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Title: Christine by Stephen King ISBN: 0-451-16044-4 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: June, 1997 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.44 (153 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: High praise from a non-fan
Comment: As the title of my review states, I am not a fan of Stephen King. I don't hate his work but at the same time I don't wait for his next book with bated breath either. He is just an author whose books never ever appear on my 'must buy' list.
Saying that, however, his novel "Christine" is a cracking read. The scares are subtle; tugging at your subconscious rather than going for your jugular vein. There are no ghouls lurking and not much violence either...at least not until the latter half of the book.
Readers who are looking for gore will be disappointed and should look elsewhere. Basically, "Christine" is about a possessed car. You don't own Christine. She owns you. And now she owns Arnie Cunningham; a shy, geeky kid with a bad complexion. Arnie loves Christine. He'll do anything for her and no one should stand between him and his beloved car. Or else.....
Stephen King does a wonderful job here. What could easily have been a cheesy story of an evil car on a killing spree, we have instead a story of obsession, possession and the stain of past crimes "reaching out to the present". More subtle, more frightening than a simple 'bad car kills people' plot.
We also get to learn the history of the car and its first owner but King doesnt give all the details. In fact, more questions are raised intead of answered. That, I think, is a mark of a good horror story. Let it be ambiguous. Dont answer all the questions. Let the reader draw his/her own conclusions. Its scarier (and thus, more fun) that way.
Stephen King is still not one of my favourite authors but I am willing to give credit where credit is due. "Christine" is indeed a good yarn and deserves the 4 stars that I'm giving. Coming from a non-fan, that is high praise indeed.
Rating: 5
Summary: A story about love, devotion, and jealousy...........
Comment: Hands down my favorite S. King book, Christine will leave you spooked to say the least. As many others have pointed out, it is much more than 'car-goes-psycho-and-murders-teens'. It is actually a twisted love triangle of sorts between two best friends and a possessive, increasingly jealous, attention craving girl....named Christine, a '58 Plymouth Fury, one of the original muscle cars from back in the day. The two friends, Arnie Cunningham and Dennis Guilder, are polar opposites, having grown up together and maintained their strong ties. Arnie is the typical high school geek, always getting picked on and harrased by school bullies. He can't even find solace at home as his mother is a dominating, overprotective lord-of-the-house type who runs everyones life in her family. His only friend in the whole world is Dennis. Dennis is a popular, good looking football player who acts as a big brother and protector to Arnie. Their friendship is really the key to the whole story, and it is built up well. Things begin to go south when Arnie sees Christine junked up and for sale on the side of the road, and he is instantly smitten with her (if you think it is odd to call 'it' a 'her', you'll change your tune after reading this book). Arnie pours an increasing amount of time and effort into fixing her up, which begins to strain Arnies relationships between him and Dennis. The disturbing thing (and I mean disturbing) is that the rolling wreck which barely ran in the first place begins to fix itself, slowly healing as Arnie shows her more love and attention...and as Arnie begins to put more time and effort into Christine, fixing her up and attending to her mechanical needs, she begins to look out for him (!) as well. It is interesting that Arnie grows to have more in common with Christine than Dennis, in that as he grows and matures, his long friendship with him begins to fade (remember your childhood friends? remember when you started hanging out with other people in high school? sad isn't it when relationships change as you grow?) Both Arnie and Christine in a sense are castaways, awkward, and unloved, forgotten in a crowd. As the story goes, Arnie becomes obsessed with Christine and her well being to the point of unhealthiness, and he begins to shift from a high school loser to a rebel with a malevolent attitude to boot. It's at this point that things start getting scary, as Christine, who has 'asserted' herself as the centerpiece in his life, begins to take on a life of her own. A tangible love story fleshes itself out between the two outcasts (it sounds stupid here, but is horrifyingly real as King paints the picture)...and God help anyone who threatens Arnie or tries to get between her and her 'Man'. School bullies begin to die in mysterious hit and run accidents unmatched in their brutality and viciousness, and a showdown sets itself up when Dennis and his girlfriend decide to save Arnie from his downward spiral by destroying Christine in a gripping, white knuckle showdown you will never forget. You will NEVER look at an old car again without seeing in your minds eye a candy apple red, snarling '58 Plymouth Fury, all fins and chrome, with a black skull and crossbones license plate saying 'Rock and Roll will Never Die!'
Rating: 4
Summary: Great book :)
Comment: Christine will leave you spooked to say the least. As many others have pointed out, it is much more than 'car-goes-psycho-and-murders-teens'. It is actually a twisted love triangle of sorts between two best friends and a possessive, increasingly jealous, attention craving girl....named Christine, a '58 Plymouth Fury, one of the original muscle cars from back in the day. The two friends, Arnie Cunningham and Dennis Guilder, are polar opposites, having grown up together and maintained their strong ties. Arnie is the typical high school geek, always getting picked on and harrased by school bullies. He can't even find solace at home as his mother is a dominating, overprotective lord-of-the-house type who runs everyones life in her family. His only friend in the whole world is Dennis. Dennis is a popular, good looking football player who acts as a big brother and protector to Arnie. Their friendship is really the key to the whole story, and it is built up well. Things begin to go south when Arnie sees Christine junked up and for sale on the side of the road, and he is instantly smitten with her (if you think it is odd to call 'it' a 'her', you'll change your tune after reading this book). Arnie pours an increasing amount of time and effort into fixing her up, which begins to strain Arnies relationships between him and Dennis. The disturbing thing (and I mean disturbing) is that the rolling wreck which barely ran in the first place begins to fix itself, slowly healing as Arnie shows her more love and attention...and as Arnie begins to put more time and effort into Christine, fixing her up and attending to her mechanical needs, she begins to look out for him (!) as well. It is interesting that Arnie grows to have more in common with Christine than Dennis, in that as he grows and matures, his long friendship with him begins to fade (remember your childhood friends? remember when you started hanging out with other people in high school? sad isn't it when relationships change as you grow?) Both Arnie and Christine in a sense are castaways, awkward, and unloved, forgotten in a crowd. As the story goes, Arnie becomes obsessed with Christine and her well being to the point of unhealthiness, and he begins to shift from a high school loser to a rebel with a malevolent attitude to boot. It's at this point that things start getting scary, as Christine, who has 'asserted' herself as the centerpiece in his life, begins to take on a life of her own. A tangible love story fleshes itself out between the two outcasts (it sounds stupid here, but is horrifyingly real as King paints the picture)...and God help anyone who threatens Arnie or tries to get between her and her 'Man'. School bullies begin to die in mysterious hit and run accidents unmatched in their brutality and viciousness, and a showdown sets itself up when Dennis and his girlfriend decide to save Arnie from his downward spiral by destroying Christine in a gripping, white knuckle showdown you will never forget. You will NEVER look at an old car again without seeing in your minds eye a candy apple red, snarling '58 Plymouth Fury, all fins and chrome, with a black skull and crossbones license plate saying 'Rock and Roll will Never Die!'
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Title: Cujo by Stephen King ISBN: 0451161351 Publisher: New American Library Pub. Date: December, 1994 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Firestarter by Stephen King ISBN: 0451167805 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: 08 May, 2001 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Pet Sematary by Stephen King ISBN: 0743412273 Publisher: Pocket Books Pub. Date: 01 February, 2001 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Carrie by Stephen King ISBN: 0671039725 Publisher: Pocket Books Pub. Date: 01 November, 2002 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: The Shining by Stephen King ISBN: 0743424425 Publisher: Pocket Books Pub. Date: 28 August, 2001 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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