Christine by Stephen King

Book Details
Christine by Stephen King
Paperback, 528 Pages
2004, Signet
ISBN: 0451160444

Synopsis
It was love at first sight. From the moment seventeen-year-old Arnie Cunningham saw Christine, he knew he would do anything to possess her. But Christine is no lady. She is Stephen King's ultimate vehicle of terror.

Review
I saw the movie version of Christine at least a decade ago and I absolutely hated it. It was dull and honestly, I don't think I understood what was really going on. I just kept thinking, if you'd just stop putting gas in that car all of your problems would be solved.

Finally mustering up the courage to read the book, I found Christine to be a wonderful surprise. It was long and detailed, but these details made up the back story that was sorely missing from the movie. This was well done, well explained supernatural horror. Even with all the car talk, something I know nothing about, I still found myself embroiled in the story.

Dennis, the narrator in Christine, comes across as a very sympathetic character. I found myself caring about him and his well being - far beyond Arnie, Christine's owner and the obvious focal point of the story. With Arnie, there was always the question of how conflicted he was. How much of his actions and personality was really him and how much was Christine's influence?

There were some great surprises in Christine, but I truly loved the focus on being a teenager in high school in the late seventies. The young love, angst, isolation and insecurity that drives teens to do unpredictable things. That's what made Arnie actions so hard to decipher.

Christine is much, much better than its movie adaption and quite a bit more scary as well. Even if you disliked the movie as I did, I would wholeheartedly recommend giving the book a try.

Rating

Links

Stephen King's website