Reviews with content warning for Animal death - Carrie

Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

Carrie by Stephen King

94 reviews

hiddenfallacies's review against another edition

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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jpaulcord's review against another edition

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dark emotional

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? It's complicated

5.0

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shannonredwine8's review against another edition

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dark sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Alot of womanizing/abuse. Mention of animal cruelty. Alot of use of the word GD.

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biammonite's review against another edition

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dark sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

I really enjoyed the book. People always compare the movies, but after reading the book I'm not really fully satisfied with any of them anymore, at least the portrayals of Carrie. I read it in practically one day, it was well paced and easy to read in one sitting. Carrie is a brilliant character, and I liked that she was less redeemable. It was good to get several peoples point of view as well as snippets from the aftermath and news stories dotted in, it added a lot to the overall world building.
Sometimes Stephen King is a bit of a freak with high school students but we already knew that.

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