Rose Madder | Stephen King
Title: Rose Madder
Author: Stephen King
I have complicated feelings about this one. I was a little disappointed after a couple of really awesome King novels, and this one ended up falling flat in a lot of ways. I think this is mostly because parts of it just seemed to drag out.
I have seen other reviews of this book that thought it was good minus the fantasy element, and while the actual way the fantasy element enters the story a bit far-fetched, it's no more far-fetched than any other books or movies with the collision between "reality" and "fantasy." I honestly thought the fantasy portions were smart and are largely what ended up saving the story for me.
The book centers around Rose, who has been married to Norman for about 14 years, and he is horribly abusive. Some of the descriptions of the abuse are graphic, including the description of when he caused her to have a miscarriage through one of his beatings. She finally gets up the nerve to leave him, gets on a bus to another city, and stays in what is essentially a battered women's shelter until she is strong enough to go out and support herself.
But Norman is a cop, and he's not going to let her go. He tracks her to this city and, after a horrible (and, again, graphic) killing spree, ends up finding her.
King worked hard on developing the fantasy subplot up to this point, because it plays a huge part in the grand finale. If you're a fan of The Dark Tower, there are lots of small references to that world here, which is fun to see.
So here's the thing about Stephen King's climax for Rose Madder, the big fight. This is something that I don't feel he does especially well in a lot of his work (IT being a notable example). The confrontations with the villains often feel anticlimactic to me, which is why I was really surprised to see that it is the total opposite in this case.
The fight scene in Rose Madder is amazing. Yes, it is graphic and disturbing at parts, but it is so fast-paced and thrilling, and you can tell he put a lot of thought and effort into that sequence. It's also cool, because you get the fight from both Norman's and Rose's points of view, which at times adds an almost comical element to it.
If he didn't drag out portions of this novel too long, I would have given this four stars, and if he hadn't done the fight sequence so well, I would have given it two stars. So we'll settle for three out of five stars. It's enjoyable, but (other than the fight sequence, if I didn't stress this enough), it's not his best work.
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QUOTE
"It ain't the blows we're dealt that matter, but the ones we survive."
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READING PROGRESS:
Last Day by Luanne Rice: 69%
Maul: Lockdown by Joe Schreiber: 25%
The Valley of Amazement by Amy Tan: 1%
The Green Mile by Stephen King: 24%
Author: Stephen King
I have complicated feelings about this one. I was a little disappointed after a couple of really awesome King novels, and this one ended up falling flat in a lot of ways. I think this is mostly because parts of it just seemed to drag out.
I have seen other reviews of this book that thought it was good minus the fantasy element, and while the actual way the fantasy element enters the story a bit far-fetched, it's no more far-fetched than any other books or movies with the collision between "reality" and "fantasy." I honestly thought the fantasy portions were smart and are largely what ended up saving the story for me.
The book centers around Rose, who has been married to Norman for about 14 years, and he is horribly abusive. Some of the descriptions of the abuse are graphic, including the description of when he caused her to have a miscarriage through one of his beatings. She finally gets up the nerve to leave him, gets on a bus to another city, and stays in what is essentially a battered women's shelter until she is strong enough to go out and support herself.
But Norman is a cop, and he's not going to let her go. He tracks her to this city and, after a horrible (and, again, graphic) killing spree, ends up finding her.
King worked hard on developing the fantasy subplot up to this point, because it plays a huge part in the grand finale. If you're a fan of The Dark Tower, there are lots of small references to that world here, which is fun to see.
So here's the thing about Stephen King's climax for Rose Madder, the big fight. This is something that I don't feel he does especially well in a lot of his work (IT being a notable example). The confrontations with the villains often feel anticlimactic to me, which is why I was really surprised to see that it is the total opposite in this case.
The fight scene in Rose Madder is amazing. Yes, it is graphic and disturbing at parts, but it is so fast-paced and thrilling, and you can tell he put a lot of thought and effort into that sequence. It's also cool, because you get the fight from both Norman's and Rose's points of view, which at times adds an almost comical element to it.
If he didn't drag out portions of this novel too long, I would have given this four stars, and if he hadn't done the fight sequence so well, I would have given it two stars. So we'll settle for three out of five stars. It's enjoyable, but (other than the fight sequence, if I didn't stress this enough), it's not his best work.
--------------------------------------------
QUOTE
"It ain't the blows we're dealt that matter, but the ones we survive."
--------------------------------------------
READING PROGRESS:
Last Day by Luanne Rice: 69%
Maul: Lockdown by Joe Schreiber: 25%
The Valley of Amazement by Amy Tan: 1%
The Green Mile by Stephen King: 24%
Hey Megan. You know what? I cannot remember if I read this one or not. I tend to stay away from the gritty fiction but I do recall some of this. Not sure though, if I read it. Generally, when I get to read fiction it's cupcake stuff. Have a wonderful weekend. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, it's not really my thing either. I was in a really angry place when I started this project about 5 years ago, and that's how I got down this path. I would stop, but at this point, I'm in so deep, I might as well see it through. One of my favorite things about his work is how he ties it all together, though. I think it's intelligently done. That said, I personally prefer either a really, really devastatingly sad story (can't tell you why) or on the other end of the spectrum, something riotously funny. One of my favorite book series is Sir Apropos of Nothing by Peter David. It's like he took every pun he could think of and threw it into a book series. It's exactly my sense of humor, and I LOVE IT.
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