Christine [Hardcover]

Stephen King (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 29, 1983

HELL ON WHEELS...

It was love at first sight. From the moment seventeen-year-old Arnie Cunningham saw Christine, he knew he would do anything to possess her. But Christine is no lady. She is Stephen King's ultimate vehicle of terror

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Vintage King...breathtaking...awesome. Carries such momentum the reader musts force himself to slow down. (The New York Times Book Review) --state st trading co.

About the Author

Stephen King, the world's bestselling novelist, was educated at the University of Maine at Orono. He lives with his wife, the novelist Tabitha King, and their children in Bangor, Maine.

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 526 pages
• Publisher: Viking Press; 1983 edition (April 29, 1983)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670220264
• ISBN-13: 978-0670220267
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (213 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #809,365 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Stephen King is the author of more than fifty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. Among his most recent are the Dark Tower novels, Cell, From a Buick 8, Everything's Eventual, Hearts in Atlantis, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, and Bag of Bones. His acclaimed nonfiction book, On Writing, was also a bestseller. He is the recipient of the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He lives in Bangor, Maine, with his wife, novelist Tabitha King.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars High praise from a non-fan, May 5, 2002

By 

K. H. ZAINAL (Malaysia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Christine (Signet) (Mass Market Paperback)

As the title of my review states, I am not a fan of Stephen King. I don't hate his work but at the same time I don't wait for his next book with bated breath either. He is just an author whose books never ever appear on my 'must buy' list.

Saying that, however, his novel "Christine" is a cracking read. The scares are subtle; tugging at your subconscious rather than going for your jugular vein. There are no ghouls lurking and not much violence either...at least not until the latter half of the book.

Readers who are looking for gore will be disappointed and should look elsewhere. Basically, "Christine" is about a possessed car. You don't own Christine. She owns you. And now she owns Arnie Cunningham; a shy, geeky kid with a bad complexion. Arnie loves Christine. He'll do anything for her and no one should stand between him and his beloved car. Or else.....

Stephen King does a wonderful job here. What could easily have been a cheesy story of an evil car on a killing spree, we have instead a story of obsession, possession and the stain of past crimes "reaching out to the present". More subtle, more frightening than a simple 'bad car kills people' plot.

We also get to learn the history of the car and its first owner but King doesnt give all the details. In fact, more questions are raised intead of answered. That, I think, is a mark of a good horror story. Let it be ambiguous. Dont answer all the questions. Let the reader draw his/her own conclusions. Its scarier (and thus, more fun) that way.

Stephen King is still not one of my favourite authors but I am willing to give credit where credit is due. "Christine" is indeed a good yarn and deserves the 4 stars that I'm giving. Coming from a non-fan, that is high praise indeed.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Only King could pull it off, December 9, 2002

By 

"semaver2002" (Istanbul, Turkey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Christine (Signet) (Mass Market Paperback)

It is a pity that no one writes like this horror anymore. Even old King himself. Christine is a perfect round-the-camp-fire story with chilling moments, incredibly real characters and a sad, very sad feeling washing over you.

I don't know about anyone else but I liked 70's and 80's King's more than anything he wrote in 90's (except Dreamcatcher and Wizard and Glass) In those days King was writing horror in a way no one has written and no one will ever write again. Christine is a very fine example of his unique writing. Maybe there are better horror books than this (and than Stephen's whole bunch)but as a whole they lack something King's books (early ones at least) were carrying. Christine is not only a demonic car book, as many mentioned here, it is one of the most agonizing love and coming of the age stories, with a very depressing atmosphere and very tragic ending. This is what makes Christine (and all King books) so terrific: The real horror of the world is essential in his books: People we love die...people we love leave us...we remain alone in the world.we lose...you lose...

Christine is a story of three youngsters and a love triangle, comprising an unbelievably real and evil car. These four are tangled in a complex love affair: On the one hand, Christine is trying to triumph and spread her evil, on the other hand, the youngsters are trying to beat her and keep their sanity. Arnie seems to be the scapegoat and the weakest link with his repulsive outlook, dysfunctioning family and a hungry longing for love, respect and admiration, which he lacks and which Christine offers him....but at a very regretful price.

Then there is Dennis...Arnie's best friend with all the good things Arnie longs for...Both see Christine at the same time...But Christine is an expert in knowing who is the weakest link, and easily picks up her victim.

She starts to process Arnie into becoming something which her evil aims will be satisfied...then surprisingly, Leigh, a wonderful girl, steps into Arnie's life and becomes a light of reason for Arnie and, not surprisingly, the lifetime enemy of Christine. Now Christine should get rid of her...as well as Dennis and a few other fellows who mistakenly treat her bad...

Then Dennis and Leigh fall in love...Arnie learns this... and all the story becomes tangled in a way impossible to untangle.

All this seems pretty silly, doesn't it? But in King's hands it wonderfully works. It is, in fact, a very fast paced story and it flows smoothly that the pages flip almost on themselves. The writing is veryþ vivid and energetic, as if Stephen was himself the bad Christine.... Along with the story, you are tangled with those four characters...you are drifted along with them helplessly into an ever-growing climax full of suspense, horror, breathless reading and tension.

Christine is a very good story and a very good horror story...but also a very good loser yarn, which only King could pull off and which would be a total flop in any other hand. That must be the reason why people come back to Stephen's books again and again in flocks after so many years and books although he does not (stubbornly) write anything like this (or Pet Sematary or It or Salem's Lot). He always talks about the loser inside us. Perhaps he knows better than all the people in the world that it is really a very hard thing to beat real Christines and he is trying to tell this all along those years.

Read it...There is so much in Christine.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars To Mr. King: "WE'RE NOT WORTHY!!!!!", October 20, 2000

By 

Christopher Ware (Fremont, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Christine (Signet) (Mass Market Paperback)

The two strongest things in Stephen King's writing are his storytelling and his ability to craft vivid, believable characters. This book is a prime example of both of these talents. It is the story of Arnie and Dennis, two high school seniors who have been friends since they were five years old. Arnie has always been the "outcast" kid in school and Dennis has stood up for him countless times. That friendship is put to the test when Arnie falls in love with Christine, a 1958 Plymouth Fury in desperate need of restoration. The purchase of the car puts a strain on Arnie's relationship with everyone around him, including Dennis. Their friendship was, in my opinion, the central theme in the book, rather than the supernatural events surrounding Christine. Those could have been removed entirely from the book and the power of the friendship would still be there. The story wouldn't be quite as gripping and it wouldn't truly be Stephen King, but it would still be a very good read.

The first and third parts of the book were told in the first person narrative from Dennis' point of view. This made for very powerful reading. King manages to tweak the readers feelings in exactly the way he wants by doing this. When Dennis ends up in the hospital for a couple months with a football injury, the narration changes to third person for the middle third. Although not quite as emotionally powerful as the first and third parts, this section of the book is meaty in its own way. We see Arnie changing from the shy, "loner" character from the first part into the nearly unlikeable character in the third part.

I think this book has the most depressing ending of all of Stephen King's books (at least of the ones I've read). The reason for this is the fact that he makes you care for the characters. The reader wants everything to turn out okay for everybody. King had no compunction whatsoever about doing things to his characters. If he'd tied it up in a sappy, "everything's okay" ending, it might not have been as powerful. Less depressing, but less powerful nonetheless. This book has jumped to near the top of the list of my favorite Stephen King books. Highly recommended.