Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Lisey's Story by Stephen King

9 reviews

fakespy87's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

2.0

I could write at length how the baby talk and pretend language in this book annoyed the hell out of me. Seriously, words like “smucking” (Lisey and Scott’s substitute for fuck) were on nearly every page. And how Scott reverting to childlike language was a poor attempt at showing a man who had experienced childhood trauma. I could say a great deal about all of this but the biggest sin this book commits is simply being boring. It was 200 pages too long and it is the first King book where I cared about none of the characters.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Self harm, Sexual assault, Child death, and Child abuse

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death

Minor: Cursing

lissaslibraryxo's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Magnum opus. Spent a month eeking out this elaborately imagined, fiercely crafted, really fucking scary masterpiece. Scott Landon is an unforgettable character. Lisey, too, is iconic. The long boy is a fearsome invention. Reads like a literary novel as well as a fantasy/horror - stunning descriptions of Boo'ya Moon and I love Scott and Lisey's interior language. Bask in this! Not for the faint-hearted or broken-hearted. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Murder, Child abuse, Stalking, Violence, Self harm, and Blood

Moderate: Gun violence and Sexual violence

Minor: Animal death and Suicide

snowhite197's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad medium-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Child abuse, Death, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Self harm, Confinement, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Death of parent, Medical content, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Stalking

jackbifrost's review against another edition

dark hopeful mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Confinement, Physical abuse, Self harm, Body horror, Death, Stalking, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Child death, Death of parent, Medical content, and Mental illness

Moderate: Sexual violence, Violence, and Ableism

Minor: Fatphobia, Racial slurs, Antisemitism, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

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. 

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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

mxpringle's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense 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

5.0

This book absolutely broke me. It is the best representation of trauma and mental illness that I've ever read, and because of this, it completely and utterly broke me. What makes this Stephen King book scary isn't the supernatural elements in it (which definitely exist within it), but the sheer concept of being constantly tormented by the monsters inside the human mind for the rest of one's life.  It was such a difficult read, but so incredible that I will probably think about it for years. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Confinement, Self harm, Grief, Medical trauma, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Suicide, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Addiction, and Alcohol

Minor: Pedophilia, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

slayermel's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

4.0

Lisey's deceased husband was the great author Scott Landon. Scott has been dead for just over two years and Lisey is finally trying to work her way through his things so she can clear out his office space and donate the rest of his papers to which every college wants it for their collection.
Scott's papers are coveted and have led more than one overzealous Professor to her door looking to get their hands on some unfinished, never before published piece of work.
Lisey's story walks us through Lisey's grief and memories of her relationship with her husband. We learn about Scott's past and how he comes up with his ideas for his novels.
Scott's History was a complex and dark one and leaves you hanging, waiting to find out the rest as Lisey walks us through everything bit by bit, reluctant to revisit these dark and haunting memories.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Physical abuse, and Violence

leirben's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Sexual violence, and Violence

bookbelle5_17's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

5.0

This is a novel about Lisey's grief over the loss of her husband Scott Landon, who was a famous author, from two years ago. Not only is she haunted by her husband but she is targeted by a hitman who wants Scott's unpublished manuscripts. On top of that, she has to help her sister, Amanda, has become catatonic again after she gets her heartbroken by her boyfriend.
Lisey's story comes off as a cross between Rose Madder and Pet Sematary. All three stories deal with grief, love, and finding your own strength. This is King, so like the other two this novel has some supernatural. The human antagonist reminded me of Shotter Shooter from the novella "Secret Garden, Secret Window" To cope with his demons Scott creates another world that he escapes too and takes Lisey along for the ride. This one not only deals with grief but also with mental health issues as Scott's family had a sickness that made them savage. Lisey feels real and relatable, especially with her relationship with her sister's. They didn't always agree or along, but they loved each other. This one is one of the stories where the horror isn't about a monster but about humans and the supernatural is secondary to Lisey's journey.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, Self harm, and Mental illness

Moderate: Animal death