Christine

by Stephen King

 It’s love at first sight for high school student Arnie Cunningham when he and his best friend Dennis Guilder spot the dilapidated 1958 red-and-white Plymouth Fury for sale—dubbed “Christine” by its original cantankerous owner—rusting away on a front lawn of their suburban Pennsylvania neighborhood. Dennis knows that Arnie’s never had much luck in the popularity department, or really taken an interest in owning a car…but Christine quickly changes all that.

Arnie suddenly has the newfound confidence to stick up for himself, going as far as dating the most beautiful girl at Libertyville High—transfer student Leigh Cabot—even as a mysteriously restored Christine systematically and terrifyingly consumes every aspect of Arnie’s life. Dennis and Leigh soon realize that they must uncover the awful truth behind a car with a horrifying and murderous history. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and heaven help anyone who gets in Christine’s way…

Genres: Horror

656 pages, Kobo

Published April 29, 1983

About the author

Stephen Edwin King was born the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. After his father left them when Stephen was two, he and his older brother, David, were raised by his mother. Parts of his childhood were spent in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where his father's family was at the time, and in Stratford, Connecticut. When Stephen was eleven, his mother brought her children back to Durham, Maine, for good. Her parents, Guy and Nellie Pillsbury, had become incapacitated with old age, and Ruth King was persuaded by her sisters to take over the physical care of them. Other family members provided a small house in Durham and financial support. After Stephen's grandparents passed away, Mrs. King found work in the kitchens of Pineland, a nearby residential facility for the mentally challenged.

Stephen attended the grammar school in Durham and Lisbon Falls High School, graduating in 1966. From his sophomore year at the University of Maine at Orono, he wrote a weekly column for the school newspaper, THE MAINE CAMPUS. He was also active in student politics, serving as a member of the Student Senate. He came to support the anti-war movement on the Orono campus, arriving at his stance from a conservative view that the war in Vietnam was unconstitutional. He graduated in 1970, with a B.A. in English and qualified to teach on the high school level. A draft board examination immediately post-graduation found him 4-F on grounds of high blood pressure, limited vision, flat feet, and punctured eardrums.

He met Tabitha Spruce in the stacks of the Fogler Library at the University, where they both worked as students; they married in January of 1971. As Stephen was unable to find placement as a teacher immediately, the Kings lived on his earnings as a laborer at an industrial laundry, and her student loan and savings, with an occasional boost from a short story sale to men's magazines.

Stephen made his first professional short story sale ("The Glass Floor") to Startling Mystery Stories in 1967. Throughout the early years of his marriage, he continued to sell stories to men's magazines. Many were gathered into the Night Shift collection or appeared in other anthologies.

In the fall of 1971, Stephen began teaching English at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels.

Reviews

[Leroy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I watched the movie and loved it and decided to read the book and was not disappointed.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christine is the first book I've finished by Stephen King and I loved it. I've always been a fan of his writing due to its depth and although it took around 30 Chapters for the story of Christine to 'officially' start going (lots of backstory which is required for the build though it dragged a little) it was a fantastic read nevertheless. The remaining 20 Chapter after Christines 'first' kill seemed to fly by and I was gutted that the book ended. It's definitely something will re-read again though I may skip through all the build up right until Christine turns her first victim into nothing but a red pile of mush.

The concept is great and an original read for me personally, I just wish they made it into a movie too because if it's anything like the book then it would be fantastic. There's so much graphic detail that really helps you picture exactly what is going on and when Christine first starts to 'fix' herself it really makes you feel like you are there in the car and listening to the changes being made.

The realisations made by Dennis about the similarities between what happened to Rolands wife and daughter compared to what would later happen with Leigh and then Arnies dad are good foreshadowing and although Arnie doesn't make it it seemed to be a fitting wrap-up to Christines story, that is, if it's over.