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Rose Madder April 29, 2005
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From Stephen King's Website:
After this I'm going to have to take a break from King and tackle something else. Probably some nonfiction or a classic (Catch 22 is beckoning to me, for example), just to keep me regular.Rosie Daniels flees from her husband, Norman after fourteen years in an abusive marriage. During one bout of violence, Norman caused Rosie to miscarry their only child. Escaping to a distant city, Rosie establishes a new life and forges new relationships. Norman Daniels, a police officer with a reputation for cruelty, uses his law-enforcement connections to track his wayward wife.
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Tags: Book Review, Horror, Stephen King
Comments
Posted by Jamie on May 5, 2005 12:31 PM:
I'm about halfway through Rose Madder and I can safely say it's the worst Stephen King book I've ever read. And I've read Dreamcatcher. Instead of something in the "Horror" section of the bookstore, this thing reads like the script to a Movie of the Week on the Lifetime channel. A fragile, beautiful-though-she-doesn't-know-it woman leaves her abusive husband to start a new life in the big city, relying on the kindness of her new girlfriends and a certain special Mr. Right.
Well, to be fair her husband does eat people. But still. It's boring and cliche.
Posted by Laura on May 8, 2005 8:26 AM:
Hmmmm... I read Rose Madder years and years ago but don't remember it being THAT bad. As usual, King's writing is off the cuff and sometimes not all that great technically, but his imagination reels me in every time. Even Dreamcatcher I read straight through, waiting to see 'what happened next'. I find myself ignoring the (sometimes) poor writing as I'm trapped in the story itself.
Have you read Philip Pullman's Dark Materials? I'm reading the trilogy for the second time and it's just as good as the first time. IMHO.
Posted by Jamie on May 8, 2005 10:47 AM:
Rose Madder has picked up a bit after the halfway mark. Now that King has set up Rose's new life and romance he can get to work threatening them and making you wonder how much she'll have left (if anything) when it's over.
Haven't read the Dark Materials books, but I've heard them recommended several times. They're on my wish list and I'll probably get to them eventually. Thanks for the additional recommendation, though!
Posted by marique on September 12, 2005 3:23 PM:
wasn'nt the best SK I,ve read, too much like a good ol love story... all works out for the best in the end... but I still felt the maddness lurking within her, she mignt turn into Normn in the end....
Posted by Nathan on January 20, 2008 1:04 PM:
I never read 'Rose Madder' but listened to the audio version, ready by Blair Brown. If the book is considered bad, I believe Brown adds an infusion of life to it. The book begins pretty normal and down-to-earth, but ends in almost a Lovecraftian-pseudo-mythological way - which found favor with me. I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss this work. The writing is colorful and has some fantastical quality to it.
Nathan.