Reviews with content warning for Confinement - Misery

Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

Misery by Stephen King

184 reviews

carterike's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Gruesome and disturbing summarize the plot of ‘Misery’ well, but Paul’s internal monologues are really what kept me reading. You get to see the human psyche from a very impaired/warped perspective. The ‘Pilings’ and ‘Can You?’ monologues were very well done.

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httpscl0d4gh's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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nathan_ryan's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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peppypenguin's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I can see why this is a classic. It’s an intense thriller that I had so much trouble putting down. The suspense in many scenes was incredibly painful, and I loved it. Paul's internal dialogue is great—it feels real, and it’s essential to understanding his actions as well as how the reader interprets what’s happening to him, bringing us closer to his pain. His understanding and terror of the situation make this book so good.

Annie is an interesting character herself. King does a good job of describing her as a complete monster while also giving her an intelligence that Paul and the reader can’t help but respect. The build-up to discover more about her, and the descriptions of how she zones out into her psychotic states, add a lot to the suspense and horror.

The pacing is perfect and while the setting is simple the goings on certainly are not. Even if it’s not a chapter moving the plot forward, each one is interesting, there’s never a lull. Strongly recommend it, though it’s not for the squeamish.

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asourceoffiction's review against another edition

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dark tense 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

5.0

A classic King horror. It's also a film I've always been too scared to watch, so I had very few preconceptions (apart from the well known) going in. And it was absolutely brilliant.

Sometimes the pace is agonisingly slow, drawing every scrap of tension from the moment that it can. The first time Paul gets out of his room I was completely on edge the entire time. I was so grateful to get to the first section of Misery's Return, where I felt safe, albeit briefly.

Between Paul's ramblings and the increasingly frenzied pace (and plot) of Misery's Return, we can brilliantly see how his state of mind deteriorates over the time he's trapped. The more Paul suffers, the more we get to know Annie, and the more hopeless everything seems.

Even by the very end, the tension can't immediately dissipate. I was hooked from the beginning, this was a fantastic spooky book perfect to read on Halloween!

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