Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

The Green Mile by Stephen King

17 reviews

fkshg8465's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

This might be my favorite Stephen King to-date. Holly has been one of my favorite characters of his, but John Coffey is a close second. What I like most about them is the duality of their extreme vulnerability and great inner strength. I think the people who meet them, befriend them, love them, that these people are forever changed for having known them. That's the kind of legacy I would want to leave, and so I love these characters. I'm only sorry Coffey had to die in this one (not a spoiler - it's a story taking place on death row!).

There was one moment that made me laugh with amusement. I forget where it was in the book, but Paul reflects how it was 81 degrees in October and still so hot and whether to take it as an indication of end times. The book was written in 1996 and chronicles his life events from 1932 to 1996. I wonder what Paul would think of the weather today. It's the end of October, and in Houston, the weather is 87 degrees. LOL.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

heidipretzel's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

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

3.75

I love horror/thriller usually, but this was VERY graphic. Plus animal cruelty. It was a pretty rough read. Written well, but I had to take a lot of breaks while listening to it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Terminal illness, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Cancer and Confinement

Minor: Excrement

kemrick19's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

megbroache's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Kidnapping, Car accident, and Murder

alma_lurie_04's review against another edition

adventurous 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Terminal illness

Minor: Racism

exeidur's review against another edition

challenging dark inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I am so glad I finally read this, but I don't think I ever want to again. I saw the movie fifteen years ago, which made for an interesting experience where I half-remembered some of the plot points, but was still waiting to see how the story developed. The tension in here is crazy, the mixing of past and future really adds to the story, and while it took a while to get into it, you can't really put the book down after the halfway mark.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Racial slurs, and Murder

Moderate: Cancer, Cursing, Drug use, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Torture, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Grief, and Sexual harassment

asourceoffiction's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

I first read The Green Mile about 20 years ago, and I adored it then. But reading it again having explored a lot more of King's catalogue was an even better experience. It's reminded me that this is truly one of my favourite of his books.

The other stark reminder in this book is how incredibly well King can write about grief and regret, with minimal horrific content (though of course there's some pretty grim stuff too). The emotional heft in this story is so brilliantly done. As expected I was a blubbering mess at the end (as I am every time I watch the film).

The characters are what make this wonderful book. Paul, Brutal, Harry and Dean are so much fun to read, and John Coffey remains one of my favourite literary characters of all time. Oh, and of course Mr Jingles!

The nature of good and evil is inherent throughout and the book is steeped in sadness. But there's humour and joy too, and it's the kind of book that really gets under your skin.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Racial slurs, Terminal illness, Medical trauma, and Murder

Moderate: Rape and Violence

ksuazo94's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, and Murder

gudrqa's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

voldycat's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Rape, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Racial slurs, Racism, and Blood

Minor: Animal cruelty, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and War