Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

21 reviews

henrygravesprince's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective sad fast-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

The writing is stellar and the story is unnerving, very good at creating an atmosphere of dread. I saw myself in Nell and the ending feels abrupt but impactful—it’s very fascinating how nuanced and accurate

suicide

is portrayed in this book considering the cultural climate

around mental health

in the 1950s.

It’s always interesting to see the literary DNA of a genre through its classics. In particular, I think it’s fascinating to look at the characters as early iterations of different horror archetypes in this book; for example, Mr. Dudley stuck out to me as a prototype of the “Crazy Ralph” character.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Car accident, and Mental illness

Moderate: Death, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Panic attacks/disorders

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

Unreality

fermentedsorcerer's review

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse

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: Abandonment, Grief, Death of parent, and Suicide

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Murder

Minor: Alcohol and Emotional abuse

duaabbasrizvi's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Car accident, Emotional abuse, Suicide, and Mental illness

aas's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, and Suicide attempt

glitterdeww's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

5.0

I feel a tremendous urge to write essays about this book. MULTIPLE essays. This is a masterpiece. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Confinement, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, and Mental illness

Moderate: Self harm and Suicide

priscillarobock's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Car accident, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Mental illness, Alcohol, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Blood, Self harm, and Suicide

stephe's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

Wow. I was expecting to enjoy this book based on its reputation and how much I liked Mike Flanagan’s Netflix adaptation, and it exceeded expectations! Jackson’s prose is *chef’s kiss* so good. The characters are so well-written: no one is explained to you, not even Eleanor, whose interiority is most in view. The dialogue is punchy and sharp. And the spooky factor is top-notch. Also, it seems very clearly to be a story about queer awakening, longing, and isolation that’s both profound and devastating. All around great book, and it deserves its place as one of the best ghost stories ever written.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Alcohol, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Death, and Toxic friendship

lilifane's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective 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

4.0

To be honest, I didn't expect to like this so much. I knew it was different from the Netflix show and classics are always a hit or miss for me, but I really enjoyed this one a lot. The writing is great, the atmosphere fantastic, I liked the characters and their dynamics. I didn't like the ending that much, though. But the more I think about it, the more I understand and appreciate it. There is just something that bothers me about it. Maybe it was too abrupt, maybe I needed a little more time at the end? Maybe I was identifying with Eleanor too much? 

I kind of wish I had read the book before I watched the show. It is a different story, but it still influenced my reading of the book, my expectations, and the way I saw the characters. Can't say I was surprised by most of the things that happened here. I'm curious how I would have felt the other way around. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Blood, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Car accident, Death, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, and Grief

bookish_bry's review

adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense fast-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

4.75

I am very impressed by the writing of The Haunting of Hill House. Jackson does and artful job at making the novel itself reflect the setting of Hill House. The text is beautiful, but there is a darkness to it too. I also love an

unreliable narrator which we get beautifully in Eleanor. It's fascinating to watch her sense of reality denigrate more and more every chapter.

I like how the characters all interact with each other and the whimsical nature to some parts. It was a very enjoyable read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Suicide, Mental illness, and Death

Moderate: Alcohol and Abandonment

Minor: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, and Blood

There is a good amount of unreality in this novel.