Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

10 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

toastrats's review

challenging dark emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship and Suicide

Moderate: Terminal illness and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

louiepotterbook's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

1.0

Eleanor deserved better and the fact that Theo lived and she didn’t is absolute bullshit

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Car accident, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Gaslighting, Sexism, Medical trauma, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, and Violence

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.

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

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

tmickey's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt and Suicide

Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, and Death of parent

Minor: Terminal illness, Murder, and Misogyny

mme_carton's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, Car accident, Death, Grief, Mental illness, Suicide, and Toxic friendship

row3's review

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Terminal illness, and Alcohol

Minor: Body horror and Bullying

heavenward's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense 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

5.0

One of my favorite books of all time. I loved it soo much I started collecting the various editions and as of January 1st I own 20 different copies of the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Religious bigotry, and Car accident

khlomonaco's review

dark funny mysterious 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness and Suicide