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Carrie (1974)

by Stephen King

Other authors: See the other authors section.

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
14,530286387 (3.73)384
An unpopular teenage girl whose mother is a religious fanatic is tormented and teased to the breaking point by her more popular schoolmates and uses her hidden telekinetic powers to inflict a terrifying revenge.
  1. 30
    The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (akblanchard)
    akblanchard: Carrie White has much in common with Jackson's shy, bullied heroine Eleanor Vance.
  2. 10
    Brightly Burning by Mercedes Lackey (lquilter)
    lquilter: If you like tortured pyrokinetics with tragic endings, and don't mind radical changes in mood and style ... try Stephen King's Carrie for the horror take, and Mercedes Lackey's Brightly Burning for the fantasy take.
  3. 01
    The Witches of Eastwick by John Updike (KayCliff)
  4. 110
    Matilda by Roald Dahl (TomWaitsTables)
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» See also 384 mentions

English (273)  Spanish (3)  French (3)  Italian (1)  Czech (1)  Portuguese (Brazil) (1)  Romanian (1)  German (1)  Norwegian (1)  Portuguese (1)  Dutch (1)  All languages (287)
Showing 1-5 of 273 (next | show all)
A shy and awkward teenage girl certainly does not need telekinetic powers, but Carrie White has them. And thus ensues her terrifying journey through her tumultuous home life and the cruelty of her classmates. “Carrie” by Stephen King is a classic. In it he explores themes of bullying, isolation, and the consequences of unchecked cruelty. Forget the pink shirts against bullies, make the kids read this. It’s bound to have them think twice before enacting cruelty on another. “Carrie” is a well developed cast which exposes the psyche of the characters and portrays the complex motivations behind their actions to create a chilling atmosphere of suspense and dread. It’s a gripping and visceral blend of horror and psychology which makes "Carrie" a truly unforgettable reading experience. ( )
  Andrew.Lafleche | Mar 12, 2024 |
Wow, what an antecipation buildup. And the actual final "action" part. Incredible!
Now I can watch the movie(s). Curious if and how they included all those "fonts" sequences.
(I suspect I missed something in the translation, with some brazilian words). ( )
  davidpinto1979 | Feb 28, 2024 |
This was a very interesting and unexpectedly good read. Having watched the movie from 1970's starring Sissy Spacek I knew what to expect but here we have situation of a very good book and movie telling a similar but not exactly the same story. While I like the movie my honest opinion is that book is way better.

Told from the perspectives of Carrie herself, her mother, various scientists and historians writing about the bloody prom night and finally first account testaments by the few prom survivors we are given details about the horrendous and bloody events that claimed not only lives of so many students but almost entire city.

Story itself is as old as time - bullying of a girl that is socially awkward takes a turn when we learn that that very girl harbors in herself exquisitely strong power. Living in constant fear, constantly terrorized and reined in by her mother and her friends, never expecting anything good from her life, Carrie will finally break and decide to teach her tormentors a lesson. Power surging through her takes its toll but for Carrie letting it all out is means to reach the ultimate freedom. Finally acknowledging what she is Carrie lets out and decides to punish all that did her wrong.

Story is a cautionary tale - never push people over the edge unless ready to live with consequences. When pushed to the wall every person will reach for the most drastic measures because they simply have nothing to lose. While we are always ready to call people like Carrie ah those unfit to live in the every day society question is who is true "patient" here - Carrie or ordinary people that don't even try to know her but join the true psychopaths (and these are always people high on social ladder in every King's novel) in tormenting those who cannot defend themselves (Sue Snell being representative here - and being one of the rare few that finally comes to understanding they are doing the wrong thing)? Only story that comes very close to depicting how easily person can snap and cause mayhem is a fantastic movie "Falling Down".

What I like here is also the way King treats telekinesis through scientific approach, through various excerpts from books and articles about the bloody event. For me this makes it much more effective, very much like true X-Man-horror story and for me has a much bigger punch than the usual Evil-doers plot.

Excellent novel, short and to the point, told in a manner that I would expect from the author like Michael Crichton rather than Stephen King (and I mean this in truly good, positive way).

Highly recommended. ( )
  Zare | Jan 23, 2024 |
Carrie White is young girl who lives in the Maine town of Chamberlain and attends school regularly at Ewen High. But Carrie is no ordinary girl. But that is probably something everyone in school says. They tease her, call her names and play tricks on her. Her mother, a strongly religious God-fearing woman has her sheltered, keeping her isolated from the experiences of an average teenager. But that is all about to change. Carrie learns that she is no ordinary girl. But in a way no one can even begin suspect. She learns about her amazing gift and puts it to good use. After an incident in a girl's locker room, a guilt stricken Sue Snell decides to make up for the horrible way she treated Carrie. But all it takes is one powerful act of wickedness to ruin Sue's amazing act of kindness, thus dooming Chamberlain, Maine forever.

I recommend this book to anyone who is or isn't a fan of Stephen King. If you're not, then this is the perfect place to start. What was originally supposed to a work of short fiction, turned out to be a novel. And it's all thanks to Tabitha King for fishing out that discarded draft covered in cigarette ashes and motivating and persuading her husband to work on the story that would eventually launch Mr. King's career as a famed author. I also recommend this book to teenagers, both who bully and are bullied in hopes that there will be some understanding to the wickedness that can come from bullying and the retaliation. The plot is great. The chapters aren't traditionally separated by numbers but by excerpts of fictional interviews, biographies and such to help reader understand the characters and their actions and also to serve as foreshadow. I have seen the movie adaptions of this book figured it was time to read it. ( )
  b00kdarling87 | Jan 7, 2024 |
Lately, I've been trying to read outside of my comfort zone a bit. One genre I haven't read much in is the horror genre. I have nothing against it as a genre, I just am always so keen on reading fantasy and sci-fi novels. Well, I thought it is time to change things up a bit. And I am glad I did. To start my dive into the horror genre, I started with the master of horror himself: Stephen King, an author I've often scoffed at for being so prolific. If he is so prolific, there is no way he's THAT good. Well folks, Stephen King is a master for a reason. He knows how to write engaging characters, tense plots, and disturbing content all right.

Carrie is Stephen King's first novel, written in 1973 as a novella that morphed into a very short novel. It eventually sold something like one million paper back copies and solidified Stephen King as a force to be reckoned with. Brian De Palma would go on to adapt the story to a film which iconic images I can't erase (I saw De Palma's version when I was entirely way too young) and King would become even more of a household name.

Carrie is an economical, thrilling, dirty, insightful, bizarre, horrifying page-turner. It feels like a pulpy novel, until it's not. But that's the appeal: King blends pulp with high art. Carrie is Stephen King's shortest novel. The book itself is the story of Carrie White, a high-school student with latent – and then, as the novel progresses, developing – telekinetic powers that apparently run in the family. It's brutal in places, affecting in others, and gory to boot. By the end of the novel, there's a pretty impressive body count, and it's a body count you don't necessarily see coming given the general tone of the novel. Or, bluntly, given the character of Carrie herself. Carrie, after years of abuse by her fearful and religiously crazed momma and being tormented by her peers (the book starts off with her being bullied by her female peers in the girls locker room), she explodes into rage. Her gift of TK turns into a weapon of horror and destruction that levels the town, and tragically ends in her own death as well. It's a slow burn to get to the destruction but when we do, it's riveting, frightening, and sad. Futhermore, as a reader, one really empathizes with Carrie and when she goes into her TK rage, it's not only horrific; it's tragic.

Reading this book, in the 21st century, one can't help but wonder just how profound this little book actually is. Carrie is about many things: sexual awakening (and repression), child abuse, religious fanaticism, but its main theme is bullying. This book is about the monsters we have a hand in creating. No one is really innocent in this novel per se. If only the girls had been kind to Carrie, if only her mother would have been loving instead of fearfully controlling, if only someone would have helped Carrie understand all the changes she was going through, then maybe, just maybe things would have been different. But alas, this morality tale ends in fire and blood. It's message is that compassion is what is needed in a world turned upside down. Now a far warning: King is not a proselytizer. This book is intense. But, I think King is trying in his first novel to point us to a place of light by showing us the negation of such goodness (Carrie is perhaps the character who is the most kind and innocent until her rampage begins and Tommy seems to be a "decent" enough fella who didn't deserve death) and this style of exploring the nature or good vs. evil actually reminds me of one of my favorite authors, Flannery O'Connor.

Structurally Carrie is a weird one, with a third-person narrative voice interspersed with extracts from other media: newspaper reports, autobiographies of characters, transcripts of police interviews, etc. I found it to be intriguing but I wasn't always so sure it worked.

Still, Carrie is classic. It's Stephen King's first novel so it is a little rough around the edges but as a short novel, it's one heck of a subversive ride. Who knew that a pulpy little horror novel could also be a profound work of art? I can't wait to read other stories of his.



( )
  ryantlaferney87 | Dec 8, 2023 |
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» Add other authors (21 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
King, Stephenprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Epple, ElisabethTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Gotfryd, AlexCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Hamvai, KornélTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
King, TabithaIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Němeček, IvanTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Nijkerk, IngridTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Saarikoski, TuulaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Spacek, SissyNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Stuart, NeilCover designersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Vlastelica, GregorioTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Epigraph
Dedication
This is for Tabby, who got me into it—and then bailed me out of it.
First words
News item from the Westover (Me.) weekly Enterprise, August 19, 1966: RAIN OF STONES REPORTED
Quotations
Sometimes, like now, the ivy looked like a grotesque giant hand ridged with great veins which had sprung up out of the ground to grip the building. She approached it with dragging feet.
She wished forlornly and constantly that Ewan High had individual - and thus private - showers like the ones at Andover or Boxford. They stared. They always stared.
Jesus watches from the wall, but his face is cold as stone. And if he loves me - as she tells me - why do I feel so all alone?
Your pimples are the Lord's way of chastising you.
"Red," Momma murmured. "I might have known it would be red."
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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Wikipedia in English (2)

An unpopular teenage girl whose mother is a religious fanatic is tormented and teased to the breaking point by her more popular schoolmates and uses her hidden telekinetic powers to inflict a terrifying revenge.

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Book description
Stephen King's first published novel is a fantastic story for those curious high school readers and adults alike looking for a chill.  Young Carrie is an aloof girl with an overbearing mother, who ultimately turns the tables on those who poke fun at her with her telekinetic powers.  For those who may be reluctant readers, you can always tell kids that Stephen King always pushes the limits in scarring the wits out of you.  Here is the trailer to the acclaimed 1976 film adaptation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJe0iV...
Haiku summary
The mean girls tease her.
Uh-oh. Shouldn’t have picked on
Someone who’s psychic.
(Carnophile)

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