Some Things Never Change
Carrie by Stephen King
I recently listened to the audiobook version of this book as I am wont to do as I drive to and from work. I had read this book before, several years ago and remembered some of it so I picked it from the library shelves on an impulse. I’m glad I did. King’s book is a masterpiece and it rightly plucked him from obscurity and put him on the best sellers list. I could go on and on about the writing (excellent), his use of an almost epistolary style (very cool) and his use of foreshadowing (clever), or for that much, the wonderful job Sissy Spacek does of reading the story. But that’s not what I want to write about.
Carrie, for those who have never read the book or seen the movie, is a teenage girl who is the scapegoat of the school and of the town where she lives. She is abused by everyone from her mother on up, she also has telekinetic powers. On prom night she is pushed too far and uses her powers on the town.
What strikes me about this book is how timeless it is. It was written more than 30 years ago, and with a few minor, non-related updates it could be taking place today. Children still bully each other, and while schools try their best to stop it, it continues to happen. As a child, I experienced it and as a teacher, I see it. When I was a child, I remember wishing there was something I could do about it. I would have loved to have Carrie’s powers then, and I’m sure I would have shared her fate. I can certainly identify with her and whenever I read the book, or listen to it, I find myself wishing that the final humiliation at prom night never happened and she could have lived happily ever after, but it is not to be.
This book is wonderful and should be required reading for anyone who has been bullied, or who has bullied someone….or someone who would just like a glimpse into that world. I highly recommend it. It is available in paperback or audiobook form at the Cavendish Fletcher Community Library.