Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Holly by Stephen King

19 reviews

michaelek2001's review against another edition

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dark 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

4.5

Be warned! This is a very violent and disturbing book. Some of the most vivid body horror and grotesque scenes. Stephen King may have crossed a line with a few of the things in this book!

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muchadoaboutliz's review against another edition

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

3.5

This is very much not my usual genre but it was a decent mystery & horror novel! I did guess the ending with just over half of the book to go, which is a little disappointing to me personally. But I enjoyed a lot of the characters and like anything with a good puzzle. And now I can say I've actually finished a Stephen King novel!

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thebookaddict's review against another edition

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challenging dark 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? No

3.5

"Net wanneer je denkt dat je het allerergste waartoe de mensheid in staat is wel hebt gezien, kom je erachter dat dat niet zo is". Dit is een citaat uit het boek wat het hele boek eigenlijk samenvat.

Dit is een luguber boek (zoals we van Stephen King gewend zijn). Het verhaal heeft verassende wendingen en wordt aan het einde heel erg spannend. In het begin vond ik hem erg langdradig. Ik denk dat dit boek ook wel wat korter gekund had. Sommige dingen voegde gewoon niet zoveel toe. Het klonk af en toe gewoon alsof de woorden geschreven zijn om ruimte op te vullen. De personages zijn wel echt perfect voor dit verhaal. Ze passen allemaal zo goed in hun rol. Het plaatje is gewoon compleet. Ik denk wel dat omdat het zo uitgebreid beschreven wordt je een enorm goed beeld krijgt van de situatie die zich afspeelt. Het kost alleen zoveel moeite. Ook vond ik het gek om weer over de corona tijd te lezen. Het voelt zolang geleden, terwijl dat niet zo is. Heel raar om te beseffen dat dat ook een tijd onze realiteit geweest is. Ik vind dat hij deze tijd heel mooi verwerkt heeft in het boek. Vooral de scheiding die de corona veroorzaakte in de maatschappij! 

Al met al was ik erg bang om in dit boek te beginnen vanwege de dikte, maar ik heb totaal geen spijt. Je moet wel tegen lugubere verhalen kunnen om van dit boek te genieten, maar dit past juist goed in mijn straatje. De schrijfstijl is ook erg fijn en het leest totaal niet moeilijk weg! Holly vond ik erg leuk. Ik heb alle andere boeken niet gelezen waar Holly in voor komt, maar ik ga dit zeker nog een keer doen. Zo krijg ik net even iets meer achtergrond informatie. 

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brandywyne's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75


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author_d_r_oestreicher's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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

 
 
Caveat: This review of Stephen King’s novel, Holly, is a certified outlier, but you didn’t need my opinion of King, one of the great American novelists. It features two aging emeriti professors–Emily Harris, who taught English Literature, and her husband, Rodney, who was in the Life Sciences Department. She suffered from sciatica and arthritis, and he had Alzheimer’s. Over the years they have become estranged from their respective faculties until they only had each other. The novel finds them ostracized, disrespected, and deeply in love, with only each other for support. It asks the question: what would you be willing to do for your life partner as death approaches? A touching love story. 

 
“As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.” 

Check out https://amzn.to/3vfHVqc to see my books. 

Check out https://amazon.com/shop/influencer-20171115075 for book recommendations. 


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eadrianschmitz's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

What a horror! Really enjoyed this and love that Jerome and Barbara are still with us for the ride. Holly didn't seem as neurotic as portrayed in the prior three novels which I kinda miss but it shows her growth which I'm pleased with.

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rjohnson0583's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

2.0


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frannieman's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Loveable characters? No

1.75


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kalaser's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

5.0


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yellowpurple500's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

An incredible book to carry on the Holly Gibney character. The plot kept me hooked throughout, I never wanted to stop reading. King has once again delivered an incredible book. 

At first I was a bit unsure about the inclusion of Covid and some other clear real world parallel events however after reading the end acknowledgements, I'm so glad that's the direction king went, it makes so much sense for the character. Also could someone explain to me why the ACKNOWLEDGEMENT section at the end had me tearing up. 

Definitely read this after the Mr Mercedes trilogy, outsider and the short story in if it bleeds if you want to avoid spoilers. 

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