My Review (Spoilers)

  • This message board permanently closed on June 30th, 2020 at 4PM EDT and is no longer accepting new members.

Grant87

Well-Known Member
Jan 3, 2015
389
2,040
36
Wow, what a debut novel! Carrie may be short, especially compared to the considerable length of many of his later novels. That being said, King packed a considerable punch into less than 250 pages. The action never let up, and I found myself unable to put it down. Despite seeing both versions of the movie prior to reading to the novel, in many ways it still felt like a brand new story. In my opinion, there are very few authors who can build suspense even when you know what's going to happen next, but that's what King managed to do with this novel. It's such a raw, unflinching novel that showed the world his unlimited potential. One of the most amazing things to me was the novel didn't feel dated to me at all, despite being published over 40 years ago.

One of the scariest elements of Carrie was, without question, Margaret White. She is scary as hell. In Carrie (and later in Children of the Corn), King shows that religious fanaticism is truly terrifying. I find it such a scary element because it's so real, and has been throughout history. In my opinion, Margaret was just as responsible, if not more, than the bullying teenagers in contributing to Carrie's meltdown.

I loved the first-hand accounts of the town's destruction. I felt like I was standing on the sidewalk watching Carrie tear the town apart.

All in all, Carrie is a great debut novel by a true master.

Rating: 9/10

Up Next: I continue my chronological journey with Salem's Lot.
 

the_last_gunslinger

Well-Known Member
Nov 21, 2008
904
761
37
Michigan
I read Carrie for the first time last year. It was a good "first" novel, but in terms of personal favorites, I'd consider it just "Okay." It was a fast read and I enjoyed the narrative structure of the story. I actually had a hard time getting past the ultra religious mother. She was so extreme as to appear as a caricature of religious fanaticism.

To me, the most tragic part of the story (and the most powerful) was near the start of the prom, when Carrie was all dressed up and we start to see that her own perceived flaws may not have been authentic, how she was starting to get along with her classmates, on the road to acceptance...

And then it happened...
 

Grant87

Well-Known Member
Jan 3, 2015
389
2,040
36
I understand where you're coming from in regards to the mother's ultra-religious ways. I never felt her character was too over the top, though.

And I definitely agree with you about Carrie's arrival at the prom. Tragic is a very good word to describe it.
 

kingricefan

All-being, keeper of Space, Time & Dimension.
Jul 11, 2006
30,011
127,446
Spokane, WA
Margaret is indeed a terrifying creature. In the original film, Piper Laurie walked such a very fine line with her portrayal of Margaret- she kept it on this side of believable and never ventured into the caricature side- she really is scary!
 

the_last_gunslinger

Well-Known Member
Nov 21, 2008
904
761
37
Michigan
Margaret is indeed a terrifying creature. In the original film, Piper Laurie walked such a very fine line with her portrayal of Margaret- she kept it on this side of believable and never ventured into the caricature side- she really is scary!

It's funny, Piper Laurie is on record as stating that she thought it was a 'send-up' when she first read the scripts, and that she laughed so much during the making of the movie. She maintains, still, I guess, that Carrie was more of a black comedy.

Admittedly, I haven't watched either version of the movie, so I can't really comment on her performance or the character on-screen.
 

kingricefan

All-being, keeper of Space, Time & Dimension.
Jul 11, 2006
30,011
127,446
Spokane, WA
It's funny, Piper Laurie is on record as stating that she thought it was a 'send-up' when she first read the scripts, and that she laughed so much during the making of the movie. She maintains, still, I guess, that Carrie was more of a black comedy.

Admittedly, I haven't watched either version of the movie, so I can't really comment on her performance or the character on-screen.
Yes, I've seen an interview with her where she said they started filming and she was going at it like it was going to be a comedy and the director yelled 'CUT!' and walked over to her and said 'What are you doing?' She explained it to him and he said that it wasn't a comedy, so she had to go re-think how she was going to approach certain scenes, etc. There are actually some quite humorous moments in it tho....
 

the_last_gunslinger

Well-Known Member
Nov 21, 2008
904
761
37
Michigan
That's what made her a great villain. As scary as it is, there are actually people like that walking around. That's even scarier.

Hmm, I had the opposite response to the character. I found her character to lack much depth. We knew she was evil because she was a religious fanatic, but that was about the extent of her personality.

I guess she didn't resonate with me much because I actually don't know any religious people that are as far gone as Mrs. White.
 

Sunlight Gardener

Well-Known Member
Jul 22, 2013
375
1,273
Hmm, I had the opposite response to the character. I found her character to lack much depth. We knew she was evil because she was a religious fanatic, but that was about the extent of her personality.

This is just my opinion but I think sometimes NOT having some grand reason why villains are evil is more scary and effective. Sometimes over explaining the back story of why they are evil takes the menace out of the character. Again just my 2 cents.
 

Grant87

Well-Known Member
Jan 3, 2015
389
2,040
36
This is just my opinion but I think sometimes NOT having some grand reason why villains are evil is more scary and effective. Sometimes over explaining the back story of why they are evil takes the menace out of the character. Again just my 2 cents.
Agreed. Evil just for evil's sake is often more terrifying.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Neesy

the_last_gunslinger

Well-Known Member
Nov 21, 2008
904
761
37
Michigan
This is just my opinion but I think sometimes NOT having some grand reason why villains are evil is more scary and effective. Sometimes over explaining the back story of why they are evil takes the menace out of the character. Again just my 2 cents.

No problem. I actually thought the book itself was pretty decent, just not one of my favorites, or one I keep reflecting back on. I'm sure there are some King novels that really worked for me, but found little resonance with you. That's the beauty of an author who has over fifty books to his name. There's usually something for everyone.