- Paperback: 608 pages
- Publisher: New English Library; New edition edition (18 April 2002)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0340640146
- ISBN-13: 978-0340640142
- Product Dimensions: 17.2 x 11.2 x 4.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 204,457 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Rose Madder
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
After 14 years of being beaten, Rose Daniels wakes up one morning and leaves her husband -- but she keeps looking over her shoulder, because Norman has the instincts of a predator. And what is the strange work of art that has Rose in a kind of spell? In this brilliant dark-hued fable of the gender wars, Stephen King has fashioned yet another suspense thriller to keep readers right on the edge.
Review
'Relentlessly paced and brilliantly orchestrated...one of King's most engrossing and topical horror stories' (Publishers Weekly )
'A superb suspense novel' (The Sunday Times )
‘One of the great storytellers of our time’ (Guardian )
'A superb suspense novel' (The Sunday Times )
‘One of the great storytellers of our time’ (Guardian )
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Rose Madder is an excellent read, I can't recommend it enough. It starts off rather slow, but Rose's journey from Buffalo to Chicago (for some reason the names of the cities are never mentioned but it is wasy to work out with a map and city references etc.) and how she copes in her new life are fascinating. Then, in the second half of the book, the husband she was fleeing from tracks her down and kills anyone who gets in his way. In creating Norman Daniels I think King has created one of his mightiest monsters - far scarier than the vampire in Salem's Lot, the cop in Desperation or even Randall Flagg.
The descriptions of Norman's killing spree in Chicago do not make for easy reading, and is some of the most grizzly and disturbing stuff I have ever read by King. The only odd thing is the supernatural element to this book, it is totally unexpected (and initially unwelcome) but doesn't take up too many pages. Rose Madder would make an awesome and terrifying film, with or without the supernatural stuff, and I found I cared for what happened to Rose much, much more than I cared about Jessie in Gerald's Game or Dolores Claiborne, as her development is gradual and enormous.
One of King's better works from the 1990's.
The descriptions of Norman's killing spree in Chicago do not make for easy reading, and is some of the most grizzly and disturbing stuff I have ever read by King. The only odd thing is the supernatural element to this book, it is totally unexpected (and initially unwelcome) but doesn't take up too many pages. Rose Madder would make an awesome and terrifying film, with or without the supernatural stuff, and I found I cared for what happened to Rose much, much more than I cared about Jessie in Gerald's Game or Dolores Claiborne, as her development is gradual and enormous.
One of King's better works from the 1990's.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I suppose i would sum up this story as OK. It starts well and progresses with a promising storyline. However, I think the supernatural element spoils it because it turns a believable story into something that seems a bit, well silly. Perhaps it would have been better if, like some of King's other stories, it had remained in the real world. Still worth a read though.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Stephen King is the master. I think there is little doubt about that. But even masters are prone to stinkers sometimes, and I think this is one of his.
One of Stephen King's strengths is undoubtedly his believable and complex characters. In fact, you could argue that his books are more about the nature of human beings than about horror. Some certainly lean towards the examination of humankind more than others, and Rose Madder is one of these. It is the very reason why I chose to read this book. 'Stephen King tackling domestic abuse? Could be tasty,' I thought.
But, although King weaves his regular magic of crawling inside a characters head, finding a comfortable corner there, and relaying their every thought, emotion, and quirky mindset, he failed to offer anything fresh and remarkable in terms of story line (at least for the first half of the book). If you've ever read or seen a domestic abuse story before (say, SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY, for instants) then you'll be offered nothing new by the events of the first 300 pages or so. I think King had no fresh ideas about the theme, and so wrote his own rendition on ground already covered.
The story doesn't start to walk its own remarkable path until midway through the book, where we are reacquainted with King's usual imaginative eccentricity. This, you might think, is the saving grace of the book; King finally coming to life and showing us something new, wonderful, and at the same time ghastly. But I'm afraid by now the damage is already done, as we are invested in a very real story - one that seems familiar to us and categorical. The sudden emergence of supernatural events and fantastical oddities seemed too much of a swerve in direction and nature. It's as if King was beginning to bore himself with rewriting stories already told, and embarked on a fancy that would perk his own interest. I'm afraid it makes a bit of a mess of the whole thing.
But, if ever there WAS a reason to read Rose Madder, then its the story's villain; Norman Daniels. I think he was the entire reason I didn't put the book down for good. Of all the diabolic menaces I can think of in King's books, from Pennywise to Randal Flagg to Barlow, I think Normal Daniels might be the most hideously wonderful. King's villains are typically monstrous, and I think Daniels has an advantage with being a regular human being. What King does so well with him, is allow us a front row seat in Daniel's sick mind, so that we are privy to the slow disintegration of his sanity. Believe me, it is gripping watching him go from a self obsessed bully, into an utterly unhinged, maniacal killing machine.
For me, Stephen King has so many good books out there, that Rose Madder ought to be left until you've read all the author's other outstanding works first... twice. Hell, read em three or four times. Every one of them is bound to be better the forth time round than this bloated mess of a story.
One of Stephen King's strengths is undoubtedly his believable and complex characters. In fact, you could argue that his books are more about the nature of human beings than about horror. Some certainly lean towards the examination of humankind more than others, and Rose Madder is one of these. It is the very reason why I chose to read this book. 'Stephen King tackling domestic abuse? Could be tasty,' I thought.
But, although King weaves his regular magic of crawling inside a characters head, finding a comfortable corner there, and relaying their every thought, emotion, and quirky mindset, he failed to offer anything fresh and remarkable in terms of story line (at least for the first half of the book). If you've ever read or seen a domestic abuse story before (say, SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY, for instants) then you'll be offered nothing new by the events of the first 300 pages or so. I think King had no fresh ideas about the theme, and so wrote his own rendition on ground already covered.
The story doesn't start to walk its own remarkable path until midway through the book, where we are reacquainted with King's usual imaginative eccentricity. This, you might think, is the saving grace of the book; King finally coming to life and showing us something new, wonderful, and at the same time ghastly. But I'm afraid by now the damage is already done, as we are invested in a very real story - one that seems familiar to us and categorical. The sudden emergence of supernatural events and fantastical oddities seemed too much of a swerve in direction and nature. It's as if King was beginning to bore himself with rewriting stories already told, and embarked on a fancy that would perk his own interest. I'm afraid it makes a bit of a mess of the whole thing.
But, if ever there WAS a reason to read Rose Madder, then its the story's villain; Norman Daniels. I think he was the entire reason I didn't put the book down for good. Of all the diabolic menaces I can think of in King's books, from Pennywise to Randal Flagg to Barlow, I think Normal Daniels might be the most hideously wonderful. King's villains are typically monstrous, and I think Daniels has an advantage with being a regular human being. What King does so well with him, is allow us a front row seat in Daniel's sick mind, so that we are privy to the slow disintegration of his sanity. Believe me, it is gripping watching him go from a self obsessed bully, into an utterly unhinged, maniacal killing machine.
For me, Stephen King has so many good books out there, that Rose Madder ought to be left until you've read all the author's other outstanding works first... twice. Hell, read em three or four times. Every one of them is bound to be better the forth time round than this bloated mess of a story.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Rose Madder
This book is very slow and boring. It has put me off Stephen King for life. The pace of the book is far too slow making you feel like you a trudging through mud. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Simon
Avoid !! Confused ? You will be !
As an avid Stephen King Fan , I have read all his works in the order they were written over the years . This is the worst Stephen King Book out there!! Read more
Published 4 months ago by T. Thoorburn
Wonderfully Entertaining With Sweet Vengeance
As a former Crisis Advocate and Family Systems Counselor, I thoroughly enjoyed this tale of a woman who has had enough of her abusive husband and decides to escape. Read more
Published 5 months ago by E. Newman
US Horror
I don't like all horror, but I remember liking this. I wanted to keep turning the pages, I really felt the character's pain. The writing is vivid, compelling and frightening. Read more
Published on 26 Aug 2009 by WJR
Great book and super service
What a superb read, I couldn't put this book down! Whilst some avid Stephen King fanatics are not keen on his books written from a womans perspective, I loved this book as much as... Read more
Published on 22 April 2009 by Lindy Lou
Honest book but from King I expected more and better on this topic
This is a very readable book by my favourite author and I do not regret that I read it. But stil, this is one the (very few) Stephen King's books which I enjoyed less than I... Read more
Published on 5 Sep 2007 by Maciej
Brutal realism and far fetched fantasy combined.
Stephen King has created a REALLY nasty piece of work in the character Norman Daniels - the leading ladies' ever-more demented cop husband. Read more
Published on 30 Aug 2007 by J. D. Aspinall
Read it again
As an avid Stephen King reader I purchased Rose Madder as soon as hit the shelves in 199 whenever and couldn't wait to dive in. Read more
Published on 28 Nov 2006 by Mr. Mark Hargrave
A welcome break.
Some people see this as a stop-gap story that King wrote whilst waiting for the timing to be right for the Dark Tower series to continue. Read more
Published on 14 Aug 2006 by Jackiesmackie
A Whole New Genre
I thought this book was good because it was very interesting to read, and the drama King used was amazingly written and powerful. Read more
Published on 18 Feb 2006 by Mike
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