Review of Carrie

  I decided to revisit the first novel of my favorite author after all these years. Unlike Salem's Lot or The Stand or even Misery which I've read a few times. I read Salem's Lot every so many years. this is only the second time I have ever actually read Carrie and the first time since it first came out in paperback a lot of years ago. I'm actually more familiar with the movie than the book and I listened to Sissy Spacek read the Audible version along with my own reading of the novel. It has been so long that it was like a first read. Any memories I had were of the movie meaning the Sissy Spacek original and not any of the remakes.

First the Audible version is excellent and Sissy Spacek does a great job of reading it. Being from Alabama I kept picking up some of her Southern or should I say Texas accent at times. But, it was only on a couple of words and she did a really good job of reading the story of the exceptional and troubled young girl from Maine. This story still holds up and if you are looking for a good Audible listen you can't go wrong with this one. Now, to the story.

Carrie as a story really hit home for me since I was raised in the Bible Belt and honestly Carrie's mother reminded me of some of the adults from my youth in a Penacostol church. Even the name of Carrie's mother reminded me of a lady that was really religious back then. Not as deadly with it or as mean spirited of course.

Anyway, one of the reasons that Carrie was a challenging read for me then was my churchy upbringing. Back then my thoughts were Was it a sin to read a book with such irreverent religious imagery of my then Christian faith which brings me back to the story.

Stephen King if he were a churhy person which he is not seems to align from the few times I've heard him discuss it with a more calmly mainline Methodist mindset.

Carrie had the beaten down just get it over with attitude of many of us who were born into a religious fundamentalist family. Thankfully my actual family and my religious relatives were not toxic. The fictional Carrie's family certainly was. Although she had only her mother left.

Stephen King does a great job here especially for a first published novel. He hits the right note of the poor downtrodden bullied teen and the casual cruelty of youth

As a male I think it might have actually worked better with the bulliyng parts from a male perspective. I know how mean teenage boys can be. On the other hand I bet some females will recognize the meanness of teenage girls in the narrative.

I sometimes hesitate to read books from my youth and young adulthood. They tend to seem dated. But, this one about kids from around my time really kept  my attention. This is the young Stephen King. Still full of potential and stories about haunted cars and haunted hotels. Vampire's over running a New England town and a quiet man with a gun and an obsession for a Dark Tower are in the future. This is the start. Not of the Tower or the haunted hotels and cars. But, of the writer. It's a good trip and well worth the time.

Steve Snead <cybrtyde@gmail.com>	6:41 PM (0 minutes ago)