Christine

Title: Christine

Author: Stephen King

Published in: 1983

Date read: 7th November 2019

Score: 5/5

Genre: Horror, Thriller, Psychological

Plot: (Warning, may contain spoilers):
"Christine" by Stephen King is a supernatural horror novel about a young man's obsessive and ultimately destructive relationship with a sentient, malevolent car.

The story is primarily set in 1978 and focuses on Arnie Cunningham, a socially awkward, bullied, and unconfident seventeen-year-old high school senior in Libertyville, Pennsylvania. One day, Arnie spots a dilapidated 1958 Plymouth Fury, severely rusted and neglected, for sale in a junkyard. Despite its terrible condition and the eccentric, unsettling previous owner, Roland D. LeBay, Arnie is instantly captivated by the car and impulsively buys it.

Arnie dedicates himself to restoring the car, which he names "Christine." As he painstakingly works on the car, a strange transformation begins to occur. Christine miraculously restores herself overnight, far beyond Arnie's efforts, often repairing damage on her own. More disturbingly, Arnie himself begins to change. He becomes more confident, assertive, stylish, and physically attractive, but also increasingly arrogant, aggressive, and isolated from his friends and family. His obsession with Christine grows, alienating him from everyone around him.

Arnie's best friend, Dennis Guilder, a popular jock, and his new girlfriend, Leigh Cabot, both become concerned and eventually terrified by Christine's possessive and malevolent influence. Christine proves to be jealous and deadly, actively harming and even killing anyone who threatens her relationship with Arnie or damages her perfect exterior. She begins to display clear signs of sentience, acting independently and exhibiting a cruel, vengeful personality.

The novel delves into the car's dark past, revealing that Roland D. LeBay, the original owner, had a similarly obsessive and destructive relationship with Christine, and that the car seems to be inhabited by his vengeful spirit, or perhaps possesses an inherent evil of its own.

As Christine's body count rises and Arnie becomes fully consumed by her influence, Dennis and Leigh realise they must destroy the car, even if it means confronting Arnie himself. The story escalates into a desperate, supernatural battle to stop Christine's murderous rampage and free Arnie from her malevolent grip, culminating in a violent and destructive confrontation that tests the bonds of friendship and the limits of the supernatural. "Christine" is a chilling tale of obsession, revenge, and the terrifying power of an inanimate object imbued with a dark, sentient will.

Comments:
Brilliant, King through and through.

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)