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...

Other reviews you might be interested in

• Review: Insomnia by Stephen King (4/5 Stars)
• Review: Generation by William Knight (4/5 Stars)
• Review: The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff (4/5 Stars)
• Review: Burnt Offerings by Laurell K. Hamilton (4/5 Stars)

More links

• Author page
• Press
• Goodreads
• Book Depository

Bout of Books 2.0 Readathon Starting Line

Well, as I had so much fun this weekend in the Wonderfully Wicked Readathon, I thought I'd participate in the Bout of Books 2.0 Readathon too, starting today (October 24th) running until the 29th. You can still sign up here!

My Goals:

• Read at least 3 books
• Have a lot of fun and meet some awesome bloggers!

Books I will try to read:

• Carrie by Stephen King
• Dark Reunion (The Vampire Diaries #4) by L.J. Smith
• Dreamfever (Fever #4) by Karen Marie Moning
• The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (Hitchhiker's Guide #2) by Douglas Adams
• The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
• The Mysterious Lady Law by Robert Appleton

Or any other book that catches my fancy (:


My first update: 10/24

Number of books I’ve read today: 1/3rd
Total number of books I’ve read: 1/3rd
Today #insixwords: I like creepy books like Carrie
Books: Carrie by Stephen King

Update: 11/24

Number of books I’ve read today: 2/3rd
Total number of books I’ve read: 1
Today #insixwords: Wish I had more reading time
Books: Carrie by Stephen King

Review: Insomnia by Stephen King

Insomnia by Stephen King

4 out of 5 stars

You can say a lot of things about Stephen King, but not that he cannot tell one hell of a story. After reading It (over 1000 pages) I had to take a break from his work, but when I saw this title, I was interested enough to pick up another of his large tomes.

It is hard to describe what Insomnia is about without giving away major plot points. Basically, this is the story of seventy-something Ralph Roberts, who through his insomnia enters a world that is hidden from the human eye most of the time.

When his wife Carolyn dies after a long struggle with illness Ralph is devastated. He starts to sleep badly. Every day he wakes up a few minutes earlier than the day before that. This goes on until the point where Ralph only sleeps a few hours every night. The lack of sleep that accumulates has a great impact on his day to day life. He can't remember the most simple things, he doesn't experience any happiness any more, he just wants to lie down and have a good night of sleep.

Then he starts to get these strange hallucinations. At first, he doesn't give them that much thought. But when they become more frequent and severe he can't escape them any more, and he enters the other plains of this world.

I was instantly interested in this book because I enjoy King's writing style, and insomnia is a topic that holds my interest. At both points I wasn't disappointed; there was enough scientific references for me to feel like I actually learned something about insomnia, but it is interwoven in the story that you don't feel like you're being lectured at all.

It's hard to decide whether this book should be classified as horror or not. Especially the first half of the book is quite scary. There is a lot going on and you have no idea where all these signs point to, giving it a spooky feel. When Ralph finally welcomes the "other world", as you could call it, this tension is gone, and the story isn't frightful at all.

It was great to have an elderly main character for a change. I actually don't think I have read from the point of view of an older man before. Even though our worlds are so far apart as can be, I did feel for Ralph. He is an ordinary guy bestowed with extraordinary gifts making him special and important for the future of human kind. He acts like a real human being, and I appreciated that. He isn't better than other people in any way, the situation makes him powerful.

Another small thing I really liked about this book were the subtle references to other books from Stephen. The setting for this book is once again the town of Derry (like in It) and it was nice to see how characters we haven't met in a while are doing now. Even though King's books are standalone novels, they do have a connection, and I felt pretty awesome discovering these little clues leading to his other work.

Overall this is a solid read. It is long, but even if you're not that into long books you can give this a try. Stephen King has a way of keeping your interest, making you want to keep reading.

Blurb

You'll lose a lot of sleep. Ralph does. At first he finds it hard to drop off. Then he starts waking up earlier. And earlier. But that isn't when he starts seeing things. Colors, shapes, strange auras around his friends. Not to mention the bald doctors who always turn up at the scene of a death. The evil looking one clutching a rusty scalpel. All that comes later.
After Susan Edwina Day's visit to the town of Derry, Maine, is announced - when the once placid town starts to divide over women's issues. And the hitherto mild-mannered Ed Deepneau gets out of control - dangerously so.
That's when Ralph begins to lose a lot more than sleep. When he begins to understand why Ed is obsessed with the notion that Derry is becoming the new Armageddon. And to realise that time is ticking away for the residents of his home town.
An evil of unimaginable proportions has found a way in. And Ralph has one chance to beat it. In a card game. The stakes are high. They always are when you are playing for human souls. With a Joker in the pack... a bald one with a rusty scalpel...

Teaser Tuesday #6

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• Make sure you do not include spoilers
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Teaser Tuesday #6: Insomnia

"No one - least of all Dr Lichfield - came right out and told Ralph Roberts that his wife was going to die, but there came a time when Ralph understood without needing to be told."

"Those four months were like being dragged drunk through some malign carnival where the people on the rides were really screaming, the people lost in the mirror maze were really lost, and the denizens of Freak Alley looked at you with false smiles on their lips and terror in their eyes."


Both teasers from the first page of the book (so no spoilers). I do hope this book isn't as scary as It (also by Stephen King) was, or I won't be able to sleep at night any more!

Follow Friday #3

   Hosted by Parajunkee This week's feature: Monica @ The Bibliophilic Book Blog

Weekly Question:

Who are your favorite authors?

There are so many great authors out there so this is a hard one. The ones I like most at the moment are Kelley Armstrong, Kim Harrison, Charlaine Harris, Stephen King and Darren Shan. That is a strange combination indeed.

Leave a comment so I can follow you back!

BN: King's planning to take over the world...

Renowned horror author Stephen King finds himself after 36 years of writing hungry for power. He has decided to build an empire, online. How? By photographing anything that has something to do with good old Steve or anything from his books. Like Stephen’s Record Shop, or King's Cross. Just take a picture and send it to Steve, and his empire will grow. 


The reward? Well, Stephen King watching your picture off course, and maybe you're one of the lucky bastards that wins a signed copy of one of his books. But then your picture must be quite awesome.


I'm competing in this contest as well, just have to make the picture. When I send it in I'll put it online.


Join in, and make the King-Empire grow!


Source: http://www.stephenking.com/other/stephens_empire/