Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - Carrie

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Carrie by Stephen King

18 reviews

pitchafitz's review against another edition

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dark tense 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

4.5

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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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