frank_socrates's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
midikitty's review against another edition
3.0
Definitely a slow burn but it’s worth the wait. I don’t have a lot to compare to for his other works since I’ve only read two of them before this one (Cell, Under the Dome) so there probably are better stories he’s written but either way, I liked this! It felt like King really poured a lot of himself and his relationship with his wife into the story.
trevorlipply's review against another edition
3.0
This is my 13th Stephen King book, and in all honesty, it was a tough one to get through. Overall, the writing was very well done, which could go without saying, it being Stephen King. However, it wasn’t until the halfway point that the story started to get a little more interesting, but it was still kind of a chore at times to read. The ending was better than I was expecting given the first half of the book, but by the time I finally made it there I was struggling to connect with Lisey anymore. I was going to give this one two stars, but I’ll give it another star for the ending!
tifftastic87's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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? No
3.25
I loved this book when I read it on release. It had all my favorite Stephen King tropes: Castle Rock, blue chambray work shirts, a story of a novelist, a parallel universe, being able to flip between worlds, dozens of references to other books and songs, and a homicidal stalker. But! It was centered around a woman who was bad ass and she was even in her 50s. It was a story I needed at the time.
But listening to it 17 years later as a fully fledged bad ass woman myself, it lost some of it's glow. At the time I didnt have a lot of examples of powerful women in lit or media, but since then I've found so many more and better. Some of this did not hold up the test of time.
Mental health and childhood abuse are huge parts of this story and back in 2006 I loved how it was approached, but in the now of 2023... it's so bad. I caught myself being physically repulsed at some of the description, angry and sad at others.
Overall, the story still gets me. One woman overcoming her grief and being stalked and attacked by a man out to hurt her just for the sake of hurting her, by finding the strength within herself. She gathered her sister, hollered her back, from a catatonic state, and realized she'd always been the strong one. Always been able to do things she never gave herself credit for. I still love that bit.
It just... chose the wrong words from the language pool where we all go down to drink.
But listening to it 17 years later as a fully fledged bad ass woman myself, it lost some of it's glow. At the time I didnt have a lot of examples of powerful women in lit or media, but since then I've found so many more and better. Some of this did not hold up the test of time.
Mental health and childhood abuse are huge parts of this story and back in 2006 I loved how it was approached, but in the now of 2023... it's so bad. I caught myself being physically repulsed at some of the description, angry and sad at others.
Overall, the story still gets me. One woman overcoming her grief and being stalked and attacked by a man out to hurt her just for the sake of hurting her, by finding the strength within herself. She gathered her sister, hollered her back, from a catatonic state, and realized she'd always been the strong one. Always been able to do things she never gave herself credit for. I still love that bit.
It just... chose the wrong words from the language pool where we all go down to drink.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Child death, Death of parent, Excrement, Torture, Violence, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Death, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Self harm, Stalking, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Gore, Sexual violence, Confinement, Injury/injury detail, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Ableism, Classism, Animal cruelty, Addiction, and Cursing
Minor: Drug use, Gaslighting, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Eating disorder, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, and Vomit
hoosgracie's review against another edition
4.0
An unusual story from King, more like literature than his norm - it's kind of a romantic scary novel. In the story, the widow Lisey walks down memory lane two years after her husband has died, which brings up bad and good memories. She also has a sister who becomes catatonic and a guy threatening her to deal with. Throughout the story King references other author's works, music, and his own stories.[return][return]An excellent book, which I highly recommend.
leeeaarr's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-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
4.5
mebius's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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
4.0
orangebug's review against another edition
4.0
Unreal, but a love story nonetheless. I thoroughly enjoyed this crazy "smuckin" Yarn!
isd's review against another edition
3.0
Lisey's story started very, very, very slowly. For a while I was almost asking "are you only an extension of your dead husband or are you a character of your own, Lisey?". But then the story picks up the pace and improves quite a bit as it progresses.
The parallel world reminded me, for some reason, strongly of the strange place in Pet Sematary.
All in all, Lisey's story is a quick read as King's novels seem to be. And I mean that in a good way.
The parallel world reminded me, for some reason, strongly of the strange place in Pet Sematary.
All in all, Lisey's story is a quick read as King's novels seem to be. And I mean that in a good way.