Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

Misery by Stephen King

121 reviews

tyelperinquar's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Funny that the last book I finished before my reading break was a King book and this book, the one that got me back into reading again, is also a King book.

Anyway, I really enjoyed this one. Everything takes place within Annie Wilkes’s house, and the tension in the book comes from wondering what Annie will do to Paul next, and wondering if Paul will be able to get out of it alive. (Can you, Paulie?)
For fans of more traditional thrillers, there may not be enough action, because there’s a lot of Paul writing and a lot of him just being cooped up in the bedroom Annie keeps him in. But for people who enjoy psychological thrillers, tense character interactions, exploring the psyche of the main characters, and watching how a traumatic situation can change a person, there’s a lot to enjoy.

This is only the second King book I’ve read, but the guy’s a bit weird about sex. There are some non-rape situations in the book that he describes as rape which are really uncomfortable to read, but I guess that’s the goal? Still, I don’t  particularly appreciate them. That’s the one thing about King’s writing that irks me— otherwise, I adore how he’s able to craft a narrative and portray characters and the scenes they’re in.

I listened to an audiobook recording of this book— Lindsay Crouse was a phenomenal narrator. Her voice for Annie was absolutely spot-on, and the emotion she can conjure up made the story that much more immersive. Highly, highly recommend giving it a listen for her voice work.

I was really worried the book was going to end with

the scene where Annie chops Paul’s head off

, but that ends up not being the case. Thank God. Figuring out the details at the end about

where Annie was found in the barn and how she was holding a chainsaw

… that was chilling.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book! Very easy to listen to and pick up. And what can I say, I love reading about men who get into awful situations and are traumatized about it. It’s cathartic. Thanks for your service, Paulie!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Car accident, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Minor: Cursing, Racial slurs, and Terminal illness

There’s no actual rape, but King describes several non-rape situations (ie.

Annie performing mouth-to-mouth on Paul and Paul stuffing paper down Annie’s throat

spencer_radio's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Kidnapping

Moderate: Gore and Mental illness

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

asurasantosha's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Not my style, not my genre, BUT it's a good book and Stephen King is a household name for a very good and very valid reason. He sure can write. There's so much tension in this book!!! Even though there aren't really any "surprises" or twists- I very much knew how the entire book was gonna go- I was still on the edge of my seat the whole time and audibly gasped multiple times due to the intensity of the scenes and how well he pulled the reader in.

It also had a good plot, good prose (though genre-appropriate), and real-feeling characters. Good exploration of the human psyche and human condition for both of the main characters: the perpetrator and the victim.

There's a fictional book in this book and "excerpts" from it and, as contrived as the fictional book was, it also honestly didn't sound terrible. I'd read it. Lol.

So I'm not sure if I'll continue reading Stephen King as I'm not a fan of horror and will need to recover a little from this experience, but I'm still glad I gave this a shot. And I think anyone who can tolerate horror should give him a chance, at least for one book. And this is a good one. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Cursing, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Stalking, Car accident, and Alcohol

hannavaistila's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Mental illness, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Medical content, and Kidnapping

philomath1983's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse and Racism

Moderate: Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Racial slurs and Suicidal thoughts

clairebau's review against another edition

tense medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.75

Great thriller. Characterization and description were wonderful. I would've liked more obvious symbolism between the plights of Paul and Misery, if King was going to put her story in there anyway. This book does a pretty good job of staying fresh despite 99% of it taking place in one room, but it could have done a better one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Child death, Confinement, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Torture, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Vomit

perth_is's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Car accident, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, and Sexual harassment

abbie_eibba's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Vomit, Car accident, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

urlordlorin's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

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

1.75

Hayvan Mezarlığı’na göre daha iyi, O’ya göre daha kötü. Thriller olarak sınıflandırılmamalı. Thrill etmedi yani. Amerika’da artık resmen günlük rutin olmuş bir seri katil hikâyesinin 350 sayfa boyunca anlamsızca uzatılmış, gereksiz detaylarla dolu versiyonu. Kitaptaki yazarın yazdığı kitaptan bölümleri okumamızın bu hikâyenin gidişatına nasıl bir etkisi vardı mesela, Annie’nin kitaptaki bir yaratığa benzetilmesi haricinde? Yaratıcı hiçbir tarafı yok. Hayvan Mezarlığı’ndan daha iyi olmasını düşünmemin tek sebebi daha az cringey olması. Zaten çevirisi de beeerrrbbbbaaattt. Hikâye de çelişkilerle/plot hole’larla dolu.

Bana kalırsa Paul’un o kadar uzun süre kimsenin haberi olmadan rehin alınabilmesi imkansız. Amerika’da yaşıyorsunuz ya hiç Jehovah’s Witness da mı gelmiyor kapıya mesela. Polis geldiğinde de o durumdaki, sürekli işkence gören bir adam ‘offf yhaaaaa Annie şimdi bu polisleri de öldürcek yhaaaa öldürmesn benim yüzmdne .s’ diye düşünüp sesini çıkarmıyor falan. Bu kadar ünlü olan bir yazar için kimse seferber olmuyor, eşi dostu da yok kimse aylar sonraya kadar anlamlı bir search&rescue çalışması yürütmüyor öyle mi? Her şey nedense çok convenient olmuş dünyanın en aptal vasıfsız katili/kidnapperi için.

King’in yılda bir kitap falan yazıyor olmasının sebepleri ve sonuçları her kitabında çok belli oluyor. O kadar derinliği yok ki. Sanki hayatında hiç acı çeken insan görmemiş. Bu kadar zavallı bir adamla da empati kurduramıyorsan yok ol yani. Sırf gore yazarak insanları rahatsız edip süper kitap diye düşündürmek de artık moda oldu herhalde. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Torture, Violence, and Kidnapping

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Car accident

lizzieinmt's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Really didn't like this as much as pet cemetery. The plot was fairly engaging but I honestly didn't like either character. It felt like they almost deserved each other but then again that might just he the point. If selfishness has hyperbole this would he the example. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Drug use, and Blood

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail