Carrie by Stephen King

I’ve been meaning to read Carrie for a long time, and after reading The Mist by Stephen King earlier this year, i wanted to try and improve my view on his writing (i wasn’t the biggest fan). Carrie seemed like a good place to start over for me as i absolutely adore the movie adaptations of this novel. I was hoping for something a little more from the book, and in that aspect i wasn’t disappointed.

Title: Carrie

Author: Stephen King

Genre: Horror, Contemporary Horror

Publisher: Hodder Paperbacks

Publication Date: April 5th 1974

Pages: 253

Summary: Carrie White is no ordinary girl.

Carrie White has the gift of telekinesis.

To be invited to Prom Night by Tommy Ross is a dream come true for Carrie – the first step towards social acceptance by her high school colleagues.

But events will take a decidedly macabre turn on that horrifying and endless night as she is forced to exercise her terrible gift on the town that mocks and loathes her . . .

Carrie is bullied in school. She’s not popular and due to an unfortunate incident she’s now the laughing stock of the school. It doesn’t help when your mother thinks you’re the devils child and doesn’t let you explore the world as you wish. When she’s unexpectedly invited to Prom with one of the popular guys, you can imagine a lot more goes wrong.

I wasn’t a fan of Stephen King’s writing. He’s an incredible author (obviously, from the hundreds of novels he already has on shelves), however i don’t connect with this writing in the slightest. I struggle my way through his novels, they’re enjoyable stories, i just some how slow my reading down when it comes to him. This happened again with Carrie. I followed the story easily due to having seen the movie, however i found it quite a slow read.

The story itself is one of genius i think. It transports you instantly in to another world of a strict Christian household, a hierarchy high school and a small American town. Stephen King writes great atmosphere. He knows how to make things creepy and how to make things tense with his writing. You literally cannot fault this.

One of the strongest parts of the story for me were the experts from accounts of Carrie’s life or more specifically, the Prom night. There were extracts from a memoir, scientific journal, letters and news reports. I love it when novels use experimental writing in this way, it gives so many different views of the same thing and adds so much to a story. I particularly enjoyed the memoir of Susan Snell, a character who turned against Carrie during the story. These extracts also gave way to a very spooky ending, which had me a little unnerved.

If you’re just starting out with Stephen King, i would advise to start with Carrie. It’s an interesting and unique story that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Do not read this if you’re not a lover of scary books though!