Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

Carrie by Stephen King

38 reviews

hiddenfallacies's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, Carrie is a landmark achievement in horror for many reasons. It's the start of King's long and celebrated career, a novel that centers around women and places their pain at the epicenter of its plot, and it created a cultural memory that endures to this day - one that empathizes with Carrie rather than demonizes her. Told over three parts that function as three long chapters, the novel tells Carrie's story in retrospect through a collection of articles, interviews, and varying point of views. Going through the past, present, and future of the ill-fated prom night, the reader gets to know Carrie and all she has endured. Above all else, this novel is a tragedy about Carrie White's last hope to become a person and the ways in which society crushed that dream.

The first of the three parts suffers the most, lacking the natural momentum and masterful framing that surrounds the prom night itself and its aftermath in the story. This fact alone is what keeps this novel from garnering five stars for me. The novel is also littered with the artifact of being King's first, lacking some of the grammatical and structural prowess he cultivated over time. It's also important to note that there's a fair bit of racism present throughout the novel, dropped in small phrases and cultural references that leave the modern reader wondering if King meant to include them to indicate moral failings of certain antagonists or the time period itself, or if he simply was ignorant of certain biases he held himself. I believe informing potential readers of this is crucial, as I was blindsided by their sporadic inclusion while reading, taking me out of the story.

Although King has published better novels, as well as worse, I believe Carrie deserves a space not only on an essential reading list for King, but for horror as a whole. It remains culturally significant and moving to this day. May Carrie White never be forgotten. 

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rinnaria's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75


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mightyfrenchbookworm's review against another edition

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dark sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

C'est le 50e anniversaire de publication de ce livre et je ne peux pas dire que ça a vieilli comme du bon vin! Certaines expressions, traduites faut dire, ne voulaient rien dire pour moi. Je tiens aussi à dire que je n'ai pas vu le film. Encore. J'ai failli abandonner quand j'ai emprunté ce livre à la couverture franchement moche, les pages jaunies et écrit en Times New roman 9 simple interligne. 

Ceci étant dit, c'était vraiment addictif comme lecture quoique portant parfois à confusion. Saut dans le temps passé, présent, futur. Saut de personnages. Sans avertissement. Ce qui est étonnant c'est que, le lecteur sait dès le départ la fin du livre. Au fur et à mesure que le livre avance, on en sait davantage, on a des rapports de la commission d'enquête, etc. Le personnage de Carrie n'est pas tout à fait facile à apprécier et c'est voulu (je crois). On veut avoir de l'empathie pour elle et ce qu'elle subit mais elle n'est pas vraiment aimable non plus. 
Bref, je suis satisfaite d'avoir lu ce "classique" de la littérature si s'en est un. 

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wmelissa's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective tense fast-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

3.5


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octagon's review against another edition

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dark reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5


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nicoletiff's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

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lay_kone's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0


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torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5


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hayleymorrison's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

One of my absolute favorite King novels. 

Carrie’s story is relatable to anyone who grew up religious (and later went another route) or outcast. King’s dialogue and use of multimedia throughout the novel make it an easy and enjoyable (despite the topic) read. This is my second re-read and it still holds up. Especially the government involvement. Still striking today. 

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_grace_c_'s review against another edition

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dark emotional sad 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? Yes

4.25

This book is great; it's the novel that then gave us one of the greatest authors of our time.
All 242 pages are flawless; The story is about a girl who has some supernatural powers and the journey into High schools of the 60s and the religious mindsets around that time. Her limit is reached, causing her to use her powers to seek her revenge against her bullies, and ultimately everyone in her wake. This book makes you feeling many emotions and my heart broke for the abuse and sheltered life Carrie had to endure. The flow of the book is gripping; from the story telling of the events and the snippets of interviews and articles that followed 'Prom Night'. I was sucked in from the first page and read in the in 2 sittings.

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