Carrie - Stephen King Book Review & Summary
Carrie is a scary horror novel by Stephen King. This book's plot follows a villain with a dark past. Read a full summary, synopsis, review & analysis.
Carrie White is a shy girl with telekinetic powers. She faces bullying at school and strict rules at home. Her mother, Margaret White, is controlling and deeply religious.
At school, Carrie suffers from cruel classmates. Chris Hargensen leads the bullying, while Sue Snell feels guilty. Rita Desjardin, the gym teacher, tries to help. Carrie's life changes when Tommy Ross, Sue’s boyfriend, invites her to prom.
On prom night, a prank goes wrong. A bucket of blood falls on Carrie. Shocked and humiliated, she loses control. Using telekinesis, she unleashes horror. Fire, destruction, and revenge follow.
The ending is tragic. Many characters die, including Carrie. The novel is a mix of horror and weird fiction. It explores themes of revenge, fear, and power. The story remains a classic, inspiring movie, plays, and even Scarrie the Musical.
Carrie is a 1974 horror novel, the first by American author Stephen King. Set in Chamberlain, Maine, the plot revolves around Carrie White, a friendless, bullied high-school girl from an abusive religious household who discovers she has telekinetic powers. Wikipedia
- Originally published: April 5, 1974
- Author: Stephen King
- Genres: Horror, Horror fiction, Epistolary novel
- Pages: 199
- Adaptations: Carrie (1976), Carrie (2013), Carrie (2002), The Rage: Carrie 2 (1999), Carrie
About the Author Stephen King
Stephen King is one of the American novelists with the most readers and the greatest reputation in the world today. Born in Portland, Maine, USA in 1947, he studied English Literature at Maine State University.
In the mid-1970s, Stephen King rose to fame and was hailed as the "master of modern thriller novels" by the New York Times.
Since the 1980s, his works have always topped the list of bestsellers in the United States over the years, and his royalties have exceeded tens of millions of dollars.
He won the Bram Stoker Award six times, the International Horror Literature Association Award six times, and the O. Henry Award in 1996.
In 2003, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award of the National Book Awards for "inheriting the great tradition of American literature of paying attention to plot and atmosphere, reflecting the beautiful and tragic moral truth deep in the human soul".
He was awarded the Allan Poe Master Award in 2007-Lifetime Achievement Award. He is known for his horror novels, which vividly summarize the entire development of this type of novel. His works also include science fiction, fantasy novels, and other novel types.
But his works are far beyond the category of genre novels. He is not a cheap wholesaler of horror. His works go deep into the heart, question humanity, and show the soul.
What it achieves is a true psychological thriller is a true man. Not a literary master.
In the 30-year creative career of Stephen King, he has written more than 200 short stories and 40 books, which have been translated into 33 languages and distributed to 35 countries, with a total of more than 300 million copies printed.
What's more worth mentioning is that more than 70 movies and TV shows are based on his works, thus setting the Guinness World Record.
Excerpts from the original text
People don’t necessarily get better, but they become smarter. When you become smarter, you will continue to do things like breaking the wings of flies. You just figured out a better reason for doing this kind of thing.—— Quoted from page 78
Book Summary
The most important precaution when reading a story is to remember that you have nothing to do with the story, but a good story ultimately destroys this.
In this novel of more than 200 pages, there is a sentence like this: "The eyes are the only part of her body that is not completely stained red."
The difference between a novel and life is that after all this happens, the novel is only 74 pages long. This story begins with a girl's first menstruation and ends with the girl setting a fire to almost burn down the entire town.
Of course, all this has never happened, no matter from which angle. Even in the novel, it may be a fantasy of the girl, but fortunately, at least it is not the case in the novel.
I used to think that opening a debut work would be stained with blood, and after many disappointments, I no longer had fantasies.
But when I opened this "first work" of Mr. Si in a sense, I unexpectedly tasted the sweetness of first menstruation. Reading a writer's hard-earned work is very close to losing virginity.
Whether there is a second time is a matter of life and death for everyone. This novel is the kind that can be "done again."
The novel chose a closed town. The novel chooses a mother who feels that her female reproductive organs are seriously ill even when she is pregnant.
The novel also chooses a bunch of people who can only laugh when they see other people's misfortunes. In the end, almost all of these people died. In this sense, I think this novel has a happy ending.
This is a story about children unless you have never experienced the stage of being a child. No matter how far away that stage is from you, or whether you are in it;
this is a story about prejudice, unless you have never been marginalized, never regarded as an outsider by a strange group. Unless you have never felt it.
The process of a person's growth is almost such a process of constantly contacting strangers. On this narrow path from pupa to butterfly, there are too many doubts, exclusions, and injuries.
The biggest harm is "Where do you get this confidence?" If you can turn from a pupa into a butterfly, why can't you accept that you are just a caterpillar for the rest of your life?
In this way, when you want to insult someone when you want to hurt someone, you can naturally accept that you are just a public spare tire.
In other words, the original intention of hurting and insulting a person to the point of being completely exhausted is often just idle.
The novel characterizes the harm the girl suffered along the way as "everything seems logical and inevitable", so that she can get used to it, and she can also deceive herself into believing that no one can avoid it.
What people have to learn to get used to being isolated, excluded, hated, and insulted. More importantly, they need to realize that passers-by who are paying attention to all this will turn a blind eye to it, not just because it is commonplace, but because everyone is busy.
If this is not a novel but life, then the years will be peaceful and sunny. It's a pity that this is a novel, but fortunately, it is a novel: "Suddenly, all of this, along with the overwhelming criticism, has reached a critical point.
The ultimate contempt, insult, and ridicule that has been sought for a long time finally appeared. Fission." If the first menstruation is like opening a seal, at this moment, little sister Carrie finally becomes a super demon.
"They want to put out my fire", at this time, the little girl no longer cares about "her momentary melancholy giving people a beautiful illusion", she will burn everyone's illusion with fire, the illusion that she can be bullied at will.
The novel depicts the massacre like a carnival: blood and flesh flying everywhere, fire raging, no one can stay out, no one can just laugh on the sidelines.
There is always something happening in the novel, unlike life, which can only remain the same in most cases.
Life is never the same as before, and the story is never really irrelevant to the reader.
Book Review & Analysis
Many readers always want to read good stories, and some people aspire to be writers who want to be inspired by good stories, but when you get such inspiration, how to play with it is what everyone expects, just like the Lord of the Rings.
The novel is not long, but after reading it, my hands tremble uncontrollably. I do not know why either. The novel is based on campus bullying and female revenge.
Under the superpower setting of "spiritual actuation", Carrie completes the rebellion against her mother and revenges her glamorous and stupid classmates.
The entire town of Chamberlain is almost destroyed by fire. Water flow and electric current.
When I was reading a novel, I couldn't help thinking about how shocking the movie scene should be.
The multi-angle narrative method makes people know from the beginning that this story will go to an irreversible and destructive ending, but the delicate psychological description makes people tempted to follow the depressed and bullied Jiali all the time to hope for the moment before the explosion. A short period of anxiety and sweet tranquility.
"Carrie" is such a story. If you just tell the story itself, this is actually a simple thing that cannot be simpler.
It's like a gossip topic between neighbors, which is very attractive and can be finished quickly. A girl with supernatural powers is always bullied.
She flies very badly, and finally one day she doesn’t want to bear it anymore, so she uses supernatural powers to avenge everyone... It’s such a story without a special unexpected result.
There is no particularly amazing plot. But the good thing about this book is that even if you know the ending of the story when you start to read, you are fiddled with the design in the story text. Even if you know what the next step is, you will read it patiently.
This is Stephen King’s first published novel. Before that, he had written three other books, but they were not published. After he became a well-known writer, it was published one after another.
In this story, you see the ubiquitous figure of the author. Because he set up a layout very carefully, readers can feel this deliberate, but at the same time this layout is wonderful, you know this is the author's writing skills, but it still makes people feel very happy.
The story revolves around the "Carrie Incident". Through flashbacks, various forms such as legal reports, reporter reports, client testimonies, special books, and death reports are used as stations in the story journey.
At the same time, in the novel, I will enter the beginning of the event again, through the perspectives of many parties, tell the plot of what I have experienced, see,n and feel, and the author will narrate the process at the time in a straightforward manner...
In this way, from one point to another, and then to the next point, readers will understand such a big gossip or the ins and outs of the event from different angles.
Of course, reading Stephen King’s novels, sometimes you have to endure the author’s rants or grinds. This is the characteristic of Jin's novels.
Because he wants to quickly construct an environment, no matter what kind of reader you are, he must build the story atmosphere of the novel in your heart.
The dangerous school, the girl who got into trouble, the introverted Carrie with low self-esteem, the nagging mother, the helpless teacher, and so on.
Even if it is a small supporting role, Jin has to spend a lot of space to introduce his background. Even if he only shows up on that side once or twice, or is just an insignificant person who doesn't even remember his name. Recently, I have read more of Jin's works, and I have gradually realized the intention of doing this.
Although sometimes I feel tired of reading these contents, he can really give people a different experience and feeling. This is more or less a different experience for you to read the whole story.
The atmosphere is very important in writing such novels. Especially the final climax of the novel, the cathartic, tense, and maddening plot also benefits from the perfect shaping of the atmosphere. The chapter of Kelly's Revenge is the most exciting part of the book.
When readers have been suppressed by Kelly for too long, the moment of eruption finally comes. The moment when it broke out was the moment when Kelly was stimulated, and it was very well created.
It's really like the method of creating suspense described by Hitchcock, it's like the time bomb under the dining table is counting down, and people at the dining table are still singing and dancing.
This passage is too exciting. At this time, the reader can guess in which direction the result will go, but you will still watch it happen with a faster heartbeat.
This is the joy of an 182-page story. Many large books, I'm afraid can't be so meticulously crafted.
If you have read a lot of Jin's books, then you will never be unfamiliar with this novel.
In addition, also talk about the protagonist Carrie in this novel. She is definitely a person familiar to everyone. Because you can see such people at any time in your life. And Jiali's story can happen at any time in life.
People look down on her just because she is inherently stupid and introverted, or she has a despised mother. Such people are everywhere.
Such as Ma Jiajue, such as the American campus shooter. They are suppressed by their surroundings and aren't abandoned by those close to them.
Therefore, they want to show their strength. They also want to see those who insult them show fear and fear.
Thus, Kerry used a supernatural power, Ma Jiajue used a hammer, and the school shooter used a gun, and the world became bloody ever since. The novel is an exaggerated story, but to a certain extent, it is true.
There have been such things before, there are now, and there will be in the future. So, what can be said? Be kind to the poor people around you, such as beggars, such as drunks, such as those you hate.
There is no coincidence in the book, just the kind of coincidence that makes people curse.
Everyone may become Carrie, everyone may also play the role of Carrie's mother, neighbor, classmate, or the innocent strangers in Carrie's life circle. Therefore, everyone may have a destined ending.
Stephen King is really a genius of psychological description. He has such an accurate grasp of the subtle changes in the psychology of boys and girls in adolescence.
The complex and multi-faceted human nature, the collective struggle with evil desires and conscience, the suspicion of one’s own hypocritical faces, the aversion and fear of the mediocre life that can be seen at a glance...
Except for Carrie and her perverted mother, The one who impressed me most was Su, the kind-hearted girl who survived but paid a heavy price.
She witnessed the demise of the monstrous anger that swept across the world, pierced by the searching eyes, shocked and painful and regretful.
The only dissatisfaction with the novel is the strong translation accent, which makes the wonderful dialogue and subtle psychological changes less intriguing.
When I can't bear it, I will restore their dialogue and mental activities in my heart, so I feel much more normal.
But when the scene is described, I will forget the discomfort brought by the translation accent, and I will be immersed in the world wholeheartedly.
Do not erupt in silence, but perish in silence. Carrie, Carrie, I wonder if you are lucky or unfortunate to have such a superpower.
Reading Notes
The novel is not long, but after I finished reading it, my hands couldn't help shaking. I don't know why. The novel is about school bullying and female revenge. With the superpower of "telekinesis", Carrie completes her rebellion against her mother and revenge on her glamorous and stupid classmates. The entire town of Chamberlain was almost destroyed by fire, water ,and electricity.
When I read the novel, I couldn't help but think about how shocking the movie scenes would be. The multi-angle flashback technique makes people know from the beginning that this story will lead to an irreversible destructive ending, but the delicate psychological description makes people unable to help but follow Carrie, who has been suppressed and bullied for many years, to hope for the brief anxious and sweet tranquility before the explosion.
The word "blood" throughout the text has multiple symbolic meanings.
The story begins with Carrie getting her period without knowing it, and being watched and laughed at by all her female classmates in the shower room as her menstrual blood flows out. That was the first time she realized her changes and power - in her mother's eyes, it was lust, an uncontrolled devil, and an offense to God's holiness.
It was not the first time that Carrie rebelled against her mother. In the process, she gradually realized that she had the ability of "telekinesis" and could control objects with her mind.
Several times when writing about her mother's hysteria and almost crazy religious beliefs, it seemed that they were always accompanied by the presence of "blood" - the blood soaking the sheets during childbirth, the blood from scratching her cheeks in anger, the painting of the crucifixion of Jesus on the wall...
Carrie and Tommy were crowned queen and king at the ball, and she almost thought that the disturbing pranks she had been expecting would never happen to her again. She almost felt that the boundaries between her and other students were gradually melting away, and she could even chat and laugh with others in this dreamy campus spring dance. But the moment came. Pig blood splashed all over her and Tommy. Tommy might have died on the spot, or he might have just been knocked unconscious - in any case, he was dead.
The laughter spread in the gymnasium. Carrie felt the thick and warm pig blood flowing down her thighs. In her mind, the shower room on the day of her first period appeared. She turned on the fire hydrant and let them take a good shower. She also turned on the power of the stage. She let the current lick the terrified students in the chaos like a venomous snake with a metallic sheen, watching their twisted and stiff bodies...
Oh, there was another fire... The fire leveled the entire campus and caused explosions at gas stations and downtown. Carrie was covered in blood. There was the pig's blood from the prank, and there was her own blood.
Before the dance, Carrie had another quarrel with her mother, and her mother scratched her face. But now, she wanted to go home.
Go kill her.
She didn't want to go back to that life of monasticism, living a long and difficult life in guilt and numbness. Her mother also sharpened her knife in fear and twisted faith, waiting for Carrie to come and then destroy this witch. Her mother made up her mind, just like when Carrie was born and had her first menstrual period, but this time she would not waver.
Carrie's "telekinesis" ability awakened at the time of her menarche, erupted when she was covered in sticky pig blood, and died with her life as she lay on the ground covered in dried blood.
Stephen King is a genius in psychological description. He has such an accurate grasp of the subtle psychological changes in adolescent boys and girls. The complexity and multifaceted nature of human nature, the struggle between the collective desire to do evil and conscience, the suspicion of one's own hypocritical face, the disgust and fear of the mediocre life that can be seen through in the future...
In addition to the witch Carrie and her perverted mother, the one who impressed me the most was Sue, the kind-hearted girl. She survived, but she also paid a heavy price. She witnessed the demise of the raging anger that swept the world, and was pierced by the probing eyes, and was shocked, hurt, and regretful.
The only complaint I have about the novel is the heavy translation accent, which makes the wonderful dialogues and subtle psychological changes less vivid. When I really can't stand it, I will restore their dialogues and psychological activities in my mind, which makes it feel more normal. But when it comes to describing the scenes, I will forget the discomfort caused by the translation accent and immerse myself in that world.
Either you explode in silence or you perish in silence. Carrie, Carrie, I don't know whether it is lucky or unfortunate that you have such a superpower.
