SK didn't like this book he says

[guardianofthebeam]

Yes indeed, if it had been left to his own devices we would never have had Carrie ( and etc), and he'd probably be just about retiring as an English professor now.

Thank goodness for Tabby (and a man listening to his wife LOL)

GAH! Although I'd read about this already in On Writing its huge significance (and all this talk of elbow patches) has only just hit me. Life without SK the writer...That would be like reaching the top of the Dark Tower and realising you had to start over

[mzimmer]

"I never liked Carrie, that female version of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold..." (King, "On Writing", p74)

I don't buy this line.

I think King meant that there exists a part of his own nature which recoils from people like Carrie. Most of us fall victim to this in one way or another, and from an evolutionary standpoint: Rejection of the seemingly "odd" or "weak" members of a species serves to reinforce the stronger aspects of our gene-pool as we weed out the "inferior."

But that attitude is exactly the problem. While it may have served some genetic purpose in early, developing man; today our society is advanced enough to allow for the "odd" or "strange" to co-exist alongside the so-called "normal."

Carrie is a very sad story, as is the story of her "male counterparts" at Columbine High school. But there's a great lesson hidden in that tale, and I don't think I need to elaborate on that point any further.

The fact that Carrie White enabled King and his wife to move out of their "****** four room apartment" must mean a great deal to him, I know if a character I had discovered (King describes writing like paleontology, with stories pre-existing as fossils which need to be uncovered) were responsible for catapulting my literary career, not too mention affording my family a better quality of life, I might love that character very much!

Deep down in the parts of ourselves we do not talk about I believe King must have created a special place for Carrie White. He may not consciously "like" her -- but I'm sure he respects her for all that she did, and continues to do, for his family.

[Evil Queen]

I know Mr. King claims he does not feel all the great about writing Carrie, but I hope he knows that it has helped some of us who went through that rough time, high school, & were bullied. As I read this story, it brought back my feelings of being bullied & the hurt that I felt at that time, but I'm able to put it to rest now. It was written such a long time ago, I think it's a brilliantly written piece & I'm glad it was nice & short, & he didn't drag on & on w/it.

[King fan from trinidad]

Reading on writing now (along with the shining) and it seems he hates the character of Carrie herself more than the book. If he didn't like this book and thinks its one of his worst then he just doesn't know his own strength!

[kingricefan]

I have often wondered what would have happened to King's writing career if the original version of Carrie had not been filmed and become a hit and simutaneously had a movie-tie-in paperback released that became a bestseller? Carrie in hardcover didn't sell too well. I think we wouldn't have had the same books published as we did i.e. The Shining, 'Salem's Lot, etc. Yes, these books were already written, but I think there might have been more emphasis on the 'Bachman' books, maybe? Maybe the next books after Carrie would've been more 'mainstream'? Just thinking out loud here.

[DVKproduction]

Wasn't it "saved" from the trash by Tabita King?

[J.T. Adams]

Wasn't it "saved" from the trash by Tabita King?

Yes.

[The Paladin of Eld]

I can understand Sai King's position. I am a song writer and have sometimes thought "Well, this one is never gonna go anywhere. I just wasted my time writing it" but then it ends up being popular if not a downright favorite. Just like when George Jones went into the studio to record "He Stopped Loving Her Today" he was simply recording it just to fill the album, he thought it was just a piece of fluff no one would listen to. The producer thought the song was too short, so Jones wrote the spoken portion and recorded it as we know it now. It turned out to be the biggest hit on the album.

BTW, my wife attended the high school Sai King taught at (Hampden Academy Class of 1980) and even received the Stephen King Schlarship to help her go to college.