(Originally Published 1974, Mass Market Paperback 290)
The difficulty in writing a review of such a well-known work such as Mr. King's 'Carrie' is separating the short novel from the famous 1976 movie. If you have never seen the movie starring Sissy Spacek, I strongly suggest you read the book first. 'Carrie' the novel presents a much more full-bodied representation of the characters. Hollywood, with a few exceptions, has a nasty tendency to fart around with literary works and dilute much of what makes a novel good. If you've seen the movie, you'll immediately realize this on page 4 by Mr. King's description of Carrie as compared to Sissy Spacek (or the 2013 remake starring Chloe Grace Moretz.) The book fleshes out Carrie's father Ralph, the mother Margaret White, and also the other main characters Sue Snell, Tommy Ross, Chris Hargensen, the phys. ed. teacher Mrs. Desjardin, the principal Mr. Grayle, the vice-principal Mr. Morton and especially Billy Nolan who plays a larger role in the book.
I agree with the author that his first work was a "raw," but it's sure in the heck better than anything I could ever write. Oddly enough, over the last 34 years, I've read around 35 of Mr. King's novels starting with 'The Shining' and ''Salem's Lot,' but never got around to 'Carrie' until now. The book was published in 1974, but transpires in May of 1979 in a little southern Maine town. 'Carrie' is a fast read. I wish I had never seen the movie back in the 1980s because it did remove a lot of the suspense of the book. However, it's still a very good work and better than the first movie adaption. It covers some nasty aspects of the human condition: bullying, peer pressure, and religious zealotry. Oh, and the cover design of a skeleton carnation on the Anchor Books Mass Market Paperback is excellent. In this case, judge the book by its cover.
I agree with the author that his first work was a "raw," but it's sure in the heck better than anything I could ever write. Oddly enough, over the last 34 years, I've read around 35 of Mr. King's novels starting with 'The Shining' and ''Salem's Lot,' but never got around to 'Carrie' until now. The book was published in 1974, but transpires in May of 1979 in a little southern Maine town. 'Carrie' is a fast read. I wish I had never seen the movie back in the 1980s because it did remove a lot of the suspense of the book. However, it's still a very good work and better than the first movie adaption. It covers some nasty aspects of the human condition: bullying, peer pressure, and religious zealotry. Oh, and the cover design of a skeleton carnation on the Anchor Books Mass Market Paperback is excellent. In this case, judge the book by its cover.
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