#BannedBookSkyClub discussion of #TheGirlWhoLovedTomGordon by Stephen King #BookSky Would you classify The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon as horror or a different genre? Explain. - ThreadSky

retired-librarian.bsky.social • 19 days ago

#BannedBookSkyClub discussion of #TheGirlWhoLovedTomGordon by Stephen King #BookSky

Would you classify The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon as horror or a different genre? Explain.

Comments

pauly1982.bsky.social•14 days ago

To me this novel is definitely a horror story. I can't imagine anyone going through everything that Trisha went through; let alone a child. Many children have gone missing through the wilderness and just so sad. Horrifying for all involved!

morrigan6.bsky.social•18 days ago

It read like a coming of age story. A tough, challenging coming of age.

retired-librarian.bsky.social•18 days ago

Challenging, indeed.

china-m.bsky.social•17 days ago

I saw a lot of it as an exploration of mental health- her mental health evolved as her physical health deteriorated while facing an ongoing traumatic experience. She dissociated a lot to protect herself.

hearmeroar11.bsky.social•18 days ago

I wouldn't classify it as true horror, maybe more like psychological thriller/horror-lite. There's significant intensity and hallucinations that are creepy, but nothing scary (except the parent's lack of awareness, yikes).

retired-librarian.bsky.social•18 days ago

I expected it to be more intense but was good with the level it was.

librarymary.bsky.social•18 days ago

I would classify this as just fiction, maybe a psychological thriller? But the pace doesn’t feel like a thriller either.

retired-librarian.bsky.social•18 days ago

I was surprised at the pace, though not disappointed with it. I expected more intensity. But I don't like intensity, so it worked for me.

librarymary.bsky.social•18 days ago

Once I came to suspect the most graphic / frightening things were going to be imagined, I relaxed and enjoyed. Some of the times that she imagined how badly she could have been hurt, I was really wincing.

retired-librarian.bsky.social•18 days ago

Some of the delusions/dreams were a bit too graphic for my taste.

librarymary.bsky.social•18 days ago

Agree!

china-m.bsky.social•15 days ago

The wasps would have been the end for me! It would have been a much shorter novel!

phunkinpunk.bsky.social•19 days ago

King likes to place the average person in duress under exceptional circumstances, sometimes with an overtly supernatural/horror element, but The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon felt like a tale of grit, determination, and survival with a smattering of creepiness to level up the stakes for Trish.

kairybee.bsky.social•19 days ago

More psychological terror than traditional horror.

Yes, the forest can be a truly scary place but much of that fright factor is fueled by Trish’s very active 9yo imagination + delirium caused by extreme hunger and dehydration.

I also think it contains elements of a bildungsroman or a monomyth.

rosiestiorraandmom.bsky.social•17 days ago

TIL: bildungsroman
TY!

tornadobunnyaurora.bsky.social•18 days ago

I’d call it suspenseful horror . You don’t think it’s horror at first, because you’re into the suspense. The deeper into the novel you read, the more the horror reveals itself .

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