film adaptation in a hot minute, but when I found a copy of the book lying around at home, I thought it wouldn't hurt to pick it up. Despite remembering how the story unfolds –thus having a pretty good knowledge of its major plot twist, I still very much enjoyed reading it. The descriptions were deeply immersive, which definitely helped me dive rapidly into the story. I did, however, have issues with the use of certain words. I tried keeping an open mind because the book did come out a couple of decades ago. Perhaps the latest editions have been edited to keep up with the times. Or perhaps people weren't bothered enough. Either way, I haven't found any report about it, so I don't know.
I haven't rewatched the film adaptation in a hot minute, but when I found a copy of the book lying around at home, I thought it wouldn't hurt to pick it up. Despite remembering how the story unfolds –thus having a pretty good knowledge of its major plot twist, I still very much enjoyed reading it. The descriptions were deeply immersive, which definitely helped me dive rapidly into the story. I did, however, have issues with the use of certain words. I tried keeping an open mind because the book did come out a couple of decades ago. Perhaps the latest editions have been edited to keep up with the times. Or perhaps people weren't bothered enough. Either way, I haven't found any report about it, so I don't know.
motherofmayhem's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
vicdodd's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
quietkidsimreading's review against another edition
5.0
Maybe it's because the last few books I've read have been of the vampire variety (which seem to suffer from terrible writing style), but I really enjoyed this book. It was a quick, smooth read, but was still well written, with half-way decent dialogue and sufficient character descriptions. I, unlike many other reviewers, did not figure out the ending before I reached it. That's not to say I didn't realize something was awry, but I didn't know quite what... which is fine with me.
I struggled with deciding whether to read the book or just see the movie, as I knew it had a surpise ending. I wasn't sure which would be ruined more by already knowing the ending, the movie or the book. I decided that I probably wouldn't waste my time reading the book if I already knew everything that was going to happen, but I could stand seeing the movie after the fact.
I guess I'll know if I made the right choice in February.
I struggled with deciding whether to read the book or just see the movie, as I knew it had a surpise ending. I wasn't sure which would be ruined more by already knowing the ending, the movie or the book. I decided that I probably wouldn't waste my time reading the book if I already knew everything that was going to happen, but I could stand seeing the movie after the fact.
I guess I'll know if I made the right choice in February.
tfelmey's review against another edition
3.0
I wish I had read this before seeing the movie. I must say that the movie really did a really nice job of following Lehane’s story.
ncteixeira's review against another edition
4.5
Well, this was a terrific surprise.
I have not watched the movie adaptation (gasp!) yet, but now I will.
This was my third book by this author (I started with his latest release, “Small Mercies”, then I read “Mystic River” - my favourite to date), and now I’m looking forward to reading his books.
I love reading a book without having any expectations.
The writing and the storytelling was simply brilliant!
The atmosphere created around the storyline was amazing, and the development of the storyline was very engaging.
There were great moments of grieve and despair, that felt very real and very convincing.
The unexpected conclusion was so well presented that it was very easy to forgive the author for making a fool of me (had it been written by one of these new authors i would not be so forgiving).
I have not watched the movie adaptation (gasp!) yet, but now I will.
This was my third book by this author (I started with his latest release, “Small Mercies”, then I read “Mystic River” - my favourite to date), and now I’m looking forward to reading his books.
I love reading a book without having any expectations.
The writing and the storytelling was simply brilliant!
The atmosphere created around the storyline was amazing, and the development of the storyline was very engaging.
There were great moments of grieve and despair, that felt very real and very convincing.
The unexpected conclusion was so well presented that it was very easy to forgive the author for making a fool of me (had it been written by one of these new authors i would not be so forgiving).
audra_spiven's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0