Review Tuesday: CARRIE by Stephen King

I decided I wanted to read a sci-fi book after reading those mystery novels. I went to grab something from my Heinlein stack and CARRIE by Stephen King was sitting on top. "Where did that come from?" I thought. Then I remembered that there's a new movie based on this book due out in October of this year, so why not read the book it's based on and have an inside angle?

A high school girl, Carrietta White, is abused for the last time when she was pushed beyond her limits. Little does anyone know, her powerful secret will be the end of their entire little sleepy town.

The writing is brilliant. It's told from many different perspectives, and reflected from an omniscient level. You get to know what's going through the minds of the key players as the story unfolds.

I have to say that I had a nagging feeling saying, "you saw the movie with Sissy Spacek and John Revolta years ago, why bother?" I'm glad I read the book because it was such masterful story-telling that it nearly obliterated any memory I had of teh movie, which was rather little. It does, however, make me wonder how the new version will be handled.

This is a great book and Stephen King did an amazing job. He paints the picture of this depressing and horrifying story and you can see it in your mind's eye vividly. You can't help feeling empathy for the character of Carrie and almost almost can understand why she went off to commit the unthinkable and lay her little town to waste when she's the butt of one too many practical jokes. It's a scathing editorial of how peer pressure can easily turn ugly and violent among children in school and how adults ignore the pain of children, whether they are the source or bullies at school.

Get your hands on a copy, and ready it. It's a very quick read and enjoyable and satisfying in a strange way. Memorable, Haunting. MUST READ!

Find it on AMAZON.

Now I'm left wondering about the upcoming movie. Chloë Grace Moretz (Kick-Ass, Dark Shadows, Let Me In) is a good actress, and is the right age, but she's entirely too pretty to be the Carrie described in the book. I'm sure the magic of movie make-up will make that work. Julianne Moore, also, does not match the physical description of Carrie's mother, Margaret White from the book, but I see her doing a fine job easily bossing around her child. The entire cast looks age appropriate, not like the previous version in which John Travolta looked like he was 30 when he was playing a 17 year old. Who's terrible idea was that? But the more I think about it, the more excited I become. Special effects have gorwn and this could be a much more cohesive production and truly reflect the horror of Carrie's life and ruin.

More on IMDB.

...I still haven't figured out where my copy came from, by the way...