Carrie was the first book I read by Stephen King. I can't pinpoint the exact age I was. It was some time after the movie came to theaters in 1976, starring Sissy Spacek as Carrie and a young John Travolta in a supporting role. I probably saw it when it came on TV, as I was only 10 at the time. Being a hit movie there was a lot of hype about this. It probably stirred my curiosity, and somehow I obtained a paperback and read it.
Being 11 or 12, reading an "adult" novel was a big deal, at least it was for me. Now for clarification, I mean adult novel in a sense, as an 11-year-old, the most mature thing I probably read was Charlotte's Web by E.B. White (which I still love). I just mean something that's usually for adults or older kids and not something pornographic.
For those unfamiliar with the book, it is about Carrie White, a 16-year-old girl who discovers she has telekinetic powers. She lives with her religiously fanatic mother in Chamberlain, Maine. She's an awkward, slightly overweight, and pimply teenager. She is the constant focus of bullying in school.
The story begins with Carrie having her first period in the school shower after gym class. We find out that she has no idea what is happening to her when she starts bleeding because her repressive mother never told her about menstruation. So understandably, she freaked out. The other girls in the shower tormented her by taunting her and throwing tampons at her. The gym teacher eventually puts a stop to it. It is this event that seems to make Carrie aware she can control her telekinetic power, which up to this time had only occurred under extreme duress. The story goes from there.
The mid-1970s were a big time for horror films like The Exorcist, The Omen, and the iconic Rocky Horror Picture Show. The movie adaptation of Carrie, directed by the legendary Brian De Palma, fit the moment.
I'm rereading it on Audible this time. It is narrated by Sissy Spacek with an introduction by Margaret Atwood and a foreword by Stephen King. Sissy Spacek was Carrie White in the original hit film. I've also listened to her narrate To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and she was incredible, so I had extreme confidence she'd do a great job here. Margaret Atwood, author of The Handmaid's Tale, is fascinating to listen to. She has her own way with words and thoughts that I always find intriguing. Stephen King retells the story of the origin of the book, which his wife Tabitha retrieved from the trash, who urged him to continue. The rest is history, as the saying goes.
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