Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

16 reviews

hookerkitty's review against another edition

tense slow-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

2.0

Well this was incredibly disappointing. I think I fell asleep just about every time I tried reading this, regardless of how tired I felt beforehand.

And don’t know if it’s my ADHD or what, but so many of the sentences were sooo long (one even had two semicolons!) that I had no idea what was happening by the time I got to the end of it. I had to keep re-reading sections bc I kept zoning out of boredom. 

I also wish that Eleanor and Theodora had more dissimilar names, bc I could not keep track of who was who for way too long. Mrs. Dudley felt like an NPC who’d only been programmed with a few set lines and very rarely deviated from them. 

I was left with WAY more questions than answers. Many say this is done on purpose to be creepier - there are times where that works, but it just feels like lazy (or unskilled) writing to me. I don’t care how many awards it’s received. I love a good psychological horror/thriller/mystery, and while there were a couple times I actually got really into it, it’s disappointing that they were such short sections of the book. No good payoff in the end. While this isn’t even that old, it further cements my previous belief that older books are not for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Blood, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Minor: Misogyny, Sexism, and Fire/Fire injury

wickedgrumpy's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

2.5

If I based everything purely on vibes, this book would have rated higher but it kind of got to the point where I was having trouble picturing what was going on and so I got confused about what was actually happening..

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Content Warnings

Minor: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

weldmadderwoad's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Shirley Jackson is a master of her craft. It took me a long time to get to, but I’m glad I finally read it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Gaslighting

There’s a persistent undercurrent of the horror of being a woman in the mid 20th century, which is to be expected. I tagged some mental illnesses which could be triggered by scenes in the book, but

the ghosts are very much real

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itskenzcarter's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Ugggh. This book. What a whirlwind. It’s so different from the show. Both equally great, but the book just has something about it that I can’t quite describe. The writing was brilliant. Shirley Jackson is a fantastic author and knows how to paint a picture. But, because the book was so different from the show, it was hard to see where it was going. I couldn’t put it down and had to finish as soon as I started. This book focuses, primarily, on Nellie, more so than the actual haunting itself. However, it worked. It had a lower level of spookiness, but the parts that were spooky were so descriptive and vivid. It definitely makes your heart race at parts. I do think the book finished a little quicker than it could have. There could have been additional paranormal focuses. Other than that, I have no real negative thoughts about it. I highly recommend this book to anyone that wants something horror related. It dances on the psychological horror side of things. Now, if you are wanting to read this because of the show, please note, it’s vastly different. This book is amazing, and I think it should be on every horror fans shelf.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Emotional abuse and Alcohol

seapotatohowisitalrtaken's review

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad 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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Car accident, and Death of parent

another_dahlia's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Lesbophobia, and Toxic friendship

eric1992's review

mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death, Mental illness, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Death of parent, and Alcohol

bexi's review

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

3.75

I'd probably rate this higher after a re-read. It was very atmospheric, which I enjoyed. However, I found it hard to follow at times. I believe that was intentional, and a smart choice on Jackson's part considering the direction she took the story in.
 
It wasn't very scary, more creepy and unsettling. Which is what I was hoping for because I am a soft, anxious marshmallow and need to be careful about the content I consume. If you're not a fan of gore/murder/body horror in spooky books I think this is a good option, but do check out the content warnings.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide

Moderate: Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Minor: Ableism, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment

chaoticnostalgia's review

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Mental illness

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship

taleofabibliophile's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Mental illness, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Car accident and Death of parent

Minor: Child death and Murder