Review: Christine
Editorial Review - Kirkus ReviewsThe Exorcist meets My Mother, The Car. . . in a chiller that takes a nifty Twilight Zone notion and stretches it out to King-sized proportions--with teen-gab galore, horror-flick mayhem, epic foreshadowing, and endlessly teased-out suspense. It's 1978 in a town outside of Pittsburgh. Football-player Dennis (the nice, if relentlessly vulgar, narrator) is a high-school senior--as is his best-friend Arnie, pimpled loner and natural victim. But everything begins to go askew on the day that Arnie falls in love at first sight with ""Christine,"" a total wreck of a 1958 Plymouth Fury (""one of the long ones with the big fins"") that Arnie buys for $250 from creepy old Roland D. LeBay. Soon, you see, Arnie starts changing: he stands up to his college-teacher parents (manipulative Mom, weak Dad) for the first time; his skin clears up; he gets a sweetly beautiful girlfriend, Leigh. After old LeBay dies, Dennis starts worrying--especially when he learns that the mean old man's wife and daughter both died in. . . Christine. And assorted spooky questions arise: How does Arnie manage to restore Christine to 1958 condition so fast? How does he instantly restore her again after Christine has been savagely attacked by some high-school bullies? And who--if anyone--is driving Christine when the killer-car then starts bloodily bumping off all of Arnie's enemies? (Arnie himself is always out of town when the ghostly hit-and-runs occur.) By this time, of course, girlfriend Leigh is starting to become disenchanted with Arnie--who seems to sit idly by while Christine. . . or something. . . tries to choke Leigh to death. And when even Arnie's handwriting seems to change, Leigh and Dennis become convinced that their friend has been quasi-possessed by the undead soul of evil Roland LeBay (whom they can sometimes even see at the wheel!). So they determine to somehow destroy the indestructible killer-car--in a finale-showdown at Darnell's Garage, with Dennis in a tank-truck and Christine (carrying yet more corpses) on the rampage. Nothing new, horror-wise (remember The Car, a 1977 film-cheapie?), and much too long; but King's blend of adolescent raunch, All-American sentiment, and unsubtle spookery has never, since Carrie, been more popcorn-readable--with immense appeal for all those fans interested in the 522-page equivalent of a drive-in horror movie.
Review: Christine
User Review - Patrick - Goodreads(minor spoilers) Christine was the second Stephen King book I've read, the first being his debut novel, Carrie. After being unable to trudge through 'Salem's Lot, I decided I would give Christine a ... Read full review
Review: Christine
User Review - CC - Goodreads★★★-★★★★ (I can't decide) I may have let some spoilers slip in here. This book is Tragic Tragic Tragic Tragic Tragic Tragic Tragic Tragic Tragic How many tragic was that? Ok, I think that's ... Read full review
Review: Christine
User Review - Dirk Grobbelaar - GoodreadsIf I admitted that I probably enjoyed this more than The Shining – would that amount to sacrilege? Good Review vs Evil Review Good Review There isn't much I didn't particularly enjoy about the novel ... Read full review
Review: Christine
User Review - Nikki - GoodreadsCan't guess as to when I properly read this. I just grabbed it out of a box I haven't touched in at least three years, though, so I'll make a guess. Anyway, this is one of my Mysterious Disappearing ... Read full review
Review: Christine
User Review - Crosby - GoodreadsRead purely for entertainment. I mostly read non-fiction but occasionally will pick up a book for no reason other than to just to enjoy someone else's imagination. Stephen King is obviously a person ... Read full review
Review: Christine
User Review - Matt - GoodreadsI have become a regular, though somewhat late-blooming fan of some of the more classic works by Stephen King. I do not profess to have seen all the movies or read all the books under the stairs, in ... Read full review
Review: Christine
User Review - James - GoodreadsSaw the movie first and the book is so much better (I know it always is but this movie wasn't bad so..) It will make you think twice before walking up on a car alone in the dark. Read full review
Review: Christine
User Review - Stefan - GoodreadsChristine is not one of Stephen King's greatest works by any means, but it is still a good story with moments of real suspense and terror. I feel that one of King's biggest short-comings with this ... Read full review
Review: Christine
User Review - David Sarkies - GoodreadsI have read a few Stephen King books and I must say that my favourites so far would be this book and Firestarter. In high school my English teacher had a chip on his shoulder regarding Stephen King ... Read full review
