Friday, 4 May 2012

Review: Carrie by Stephen King

Carrie by Stephen King
4 out of 5 stars

Published 2007 by Hodder & Stoughton
First published in 1974

A classic in the horror genre, and written over thirty years ago, this book is still very enjoyable. I read it to get in the appropriate Halloween spirit in October, and I must say, Carrie certainly fit the bill!

On a traumatic afternoon in the group showers after PE Carrie gets her first period. After being picked on by her classmates for years, this only makes it worse. Her extremely religious mother has never told her about periods. Then unexplainable things start to happen around Carrie.. Resulting in a horrible night the world won't forget soon.

Having read a few books of Mr King (including It and Insomnia) I have seen quite a bit of his writing style. This was one of the first of his shorter books I have read. Even though I enjoy his longer work, it was nice to see him focus on one storyline for a change, with just a small cast of characters. One of the things I always enjoy in his books is how he portrays the character's thoughts. He understands that thoughts are rarely full formed sentences, but more like snippets of memories and impressions.

Mr King's other big strength lies in describing dysfunctional relationships. The relationship between Carrie and her extremist mother was wonderfully crafted. Instead of making her mother a monster, he adds a touch of humanity that makes her into a three-dimensional character. The same thing with Carrie herself; you know from very early on in the story that she will probably kill some people. You don't know how, but you get the feeling she will. Yet still, the only thing I wanted to do was to hug her and tell her everything would be al right. She's just a sweet girl, pushed too far.

Carrie is a collection of newspaper scraps, reports, scientific books, a memoir, and the "real" storyline. I quite liked the idea; but towards the ending I wished that there was more "real" and less other stuff. At times it took a bit of speed out of the story.

For people that want to read some Stephen King, but don't know where to start, I would certainly recommend Carrie. It's a great story, and I will probably read it again sometime!

Blurb

Carrie White has a gift - the gift of telekinesis.

To be invited to Prom Night by Tommy Ross is a dream come true for Carrie - the first step towards social acceptance by her high school colleagues.

But events will take a decidedly macabre turn on that horrifying and endless night as she is forced to exercise her terrible gift on the town that mocks and loathes her...

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9 comments:

Andrea Modolo said...

I love anything by Stephen King, I haven't read Carrie yet. But I believe it's just as good as his others (IT creeped me out a lot actually lol). Great review, and it's interesting to know how it's written using "newspaper scraps, reports, scientific books, a memoir and the "real storyline"" 

Mariana Schiavi said...

This book is amazing,Great Review!
Stephen is amazing autor.
Have a good weekend.
I'm following your blog.Mariana - World of Tori Vega. 

Celine said...

He definitely is (: Thanks, Mariana! I very much appreciate the follow

Celine said...

Ohh, IT was amazing. I wouldn't dare leave it on my nightstand when I went to sleep, too afraid it would give me nightmares. I think you'll like this one (: Thanks for stopping by Andrea!

Rabid Fox said...

I've read a lot of King over the years, but this one I haven't gotten to yet. I really need to, though.

Celine said...

He has written so many books, I've just read very little of him in comparison. Carrie was one of my favourites though (:

draconismoi said...

Definitely one of his best works. Also one of the most accessible. I love IT, but it's a bit intimidating to non-readers. Did you hear they are trying remake Carrie-the-movie? I'm a bit horrified. Carrie was one of the few Stephen King books to actually translate well on-screen. They are just asking to ruin it.

Celine said...

Yes, I heard! I haven't seen the old movie yet, so I'm not sure what to think of it. Overall Stephen King's movie adaptations are quite enjoyable, so I'm not that worried yet. I'd love them to remake IT sometime, the monster at the end was kind of an anti-climax

Magma Krystal said...

Great read thhankyou

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