Sunday, July 17, 2005
The book that made him the King of horror
Name: CarrieAuthor: Stephen King
Genre: Horror
Published: 1974
I picked up this short novel (about 250 pages) expecting not to be stirred one bit. It's about a misunderstood high school girl, Carrie White, born with telekinetic powers and a victim of abuse from a mentally imbalanced mother. An unfortunate turn of events turns the usually shy and tormented Carrie wild, and leads her to a violent rampage seeking revenge during the night of her school prom.
Bah, I thought. Innumerable books and movies I'd already experienced were based loosely on the same theme, although I did note that this early work from King might have in fact been their inspiration. In any case, I didn't expect to be surprised.
King didn't let this feeling last 10 pages through the novel. Following his usual style of writing, King turns a simple theme into an experience filled with horror and disgust. Using words to create vivid disturbing images in the reader's mind, he manages to impress. It's a novel which disturbs you enough to want to put the book down, yet at the same time you are drawn to move on.
(momma stop don't i can't breathe o my throat o momma i'm sorry i looked momma o my tongue blood in my mouth)...
Momma coming back, coming for her, Momma holding Daddy Ralph's long butcher knife
(cut it out i have to cut out the evil the nastiness sins of the flesh o i know about that the eyes cut out your eyes)
King concentrates on developing the characters of Carrie White and her mother Margaret White, not bothering too much with anyone else in the story. This does allow him to give the reader a good glimpse into the mind of the tormented school girl yearning acceptance and later revenge. Ficticious news clippings are sprinkled inbetween, unravelling the story rather interestingly.
Not an excellent book, but it is guaranteed to make your stomach curl. And that's what impresses me the most about Stephen King. I'd give this a 3/5.
# posted by Arjun Karande @ 9:38 PM 
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They are thematically quite different for you to compare the two. But yes, I do agree that King does shock and disgust you more than scare you. However, that impressed me just as much!
(Besides, which movie/book has really scared you recently?)
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(Besides, which movie/book has really scared you recently?)
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