I just know I'm going to have a hard time naming this blog... Damn me for attempting to write a decent blog about a decent book...next time I'll just give myself the easy task of finding a song related to retards, and write about YOU! Sorry, I said last week this would be a pleasant blog. You're not a retard, you're a lovely human specimen...honest! So yes, as promised, this week's blog is about the book Carrie by Stephen King. This blog is almost a double whammy. It allows me to do something a bit different, and review a book (in a positive way, what a rare gem!) and also allows me to talk about Mr. King, who is easily one of my favourite authors.
The first thing I should talk about is Stephen King as an author. I can then move on to the book review later, as I have more to say. I'm afraid this blog won't be a laugh a minute like my other blogs ;) but I'll try to amuse you where I can. Stephen King is an author who generally writes for the horror genre. His books are masterful in their suspenseful nature, character development and prose. He is often considered one of the greatest horror authors of all time, and many of his books have been successfully adapted into films. In some cases, I have even preferred the film! I have read a lot of his books, more so than any other author, and some really good titles (which you should try at least) are:
Cell (this was one my parents bought me, and the first one I read.)
The Shining (Probably King's most famous novel, mainly down to the Kubrick film adaptation.)
Misery (This is one of my favourites, despite not getting around to seeing the film version with Kathy Bates and James Caan, who also played Sonny Corleone in the Godfather and was the Dad in Elf, for all you film nerds...just me? Thought so.)
The Green Mile (Just beats Misery for top spot. It is a truly wonderful examination at the cruelty behind the Death Penalty and how first appearances and ideas may be false. The film was actually more moving for me, and because of it (and the superb cast) I preferred it to the book. I recommend you read the book first, then catch the film.)
I put those in the order in which I had read them, because I'm a nerd. The final being Carrie which I finished just in time for this blog. How good am I? I have revision I'm meant to be doing, and I choose to take time out to read a novel and then write about it, JUST FOR YOU. No gratitude from you! When I fail, you can suck my cock out of pity.
The only thing I must warn about King, like all authors really, is to not read too much at once. His books are great, some of my favourites, I've read all of them twice (except Carrie), but they can be a bit...similar. He writes a lot of horror and sometimes you feel he should branch out a bit. Here's an amusing scene from Family Guy that sums up exactly what I mean. O, you've got to be fucking kidding me...
I can't find the video, youtube are cocks and have one version...in Italian.
O well, I'm not that bothered about making the point I wanted to make, moving on....
Carrie is amongst the great King novels (who am I kidding, they're all great!) I adamantly refuse to give any of the plot away, you should try it for yourself. However, I can talk about the various themes in the book and the style in which is written.
The first theme is the idea of loneliness and rejection by society. I'm not entirely sure if that can be classed as a theme, but hell, I'm not an English teacher. The first chapter immediately grabs you with a sadness and you feel sorry for this girl Carrie as she is introduced. You want to hug this girl, she is your typical loner. People have bullied her all of her life and she is an outcast. I know I can't help this girl, but I want to do, I really do. There is one moment in the story that literally brought me to tears as King opened a window to emotions and the words she spoke. This isn't a huge spoiler, but she is asked to the prom by the most popular boy in school, and her exchange with the boy is one of the most touching things I have ever read, and made me appreciate King as an author even more. So I cried, makes me a pussy? So what, fuck you! Sorry! Pleasant...
The main reason for Carrie being such an outcast is her upbringing, something which King is trying to highlight as a bad thing. She is raised by her mother in an incredibly religious household. I don't mean just Church everyday, I mean, talking of Sin, extreme views about how the world works, one example is that only sinners grow breasts, which are nicknamed 'dirty pillows' (just plain odd) and serious judgement for those who sin. King brilliantly provides great scope and commentary on a world of indoctrinated religion and extreme views. It is clear from how the story progresses and the way it is written that King clearly is against it. He is showing us a belief system which isn't thought of too much now, as Religion has become far less extreme in a lot of the Western world. Although Carrie was written almost forty years ago, the message about how excluding your child from normal activity can cause her to become an outcast rings just as true. If you're ever a parent, don't be a cock yeah? To put it simplistically...
The other idea that is toyed with is one of fantasy. I'm not going to go into detail, just read the book? However, I will say that once again, King won my respect. He dealt with something which could easily have been an absurd part of the book which ruined it...but no, it was dealt with masterfully so and the book reaches a fantastic conclusion. There's not a whole lot more to say on this matter! If what I've written so far doesn't convince you to try the book, you're a moron. I'm tired of being pleasant, I was nice enough for what, four paragraphs? Being lovely this long almost makes me want to hurl over some puppies and then kick them over a fence, watching their puke covered bodies fly a good fifty feet. And they call me a sick bastard, dunno why...
I don't have any good videos for you today I'm afraid. The one video I needed was gone, so fuck that. Look, for me, as I put the effort to write this piece of shit you call a blog, read Carrie, I'm sure you'll enjoy it. And if you're too lazy, go on watch the film, it got made into one as well. It's good too (so I hear, haven't got round to watching it.) Whatever you choose to do, just go do it and stop reading now! O, the title came last. It was my mate Elliot's fantastic suggestion, and if you read the novel, you'll see why. I also quite like Sophie Ellis Bextor...damn him for being so intelligent!
You can leave now, but I'm not going to tell you to go away...pleasant blog remember? LOL jk, can't let the tradition die! (see what I did there?)
Now go away.
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