Stephen
Kings Christine, first published in 1983, tells the story of a vintage car,
bought by a dorky teenager, which is apparently possessed by evil spirits. It
sounds like it has all the makings of the plot of a poorly conceived B movie,
but in true Stephen King style, it just works. Later in 1983, the story was
also made into a film, directed by John Carpenter and, like so many of Stephen
Kings books, Christine transferred to the big screen well too. This is a horror
story as they used to be written, complete with demons, possessions, gruesome
deaths and evil goings on, all mixed in with a good dose of teenage love,
friendship and angst, for good measure.
Basically, the
nerd of the year contender and runner up in the worst teenage skin problem
award, Arnie Cunningham, buys Christine, a dilapidated old 1958 red and white
Plymouth Fury from the car owner, one Roland D. Le Bay, an unpleasant old guy
who wears a back brace. Arnie takes the car to a do-it-yourself auto shop to
restore it, but as Arnie works on the car, his friend Dennis, starts to notice
that Arnie’s personality is taking a change for the worst while, strangely, the
car appears to be being restored in an entirely haphazard way.
Shortly
after Christine’s has been restored, school bully, and frequent tormentor of
Arnie, Buddy Repperton, and his gang, break into the auto facility where
Christine is being stored and vandalise the car. When Arnie begins to push the
car back, repairs began to happen, all by themselves and, soon, the car takes
on a life of its own and apparently begins to take its own gruesome revenge on
the thugs that vandalised it.
Stephen
Kings book Christine is far more than a tale of a car with a life of its own,
but we’re not going to ruin it for anyone who hasn’t read it yet. But, in
typical King style, it is not just a horror tale but a tale of characters that
you really do come to know and care about, and that includes the car too! It’s
a horror story, entwined with a love story. A tangled up tale of the dorky kid,
his cool best friend, a pretty girl and a car with evil that you can almost
feel, as you read the book. Arnie falls for the girl and then so does his best
friend, Dennis. Then Arnie becomes infatuated with the car and Dennis worries
about Arnie, and so, you have all the ingredients for a twisted tale of love,
friendship and obsession. It’s so much more than just a story about a car with
attitude.
There are
more questions raised in the plot of Christine than there are questions which
are answered, but that’s just a part of the books appeal. The biggest question
of all, was it the car that was evil or was the old man with the back support,
Roland D. Le Bay? Even Stephen King himself wasn’t sure of the answer, that’s
up to you to come to your own conclusion. But, then, that’s the sign of a good
book, it makes you think.
Will we ever
see a Christine II? Well, not according to Stephen King in an interview he gave
back in 1984, he said no, once was enough, but then did we expect a Shining II?
“I think part of being a parent is trying to kill your kids.”
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“I think part of being a parent is trying to kill your kids.”
Please share on your social network site if you like this page...........Thanks