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43 of 46 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is where it all began, April 9, 2001
As with virtually everything Stephen King has written, this is enjoyable reading. It is also a quick-read for anyone who is intimidated by the length of some of the author's later works. I think the basic premise of this story appeals to many people because Carrie is, in many ways, the ultimate underdog, a girl terrorized by an insanely religious mother, victimized and persecuted by her peers, and alienated from the world around her. Everyone in life has been a victim or a bully, and I think the story of Carrie White does impart an important lesson to the folks out there who are treating someone they know the way that Carrie's classmates treated her. For those of us more sympathetic to Carrie's plight--the high school "outcasts," the "poor," the unpopular, the nerds, etc.--the story really matters here. Many of us daydream about the revenge we will exact from those kids who made fun of us all those years ago, and Carrie White shows us that revenge is not all it is cracked up to be. Carrie's "triumph" costs many innocent people their lives, and it doesn't really do a whole lot of good for Carrie herself.You don't need me to tell you why you should read or re-read this book. This is Stephen King. By this point in time, unless you are just coming of age, you have already read this book if you are one of King's legions of fans or even if you were ever curious about this man's phenomenal success. Even more of you have probably seen the movie. While the movie was pretty faithful to the book, not even the magic of cinema can convey the true weight and atmosphere of this (or any other) book. Carrie is also King's first published novel. This is very important to would-be writers--clearly, King was still learning his craft when he wrote this novel, and thus the process of reading it provides any potential writer with a great learning experience. The format here is significantly different from King's more mature work. The story is told through several "voices," including a third-person account from a "survivor," extracts from research articles and newspaper items based on the events, as well as a more traditional author's voice. Thus, we get several perspectives on the characters and events. The story is not as fluid as it might be because we switch from one viewpoint to another as the tale unfolds. While I much prefer the style of King's later works, especially in terms of getting inside a character, King still infuses Carrie's world with realism and believability, proving that he can create masterful atmosphere and mood with any number of literary tools.
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20 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Carrie Is So Very....Different, November 12, 2005
I've seen plenty of the films that have been based on Stephen King's many novels, but this is only the first book that I've actually read by him. Much like the film that is based upon it, this book isn't so much a tale of horror, but more a coming-of-age tale. In it, we see young Carrie White, a total reject and loser by the standards of her peers, struggle with becoming a woman and realizing the strength of her newfound powers.
Carrie is hated by the kids at her school, primarily because of her crazy and religiously twisted mother. Poor Carrie had "outcast" painted on her from her birth, which her mother saw as punishment for having sexual relations with her now deceased husband. Picked on constantly, Carrie begins to test her "flex" power that seems to have greatly increased in power since getting her first period. Things come to a head at the school prom, but that's all I'm going to say, since this story is so well known.
Called "gory and horrifying" and "sheer terror" by reviewers on the back of the book, I didn't find any of that in here. In fact, I saw this more as a tale about a young girl who is so tired of being teased and attacked for being different that she seeks revenge. Of course, she has a rather unique and violent way of getting revenge, but I think that every outsider growing up wished that they had some sort of power that could protect them from the other kids who were popular, bullies or just plain mean.
Of course, Sue Snell is another character that I'm sure we've all been at some time in our life. She picked on Carrie just like the others, but knew deep inside that she was wrong. She also knew that if she stood against the majority, she'd be ostracized exactly like Carrie.
In short, this is a really good book. It's very fast moving and reads rather easily. The constant switching between thoughts, settings, and characters did become rather annoying at times, but overall this is a good story. It isn't that scary. In fact, it's more a reflection of society than anything.
Recommended. It won't be my last King novel.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bittersweet revenge of an outcast, June 10, 2004
I first read King's CARRIE when I was in the eighth grade. I am now a high school sophomore and this novel still remains a favorite. It's a tale of an outcast who discovers that she's been blessed, or cursed, with the rare and incredible powers of telekinesis. This means she can move objects and make things happen merely with the power of her mind.Both home life and high school life are nightmares, almost literally. King opens the story with Carrie getting her very first period in the locker room after gym class. She's up in arms about what to do - at 16 she has never experienced nor heard of such a thing. Her classmates turn vicious and scream chants of "Plug it up! Plug it up!" started by truly cruel Chris Hargensen. The girls then hurl tampons and sanitary napkins at her from the broken machine on the wall. Poor, helpless Carrie stands there, utterly confused and humiliated all the same, looking "the part of the sacrificial goat." The "fun" stops when Ms. Desjardin, the gym teacher intervenes, slapping Carrie to snap her out of her hysterical fit. Carrie is sent home early that day. Out of all the girls, Sue Snell feels the guiltiest and wants to make it up to Carrie. So she convinces her boyfriend, Tommy Ross, to take Carrie to the prom. If you've seen the 70s movie, you know what goes down at the prom. If not, read and see. At home, Carrie deals with a religiously fanatic mother who never spoke about menstruation because she believed it was sinful. Mrs. White is a single mother who preaches, what she believes to be Christ's ways, all through the neighborhood. When Carrie is "bad" and "sinful," she gets thrown into the prayer closet to "pray for forgiveness." Everything in Mrs. White's mind is sinful. And because Carrie's father died, she has no one else to turn to for help. This novel, at times, is honestly horrifying. Lovers of scary stories (and King) are sure to enjoy this read. Some complain about the passages of Carrie White and her telekinesis but I found them to be the ideal story tie-in and quite useful to explain Carrie's past and further talk of her powers. If you've seen the movie, you may almost feel as if it's a must to read this book but that really isn't the case here. The book stands wonderful all on its own.
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