Carrie

Title: Carrie

Author: Stephen King

Published in: 1974

Date read: 5th March 2019

Score: 4/5

Genre: Horror, Thriller, Fiction

Plot: (Warning, may contain spoilers):
"Carrie" by Stephen King is his debut novel, a chilling and tragic tale of a tormented outcast who unleashes a terrifying telekinetic fury.

The story centres on Carrie White, a shy, awkward, and deeply repressed teenage girl living in the fictional town of Chamberlain, Maine. She is relentlessly bullied by her classmates at Ewen High School and subjected to extreme religious fanaticism and psychological abuse by her mentally unstable, fundamentalist mother, Margaret White. Margaret believes everything, especially female sexuality, is sinful, and she isolates Carrie from the outside world.

Carrie's life takes a dramatic turn when she experiences her first menstruation in the school showers, an event she doesn't understand due to her mother's deliberate ignorance. Her classmates cruelly mock and pelt her with tampons, a humiliating incident that awakens a dormant power within her: telekinesis. She discovers she can move objects with her mind.

Initially, Carrie's powers are uncontrolled and sporadic, often manifesting in moments of intense stress. However, as the bullying continues and her mother's grip tightens, Carrie secretly begins to practice and refine her abilities.

A few students, remorseful for the shower incident, attempt to make amends. Sue Snell, one of the main bullies, feels particular guilt and arranges for her popular boyfriend, Tommy Ross, to take Carrie to the senior prom. This gesture of kindness offers Carrie a glimmer of hope for a normal life, much to her mother's horror, who sees it as an act of sin.

The prom, however, becomes the setting for the novel's horrifying climax. Despite Tommy's genuine kindness, the other bullies, led by the vindictive Chris Hargensen and her boyfriend Billy Nolan, execute a cruel prank designed to publicly humiliate Carrie. They rig the prom queen ballot and douse Carrie with a bucket of pig's blood when she is crowned.

This final, ultimate humiliation, combined with years of abuse, pushes Carrie past her breaking point. Fuelled by unimaginable rage and sorrow, she unleashes her full telekinetic power, causing an apocalyptic catastrophe at the prom, resulting in mass casualties, fires, and widespread destruction. Her rampage extends throughout the town, seeking revenge on everyone who has wronged her, before a final, tragic confrontation with her mother.

"Carrie" is a powerful exploration of bullying, religious fanaticism, adolescent cruelty, and the devastating consequences of pushing an individual beyond their limits. It's a raw and visceral portrayal of how suppressed rage, when ignited, can lead to horrific and unforgettable destruction.

Comments:
Brilliant way to begin, always read the King books in order. I came back to the start after only 3. I do like to think about pancakes...the first one is always rubbish, there is no way that this can be his first because it was an instant classic.

Books that we've read by Stephen King (68):
Carrie (1974), 'Salem's Lot (1975), The Shining (The Shining, #1) (1977), The Stand (1978), Night Shift (1978), The Dead Zone (1979), Firestarter (1980), Cujo (1981), The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower, #1) (1982), Different Seasons (1982), Christine (1983), Cycle of the Werewolf (1983), Pet Sematary (1983), The Talisman (The Talisman, #1) (1984), Skeleton Crew (1985), It (1986), The Drawing of the Three (The Dark Tower, #2) (1987), The Eyes of the Dragon (1987), The Tommyknockers (1987), Misery (1987), The Dark Half (1989), Four Past Midnight (1990), The Waste Lands (The Dark Tower, #3) (1991), Needful Things (1991), Dolores Claiborne (1992), Gerald's Game (1992), Nightmares and Dreamscapes (1993), Insomnia (1994), Rose Madder (1995), The Green Mile (1996), Desperation (1996), Wizard and Glass (The Dark Tower, #4) (1997), Bag of Bones (1998), The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (1999), Hearts in Atlantis (1999), On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft (2000), Black House (The Talisman, #2) (2001), Dreamcatcher (2001), Everything's Eventual (2002), From a Buick 8 (2002), Wolves of the Calla (The Dark Tower, #5) (2003), Song of Susannah (The Dark Tower, #6) (2004), The Dark Tower (The Dark Tower, #7) (2004), The Colorado Kid (2005), Cell (2006), Lisey's Story (2006), Duma Key (2008), Just After Sunset (2008), Under the Dome (2009), 11/22/63 (2011), Full Dark, No Stars (2011), The Wind Through the Keyhole (The Dark Tower, #4.5) (2012), Dr. Sleep (The Shining, #2) (2013), Joyland (2013), Mr. Mercedes (Bill Hodges Trilogy, #1) (2014), Revival (2014), The Bazaar of Bad Dreams (2015), Finders Keepers (Bill Hodges Trilogy, #2) (2015), End of Watch (Bill Hodges Trilogy, #3) (2016), Elevation (2018), The Outsider (2018), The Institute (2019), If It Bleeds (2020), Billy Summers (2021), Later (2021), Fairy Tale (2022), Holly (2023), You Like It Darker (2024)