Carrie

As Stephen King's first published novel, I feel it speaks true of the terrors that lie in high school itself for people who may have been a little different. It is true what one critic said, that it is not in Carrie that we find the horror but in the people around her. With one of the most shocking conclusions ever, Carrie is a book and a character that will not soon be forgotten.

Title: Carrie

Author: Stephen King

Genre: Fiction-Horror



I recently finished the novel Carrie by Steven King.

Structure:

Although I did enjoy the overall story, I wasn't exactly a huge fan on how he wrote the story. I found some of it to be confusing, in the sense that he occasionally spelt things wrong, didn't capitalize properly or put in dialogue between brackets that often got confusing. I'm sure if I read more of his novels, that I would get a better feel for what he's trying to achieve by doing such things, but seeing as this is my first time reading one of his novels, I thought it rather distracting to the story.

On a positive note, I was never bored while reading this. It starts off very interesting and relatable, and as you continue to read further, there is more and more interest that makes it's reader want to continue reading to the very end.

Story:

The story starts off rather normal, but we quickly realize that Carrie is not a normal girl. She goes through an experience that traumatizes her, and sets off the beginning of a chain of regrets. Carrie is known as the school "pushover" and neighbourhood "weirdo". She's an outcast.

You follow very closely with the character, and I found myself feeling sorry for Carrie, and understanding why she did all the things she did. Usually when you read or hear about a murderer or criminal, you automatically assume them to be the bad guy, but King takes you through every aspect of her day; how she's treated by everyone and how she lives. By the end of the story, I felt myself feeling sorry for her and having a sort of hatred towards the other characters.

The ending was the most exciting part, and I finished the last half of the novel in about an hour. I just couldn't put it down.

Characters:

Carrie White - Carrie is the main character. She's known as an outcast and posses no friends or imediate family besides her mother. In the beginning, we quickly discover that she has TK, which allows her to do things with her mind simply by thinking about them. In the very first part of the book, she has her period infront of her gym class. She crys because she is convinced that she is dying. It turns out her mother never told her about it, and believes that if a girl were to get her period, it's the first stage of sinning.

Margret White - This is the mother of Carrie. She believes strongly in sin and religion. Her job is to go around and try to convince people to come over to her religion. She's willing to do absolutely anything in order to keep from sin. I felt as though she was living in her own world, and what was good in her own world, would be wrong to regular society. I found her a very interesting, yet difficult character to understand. She's willing to beat Carrie and throw her in a closet for her religion.

Sue Snell - The book has quite a few interviews with Sue at the end half of the book, because she's one of the survivors who's able to discuss what happened on what is known as "Prom Night". Throughout the novel, she appears to be the closest thing to a friend to Carrie. She does make fun of her in the beginning scene, but feels guilty and tries to make it up to Carrie but making her boyfriend, Tommy, as her to prom.

Tommy - Tommy is the boy who loves Sue Snell, he's her boyfriend. He does what is asked by Sue and takes Carrie to Prom. He seems to be a very compassionate character, even towards Carrie he shows kindness and doesn't seem to mind taking her to the Prom. But in the end…

Other characters: There are other characters that would bring interest such as Chris, The Gym Teacher, Billy and The Principle.

Stars: 4/5

I would recommend this book to someone who's interested in the paranormal, and if horror movies or books are your thing, this is definitely a classic to consider. Normally I don't really read horror novels, but I would read this again.

The writing is minimalist and the story, so many years later, is borderline simple. I expected to be scared, or spooked a little, but it never quite happened. I would recommend The Dark Half instead.

This being the first Stephen King novel I've ever read, I was a bit disapointed because after hearing that Mr. King is a great author etc., I expected more. The only part I really enjoyed was Part 2: Prom Night, as the beginning was slow and boring.