For those of you who do not know who Stephen King is (apart from being my favourite author of fiction books!), please let me give you a litle background before I get into the meat of the review.
Stephen King was born in 1947. His parents split up when he was very young and his mother really had to work hard to provide for Stephen and his older brother David. He went to college and later became a teacher, but writing was and still is his first love. He married (his wife is the author Tabitha King) and wrote short stories to supplement his income, which was not very much. Carrie was his first book (the first of many) and was accepted for publication in 1973 by Doubleday publishers. This meant that King would be able to leave his teaching job and be able to write full time, which he did! (end of history lesson!)
The book I have is certainly not a first edition although it was the second King book that I bought (the first being Salem's Lot - look out for a new review coming! lol). The book is available on Amazon.co.uk for as little as £6.39 (about $10)brand new paperback, but I suggest that you shop around or buy second-hand if you prefer. Quite a few of my King books were bought from second-hand stalls at the market years ago when I was unemployed. A great way to fuel my reading addiction without breaking the bank!
Now that I have digressed from the subject matter, let me get back on track. This book is primarily about a young 17 year old girl by the name of Carrietta White.
Carrie is a strange girl, reclusive and ostracised by her peers at the local high school. Things come to a head when she gets her first period (at the age of 17) in the girls locker room. The other girls are exceptionally cruel and victimise her for her naiveness (she thinks she is bleeding to death).
As you read further on you discover that Carrie has always been strange. Her mother is fanatically religious and whilst pregnant, believed that she was dying, and has treated her daughter to a life of abuse to put it mildly. Carrie is not allowed to have any kind of life outside the home and her mother has always kept her away from others.
After the locker-room incident, senior prom is looming and everyone except Carrie is swept away in the anticipation of this momentous event in any American High School kid's life. One girl, Chris Hargensen, is banned from the prom due to her actions in the locker room and vows revenge on Carrie. She is a vicious spoilt brat who's father is a lawyer who bails her out all the time.
One of the other girls from the locker room, Sue, asks her boyfriend Tommy to take Carrie to the prom instead of her. She feels terrible for her treatment of Carrie and firmly believes that Carrie has the right to have a nice time at the prom with a nice guy. Tommy agrees and asks Carrie to the dance. She accepts.
Carrie's mother is dead set against the idea of her daughter having any physical contact with a member of the opposite sex, let alone dancing! She firmly believes that Carrie will end up in hell. But Carrie is determined to have just one night of normality and finally stands up to her mother. She makes her own prom dress and heads off to the dance with Tommy.
Chris Hargensen has been scheming with her current boyfriend and has her revenge ready to carry out. At the appointed time this revenge is executed and Carrie is humiliated in front of the whole school. I will not tell you how but it is pretty gross.
And so Carrie wreaks revenge on the people of the school and of the town that has ridiculed her for her entire life. Sorry but if you want to know how this is done then you will have to read the book! I'm not telling!
And the part I have not told you until now - is that Carrietta White is telekinetic. In other words she has the ability to move any object with just the power of her mind. She has had this ability since birth, but since the onset of puberty this ability has grown in strength.
The book also has excerpts from the "inquiry" into the events of prom night, with statements from witnesses and survivors. This only serves to reinforce the humiliation and isolation that Carrie suffered both at school and at home.
King's writing is superb in this book as he draws the reader in from the very first page. I have to say that once I pick this book up, I find it very hard to put it down again and so it tends to get read when hubby is home and I can take a day off from motherly duties and let himself get on with things. It's a very compelling book and really grabs your attention. Well, it certainly grabs my attention!
This is a superbly written horror from the King of Horror and I cannot give this book any less than the full five stars! It comes with a very high recommendation but also with a warning. If you have a weak stomach or are easily scared, then this book may not really be your cup of tea, but if you are not easily scared then this is a really good book to read. It certainly had me wanting more.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and have to say that I have read it many times and can see me reading it many more times in the future. Although I may just have to buy a new copy as this paperback is starting to get a little tatty looking! (I have had this book for about 10 years!)
Well, this review has the makings of a little novella in its own right so I had better stop rambling on! If you have never read any of King's work and are interested, then may I suggest that you start with his first book - you certainly will not be disappointed!
Thank you for reading this and happy reading! Di xx
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
Since the publication of Carrie in 1974, neither misfit Carrie White nor her catastrophic high school prom have been forgotten. This trade edition of ...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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