A review by angelicathebookworm
Carrie by Stephen King

dark tense medium-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

While it may be one of King’s much shorter novels it’s still packed with masses of detail from the first page. The narrative contains many distinct characters including Carrie White, our eponymous figure who you cannot help but feel sorry for even as she becomes a monster within her own story. She’s definitely not the biggest monster of the narrative though, that title belongs to her mother who’s been punishing Carrie literally since birth through the guise of her extreme religious ideals which causes all of the horrors that ensue. It may not be the scariest of King’s novels but it’s definitely still suspenseful, shocking, and gruesome. Although this is such a well-known story, and you’ll more than likely read this already knowing many of the major details, the novel will still be able to engage and surprise you especially when it comes to the iconic prom night scene. That’s also probably my favourite scene of the entire novel and, surprisingly, it occurs in the middle of the novel.

The narrative is fleshed out and interrupted by additions of nonfiction mimicking extracts such as newspaper clippings and articles from science and medical journals, and while I did like their placement in the novel they are slightly jarring and affect the overall pacing. Also, the writing is quite dated, mostly when it comes to some of the language used, as it was first published in 1974 and while that isn’t necessarily a criticism, it is something to keep in mind if you’re planning on reading this one.

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