Don't make Carrie angry; you wouldnt like her when she's angry....
Written: Feb 20 '07 (Updated Feb 20 '07)
Product Rating:
Pros: Although sometimes a bit awkward, King's story and prose shine
Cons: None
The Bottom Line: Although Carrie isn't his best early novel, its tight focus and empathy to its central character still make King's first book a must-read experience.
It has been said way too many times, but childhood and adolescence are extremely painful life stages for many people, particularly those of us who are somewhat "odd," "different" or perhaps even "strange," particularly in the sometimes Darwinian survival of the fittest environment of modern day American high school.
It's this dynamic that is the main theme of Stephen King's Carrie, which was his first published novel way back in Anno Domini 1974. In this book, which his wife Tabitha rescued from a wastebasket after a somewhat frustrated young English teacher had given up on its chances of publication, King mixes an exploration of teenage angst and cruelty with his now-trademark touches of the supernatural.
If you're a long-time fan of King or at the very least seen the outstanding 1976 film adaptation directed by Brian De Palma, you are familiar with the tragic tale of Carrie White, a very sheltered and plain-looking teenager who lives with her fanatically-religious mother Margaret and has been the butt of many jokes and targeted for ridicule by the more attractive and socially dominant kids in school since way before high school. So innocent and ill-informed is Carrie even about her own body that she freaks out – badly – in the girls’ locker room shower, prompting girls like the mean Chris Hargensen and even the normally nicer Sue Snell to pelt the terrified girl with tampons to a chorus of "Plug it up! Plug it up!"
Of course, when PE teacher Miss Collins disciplines the offending students, "mean girl" Chris wants payback, so she convinces Tommy Ross, one of the cutest and nicest guys on campus, to ask her to the Prom. And at first, Carrie – who has not even gone out to a movie with a boy – suspects it's a joke, but eventually Tommy convinces her to accept.
Predictably, overprotective and resentful Margaret tells Carrie not to go (and does everything possible to stop her from going), but the mousy, plain-Jane teen has other ideas.
She also has, as her mom knows, a mental power called telekinesis, or TK for short. With it, Carrie can move objects at will with her thoughts. And when Chris’ scheme to get even with the girl who she blames for her misfortune takes a decidedly darker turn, this ability, or curse, will result in a disaster of apocalyptic proportions.
Compared to his later novels, King's Carrie is tightly focused and doesn’t suffer from what the author jokingly calls "verborreah of the word processor." In this novel, which reads part like "High School Confidential" and part Warren Commission Hearings, King first introduced his trademark techniques of blending elements of the supernatural and horror with very believable locations based on small-town America in the late 20th Century. His prose is full of concrete detail – even going as far as mentioning real brand names such as Jordan Marsh – and he gets into the minds of his characters so well that you feel a real emotional connection with them, particularly with Carrie.
In an exclusive introduction written specifically for this edition, King looks back at the creation of his first masterpiece 25 years ago. Carrie Whit...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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