Rose Madder

Would buy again.

This was one of my first Stephen King books to purchase in hardback many years ago. I have always loved this book. Recently, I pulled out my old hardback of Rose Madder, preparing to read it a fourth time. I discovered that I could not read it even with my glasses on, so I bought it on my Kindle. I just finished it, and I have to say I think I enjoyed it this time even more than the first time. The story is told in true King fashion, and so interesting, and gripping its hard to put down. This book may not be for everyone, but for me, it has a special meaning. I highly recommend this read.

Loved this book. I have read it 3 times since it was first written. King weaves a tale that easily sucks you in.

Even though this was not the typical SK horror book, it is a fabulous read. I read it in 2 days because I could not put it down.

You know, this book was literate schizophrenia in my opinion. One minute I felt I like I was reading something as gentle and inspirational as something you might read in a Chicken Soup for the Soul book - this I felt when I was reading about Rose making her getaway from that psycho with a badge she was married to. Then when the perspective shifted to the haunting fine italics that was Norman's sick mind, suddenly the mask fell and I saw how dark and twisted this story really was.That Norman was a weirdo even for me and I have a tendency to find the whack-jobs in stories like these pretty provocative (Well, Normie was a biter so I guess he had that going for him, at least - if he were real, I bet he'd want to talk to me UP CLOSE for that one). This guy was just plain evil and what made him so freaky was that he acted with little to no provocation. Poor Rose had to put up with fourteen years of random abuse that served no purpose other than it got him off.I give spoiler free reviews so there's not much I'm willing to say about the plot of the story itself, but I think the supernatural angle in this one was less horrific and more phantasmic. This story was very practical of the circumstances and, frankly, I think even without the 'otherworld' angle the most haunting thing about this story was the abuse suffered by Rose herself. Norman was terrifying all by himself not just because this was a man who his own wife couldn't even trust to protect her, much less the public trust him as a cop to protect them, but because he was just so demented. How does a guy like this get a badge, I'm wondering.I feel like this story was good, but not great. The content was a bit more uplifting than I like for a story with a character like Norman in it. I have nothing against a good inspirational story, but I felt this story had an underlying message meaning to empower women in situations like this. I suppose there's nothing wrong with that, but when I read thrillers like these I want to enjoy myself without all of the heavy stuff.

How can someone take something as simple as domestic abuse and turn it into something that is related to the rest of their stories? If you’ve ever wondered, then this is the story for you. So, here we go.The Ugly: For me, it was the domestic abuse. I can’t stand that stuff. It was really hard for me to get through some of the things that King wrote in the book. Now, I have been through some hard things in life, but when it comes to beating of women and children it is really hard for me to stomach it.The Bad: Having said that, I think you can guess who I am putting in the bad. He isn’t as bad as Annie Wilkes, but he is still exceptionally evil. Norman is the type of man that I would confront if I saw him acting the way he was in public. He should have been shot a long time ago.The Good: Everything else about the book. This is another that is in my top five that a lot of people won’t put in there for some reason or another. Making this part of his greater universe added in an element that was really missing. I think that element was love. Love was something that got Rosie through the matter at hand. The love for her picture, the love for her new life, and the love for her new man. She survived because she found something that she thought she had, but didn’t realize how much she missed it.Final Thoughts: So there you have it. A book that most people love and want to keep reading over and over again. This is one of those that has great re-readability. If you haven’t read it, give this one a chance.

The book had a planner page inside and creases on the page where people had bookmark. Not a new book as shown.

Warning: Contains extreme domestic abuse, gratuitous bloody violence. The book begins with the main character miscarriage after a beating.Rosie suffers 14 years of abuse at the hands of Norman, a police detective. One morning she wakes up and against all reason leaves. The story follows her tale as she tries to escape Norman and reintegrate into the real world.Note: I think the supernatural parts in this book will read extremely weird if taken at literal face value (see below). I think you have to approach this book as a depiction of Rosie's state of mind...Positives:+ The books characterization, particularly Rosie and Norman. You would be hard pressed to find better depictions of a battered woman fighting against all odds and a disturbed, but extremely smart, lunatic.+ Integration of the supernatural. As the book unfolds, King spins the tale of Rose Madder... but is Rose Madder really a separate supernatural entity? Or is it simply Rosie waking up and finding a before unknown courage and strength?? A coping mechanism of her abused and damaged mind??Negatives:- Very bloody. Very brutal. I dont think this will leave very many people feeling 'good'. If there is any character from a book that would give you nightmares, Norman may be him.- The end is confusing if you read it literally.Overall Take: I enjoyed it. But most people wont. Why? 1) Too brutal. 2) They may find supernatural aspects weird/confusing.

El libro usado estaba en muy buenas condiciones tal como lo describía, llegó en el último día del rango que me dieron, pero el envío fue un poco confuso decía que por DHL y dejaron de actualizar su estatus por lo que pensé que se había perdido, decidir esperar y al final me lo trajo correos de México, afortunadamente llegó bien.

This has a bad rep among King's fans, but I found it very entertaining and has all the hallmarks of the master. A good read.

My review is simple, I didn't want to put it down. I loved the story and the characters, and couldn't guess where it was going.

No es de los mejores libros de Stephen King pero es una lectura decente. Lo leí porque estoy leyendo la torre oscura y no es tan esencial de leer más que por la descripción de "Rose Madder"

Die erste Hälfte von "Rose Madder" hat mich mitgerissen - die Darstellung einer misshandelten Ehefrau und ihre schwierige und unerwartete Flucht aus ihrer Ehe haben mich gefangengenommen! Rose und ihr prügelnder Polizistengatte kommen jederzeit dreidimensional rüber. Auch Roses erste Schritte in ein neues Leben bin ich gerne mitgegangen, und die dunklen Pläne ihres Ehemanns fand ich zum Fürchten. Ab dem Zeitpunkt jedoch, an dem das Übernatürliche den Weg in den Roman findet, leiden Story und Glaubwürdigkeit. Ich finde es jedes Mal schade, wenn Stephen King die Horrorplatte bespielen muss, weil er das überhaupt nicht nötig hat. Er ist ein Meister des Erzählens, ein Meister des Realismus! Ich hab den Eindruck, dass er meint, seinem treuen Publikum was Übernatürliches oder Horror bieten zu müssen, aber nicht jedes Mal ist es so gelungen wie bei "Shining", sondern oft auch verzichtbar und machmal gar ein Makel. So auch bei "Rose Madder": Wäre er beim realistischen Erzählen geblieben, wäre es ein Meisterwerk geworden; mit all dem griechischen Tempelgedöns jedoch sind nur noch 3 Sterne drin.