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.