The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
struwos's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
nataly_lake's review against another edition
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Bullying
mirandab22's review against another edition
3.0
It seemed appropriate for 'Carrie' to be my first Stephen King novel, not only because it is the first he wrote but also as it is the one I've found the most intriguing after seeing the film. In many ways, the book actually excels on the film, but in others it is less successful.
What surprised me was how the book was told from several different perspectives and was interspersed with news articles and novels that were released after the events in the book, detailing Carrie, her life and the science behind telekinesis. Initially I thoroughly enjoyed these segments, each of them adding more to Carrie's backstory or her 'powers' but these segments did become repetitive and occasionally failed to give the reader any new information. This also meant the book fell into the trap of 'telling' rather than 'showing' which did make for an easy read but also makes me feel as if 'Carrie' will not have such a lasting impact now I have finished it.
*Contains light spoilers*
What King manages to do well in this novel is his characters. Carrie's mother, Chris and Billy are truly vile villains that are completely irredeemable, but that is because he wants them to be. Fundamentally, Carrie is the true villain but the purpose of the book is to explore her character and the events that lead her to perform such an act in the climax of the novel. During the climax though, King still successfully manages in making the reader sympathetic towards her (and in some cases, rooting for her). The one character which truly shone through was Sue Snell - a girl who initially bullies Carrie but quickly regrets it. She felt like the most nuanced with King managing to balance out her guilt being the driving force in redeeming herself, whilst also recognising this was to appease herself more so than Carrie and reflected the impact teenage peer pressure can have on her.
King also successfully builds the tension throughout the book to the climax (which is probably why I read most of it in a day). King reveals in the beginning of the book of the destruction the town suffers from and certain character deaths which naturally increased my curiosity about 'how' and 'why' the events unfold. However, in managing to build the tension so effectively, the climax doesn't quite stick the landing. Perhaps this is due to already knowing the iconic incident that occurs (like most people I imagine), if I hadn't, then it might have felt more shocking - but this is where the book felt the most drawn out and repetitive from the multiple perspectives and articles he used.
There were a couple of other minor issues I had that I won't go into too much detail over - the amount of similes King likes to use, his use of the N word a few times (most likely a product of it's time though) and it seemed as if every female character was getting slapped at one point or another. The amount of slapping going on almost made it feel like a soap opera and was bordering on comical towards the end.
The problems I have are what ultimately brought it down from 4 stars to 3 for me, but I still enjoyed reading the book a lot and would recommend it to anyone who is curious. Whenever I choose to return to 'Carrie' though, I personally think I'll choose the film.
What surprised me was how the book was told from several different perspectives and was interspersed with news articles and novels that were released after the events in the book, detailing Carrie, her life and the science behind telekinesis. Initially I thoroughly enjoyed these segments, each of them adding more to Carrie's backstory or her 'powers' but these segments did become repetitive and occasionally failed to give the reader any new information. This also meant the book fell into the trap of 'telling' rather than 'showing' which did make for an easy read but also makes me feel as if 'Carrie' will not have such a lasting impact now I have finished it.
*Contains light spoilers*
What King manages to do well in this novel is his characters. Carrie's mother, Chris and Billy are truly vile villains that are completely irredeemable, but that is because he wants them to be. Fundamentally, Carrie is the true villain but the purpose of the book is to explore her character and the events that lead her to perform such an act in the climax of the novel. During the climax though, King still successfully manages in making the reader sympathetic towards her (and in some cases, rooting for her). The one character which truly shone through was Sue Snell - a girl who initially bullies Carrie but quickly regrets it. She felt like the most nuanced with King managing to balance out her guilt being the driving force in redeeming herself, whilst also recognising this was to appease herself more so than Carrie and reflected the impact teenage peer pressure can have on her.
King also successfully builds the tension throughout the book to the climax (which is probably why I read most of it in a day). King reveals in the beginning of the book of the destruction the town suffers from and certain character deaths which naturally increased my curiosity about 'how' and 'why' the events unfold. However, in managing to build the tension so effectively, the climax doesn't quite stick the landing. Perhaps this is due to already knowing the iconic incident that occurs (like most people I imagine), if I hadn't, then it might have felt more shocking - but this is where the book felt the most drawn out and repetitive from the multiple perspectives and articles he used.
There were a couple of other minor issues I had that I won't go into too much detail over - the amount of similes King likes to use, his use of the N word a few times (most likely a product of it's time though) and it seemed as if every female character was getting slapped at one point or another. The amount of slapping going on almost made it feel like a soap opera and was bordering on comical towards the end.
The problems I have are what ultimately brought it down from 4 stars to 3 for me, but I still enjoyed reading the book a lot and would recommend it to anyone who is curious. Whenever I choose to return to 'Carrie' though, I personally think I'll choose the film.
holl3640's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.5
niheed's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Disappointed
caroline06's review against another edition
4.0
Loved this incomparably. The way that Stephen King creates such a suspenseful atmosphere is outstanding, even for his first book. Even though I knew what the ending was, I couldn't help but keep reading to get to that part. However, I wasn't so keep on the lack of chapters; I feel as it it would have had a much better structure with them. Also, the ending seemed to take a strange tern with some of the supporting characters that I wasn't so keen on. I believe that King was attempting to have the supporting characters realise that the disaster was Carrie as the always knew that she was pushed into the position to want to become a mass murder, however, this wasn't portrayed as well as it could have been and seemed more like they were supernatural or omniscient themselves rather than simple understanding of human emotions.
shp49's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
babybel's review against another edition
4.0
stephen king has one of the most distinct writing styles imo, so reading his very first book and seeing the beginnings of that style was super cool. at first i was not totally invested in the story but the last 75 pages were CLASSIC stephen king horror and i found myself speeding through them. i’ve found that 7/10 times his books have happy endings but i’m glad this one did not.
was this my favorite stephen king book? not by a long shot, but i enjoyed reading it and that’s all i could ask for
was this my favorite stephen king book? not by a long shot, but i enjoyed reading it and that’s all i could ask for
palomasstefani's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
k09229's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Stephen is never beating the “I love to abuse women” allegations but at least Carrie got some payback