Rose Madder by Stephen King Book Review & Reaction | Hits a Little Too Close to Home For Some

Mike heads to the Daughters & Sisters shelter to share his thoughts on the 1995 thriller Rose Madder by Stephen King (spoiler-free).
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0:00 Introduction & Background Info
2:09 What Is It About?
2:54 What Makes It Good or Bad?
9:54 Why You Should Read It
11:59 Final Thoughts
14:02 Multiverse Connections
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#MikesBookReviews #StephenKing #RoseMadder

[@mikesbookreviews]

The review today has some personal life stuff in it. Hard not to bring them up due to the content in this novel. But my apologies to the 'just review the book dammit!' people.

[@jcdenton616]

Victims of abuse will appreciate your account of your own situation. It reminds them that they're not alone, especially men. Because, like you said, it's something that is not often spoken about. So, do not apologise for speaking up about your own struggles with abuse. It made perfect sense within the context of your review.

[@rosemadder5547]

I'm so glad you covered it exactly the way you did.

[@rosemadder5547]

I carried this book with me all through college (at 35 lol) to remind me I could do it and why. Love this book so so much. I still keep it out where I can see it.

[@mikesbookreviews]

That's so awesome!

[@angelaholmes8888]

Rose madder is one of my top ten favorite books from king I really hope this book will get an adaptation someday 💝

[@TrailingThePages]

Mike, hearing you discuss your personal experience with domestic abuse, while simultaneously placing the hotline number on screen is such a subtle and nice touch. You rock, your insight is so valuable, and I greatly appreciate your input for everything you read. You’re an awesome human being, keep up the good work

[@joshuafowler883]

Rose Madder is one of my favorite King books and one three that I have ever reread. I have such a love for his 90s stuff because those were my first novels by him.

[@sunshine_tidings6983]

First and foremost I’m so sorry to hear that you had to endure those kinds of things in your own life, but it’s great to hear that you’re happy and safe now ❤️ As for the novel, it’s one of my absolute favorites, and in my opinion criminally underrated. Norman scared me more than any other novel villain I’ve ever read. His gradual transformation from Norman Daniels into the Minotaur is both terrifying but also awesome. And for those of you who think the whole painting element ruined the book, respectfully, I couldn’t disagree more. I think that element of the fantastical was necessary to provide some relief from the disturbing and upsetting Norman storyline. Cheers mike 🍻

[@mikesbookreviews]

What doesn't kill us, right?

[@cmmosher8035]

What i love about King is even in what are some of his more "normal" stories like The body and Shawshank there's still that sense of dread that lets you know you are touching the dark tower.

[@alynam82]

If memory serves correctly, this was my first ever King read. I was still in grade school, so I know I forgotten much of it. Yet Norman still left a mark on me. I'm definitely going to re-read this

[@angelaholmes8888]

Norman totally left a mark on me too

[@dinocollins720]

Another fantastic video! Thank you!

[@kylerieman221]

Another great trip into the multiverse Mike. I would have to agree that it is an underrated part of his bibliography. I also felt like the ending could have been trimmed down just a bit

[@curtjarrell9710]

I went through a period where I didn't read any King novels. I was branching out into more literature and classics. This remains on my TBR stack and look forward to reading it. Thanks for the review.

[@colemeagher3334]

I like the reading excerpts Mike!

[@JAKandtheBookStack]

This is perfect timing, I was thinking Of adding this to my Oct TBR!!

[@angelaholmes8888]

Rose madder is really great but underrated book

[@imyinyily]

Thanks for sharing all your thoughts and experience 🙏

[@josephszymanski6465]

Reading during your intros is fantastic. You add emotion and the tone really reaches the listener. I CANT wait for your green mile review. It's one of the absolute best by King. One of my top 5 for sure.

[@kylegriffin5552]

I respect the hell out of you Mike for speaking out about such a hard time in your life 💪 Better out than in like you said.

[@calista3371]

Great Review Mike! See, I read this when it came out and I love this book and it stuck in my memory. I love the mythology part of it and it really hit well with me. I put this in the top side of the book list. I'm glad you changed your mind.

[@peterthebooklover9375]

Hi Mike it is great to see you.

[@lewbasnight6283]

Actually really like this book. I love you're Intros, sad to not see it.

[@jeff5624]

Mike I absolutely love your library..

[@peterthebooklover9375]

And you did a great job reviewing this book.

[@laguy8181]

I had never read it but I will based on your review. Thanks for being so honest and open about your experiences. I’ve experienced something similar and not enough guys are willing to admit it.

[@esliet]

Great review

[@mikebruce3933]

Glad to hear you're in a better place in life now. This book's probably next in my King tbr.

[@Kite562reviews]

I haven't read rose madder but I do have delores clayborn. Right now I'm getting ready to read different seasons. 😊❤📚

[@mixedbooktape]

Rose Madder is absolutely in my top 5 King books. If memory serves, it was the first King book I read at 15 or 16. Saw the mmpb at Walden's Books and loved the cover. I've read and re-read this book a bunch of times. Of course now having read The Dark Tower I see those connections. I want to read it again and see what I missed all those times now that I know what's what. One of my first relationships was emotionally abusive. I was only a teenager. And it has left it's mark. So I really related to that part of this story. Oh yes that prologue is brutal.

[@BookBlather]

Great review, Mike. Appreciate you sharing your person experience as well. Just starting to dip into King, and this sounds like a good one to try.

[@angelaholmes8888]

It's really good but underrated

[@BookBlather]

@@angelaholmes8888 Sounds like it! I’ll definitely check it out.

[@QueenPrism]

*hugs* I'm sorry someone hurt you. Thank you for the video, I've never heard of this book by stephen king but it sounds interesting.

[@katelynbaker6832]

Me: “I have too many things on my TBR list” Mike: *Posts a review* Me: welp…

[@STORMIESHERO]

I’m currently ready this book. I have entered the second part of the book that you mentioned. Yes, it’s weird!!! Hopefully, I’ll still enjoy the book.

[@Michael_L_Morrison]

This is one of the few King books I haven't read yet. I have it scheduled for next month.

[@leezirkle7840]

I never knew about the multiverse connections. How great is that!

[@alib6615]

This has always been one of my favorite Stephen King books. I read it when it first came out as a teenager and enjoyed how the story evolved and mixed the the two stories together. I also really appreciate and enjoy the epilogue. A few weeks ago I purchased the audio book and that was a wild ride. For some reason I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't get back to sleep and thought it would be a good idea to put in an earbud and continue listening to Rose Madder. It was during the wild climax and at some point I fell back to sleep and was dreaming along with the book being read. I legitimately felt like I was in the book with the characters. Anyway, loved this review. I feel like this book never gets talked about and not only is it an unusual gem of a story, but also (as Mike points out) explores an important topic.

[@tmtb80]

I thought Stephen King's narration in the audiobook was fantastic.

[@alexthiebaut2195]

Really good review Mike. I read this last month and this review pretty much sums up my feelings about the book. There were times where the story dragged, and then we have a great chapter in the myth world and then a long drag afterwards. I’m glad I read it, but it’s not a book I would particularly recommend to anyone.

[@christophergray7982]

Great review and thank you for sharing, can't be easy. Off topic, have you read Cormac Mccarthy? I read the road and thought it was one of the best books I ever read and now I am working through blood meridian, holy cow is this brutal. Cormacs writing is easy and very difficult at the same time but it holds you in imagination the whole time, something I only experienced with King and Douglas Adams. Again great review and I enjoy your videos alot, and owning all king novels Rose Madder is on the list to read.

[@peterthebooklover9375]

Sorry to hear you had a crazy girlfriend. That was probably awful.

[@seymourtoa]

Awesome review! I had no idea that this book from Sai King is such an excellent combo of DV and greeky influence. Does it get greeky on past with Ilium from Dan Simmons? Either way it's my next read. Thanks Mike!

[@zachbrehany2253]

While I won't go into the personal detail due to me sending this video to her, but my first time reading this book was due to my wonderful and powerful godmother giving me a paperback edition with the intent of learning why she had to leave her abusive ex-husband. She is so similar to Rose that it gets uncomfortable reading. But knowing this Novel helped her escape from that sadistic creature gives me hope for anyone who is in that situation. Though, imagine Rose and Lisbeth Salander teamed up. That would be interesting.

[@tarquinnff3]

This was the first book I read by King. I remember liking it but it's been about 20 years since I read it.

[@PaperMario64]

This is one of my favorite King books. I'm glad he was detailed about the abuse. People don't want to believe monsters like her husband exist, but they do.

[@MEL1979ism]

Insomnia is one of my fav books of his. Ever

[@Maysoon3121]

I loved it

[@KakashiHatake-ou7mp]

Any plans of Interviewing Stephen King Mike?

[@mikesbookreviews]

Sure. Give him my number.

[@mandyhuybregts3235]

I let a friend pick my next King read. This is it. I actually did not know what it was about. But i am exited for it!

[@gabelle5]

This was not the King book I had to put down; I read this one like a parched man in the desert finding a bottle of water. I had to put down Desperation...because of the dead cat at the beginning. Teenage priorities

[@Nxrth2001]

I'll be honest, this book is so under the radar when it comes to King that I have no interest. Now I watch this video, and I feel like reading this too.Great video Mike!

[@J.V.117]

I have a old copy of it hand down by my supervisor 😅 just about to start reading

[@brentasmith]

Glad to hear this has the weird and Dark Tower influences. I was afraid it was a more grounded story like Dolores Claiborne which I don't like nearly as much.

[@christinedarrock8486]

I love how King writes his characters....except....the love stories in his writings are just too unbelievably perfect.

[@mtwice4586]

I really liked Rose Madder. I have ready 53 King/Bachman novels so far, and I have this one ranked at #12.

[@timgorman3645]

LOVE the reading excerpts!! Keep that up! Love your thoughts on King. Makes me want to read King again. Since watching you, I’ve read Later, finished The Institute and am currently reading The Outsider! Love this channel! Thank you

[@supernorry3847]

I have never heard about this book. But it has some great dark tower references

[@msamios.321]

I remember reading Rose Madder when it was first released. I definitely need to read the Dark Tower series, as I loved the way it blended the story of fleeing domestic violence with dark alternative fiction elements. I have not read it since then, so my memory might not be serving me well, but I recall reading the level of evil portrayed in Dolores's husband as being a trope of dark fantasy -- that in some people, evil thrives, and has a rather free hand -- so I didn't see it as caricature as much as metaphor. But I was barely out of my twenties on that read, so maybe I was too generous. Your inclusion of multiverse connections make it abundantly clear to me that I really must read the Dark Tower series. Apparently, a lot of King's books that intrigued the most as a younger reader are tightly woven to the Dark Tower universe. I had The Gunslinger on hold at the library, but decided to go ahead and buy first, as I will receive it sooner that way. Thank you for the content you provide!

[@chelseafaith6546]

I just finished this book today and I really liked it! I totally agree about what you said about the first half being totally different from the second half. I’m a new King constant reader, so I only have 4 other books under my belt. I haven’t read the DT series yet but I can tell there are lots of references to that series. I feel like if I read that series before starting this one, I would’ve enjoyed the last half of the book a little bit more because there were some places I was having a hard time understanding and immersing in that.

[@jjackson4754]

I just finished this book last night. I REALLY liked it. It was tough at times. But the ending was quite confusing.

[@saulweinstein1027]

This is the first Stephen King novel that I have read, I just finished reading it and yours is the first review I’ve listened to about it I found the long prologue boring and skipped most of it, the rest of the book I liked; I usually read authors like John Grisham, --Burke (the Dave Robicheaux novelist), Lee Child (my personal fave), Ed McBain, Brad Meltzer, and crime, spy, and mystery stories in general So I wasn’t used to SK’s blend of reality and fantasy, it took a little getting used to, although actually a lot of the material echoes parts of Orthodox Judaism (my own faith community) as far as other planes/dimensions of existence, other kinds of lifeforms (both benevolent and bad) , demons, crossing over from one world to another and back again, different events happening simultaneously in different dimensions that impact each other I did enjoy the book and hope to read more SK in the future, particularly “The Stand” which I saw dramatized in the ‘90s with Gary Sinise - have always meant to read the book and having started with “Rose Madder” it’ll probably be my next SK book to read A good all-around read ( one criticism: Norman’s dialogue was so repetitive and one-note that it was irritating, but then his character was portrayed as being crazy, so as a reader I had to make allowances for that)

[@teksnotdead902]

Im reading this currently...but I keep picking up something else and rolling with it. Not sure why.

[@FstopPicturesByAlunDavies]

If u remember in it. He taps into the abuse angle when the losers club comes back to dairy the. Character bev. Her husband follows her So it’s a angle in a super natural story. King is familiar with. That he taps into this novel I can’t say this book stood out but I liked it in audiobook format

[@turtleanton6539]

I am getting the Halloween edition of this one

[@FstopPicturesByAlunDavies]

My sons mom was a very scary person I’m working on a novel The Emerald queen of my experience with a psychopath. Narcissistic. Person. So I get you mike I’m sorry u went through that.

[@brianmelendy1194]

I just did a reread of Rose Madder about a month ago. I enjoyed it both times but it's not on my list of King favorites.

[@edcollante]

Mate, I know how you loved both "Boy's Life" and "It" as they're basically coming of age books. Well, in case you still haven't, you may want to give Ronald Malfi's "December Park" a go.

[@dpeady78]

Ronald Malfi’s latest “Black Mouth” also has awesome IT vibes

[@edcollante]

@@dpeady78 Sweet, I'm going to be reading that one, too. Malfi's sort of horror's best kept secret.

[@dpeady78]

@@edcollante totally, although I’ve only read two of his books, he’s 2 for 2 for me

[@briteskin]

90's King, besides my military service getting in the way, the subject matters of his books just turned me off at the time. At the time was so in to Gerald's Game, rereads have put it more towards the bottom, it was hard for me not to comparison when reading. That's just distracting and was probably better off doing the delay though it took 20 plus years. Into the Multiverse got me to finally sit down and read Clairborne, Insomnia, and this. Wish I had time to reread Desperation since though I read it I have almost no memory of it. Will try to reread it after 'Fairy Tale'. Reading this now I get big time 'splatterpunk' vibes from the Norman passages. Though about the time of the release of this book that kind of stuff was starting to fall out of favor in the horror section of the book store. Though not hard to think maybe Bachman was starting to fight to come out and play. Second half kind of dragged but hard to tell if I slowed down because of the book or life happenings that have brought my having to find time to fit reading in rather than a set time.

[@chrisconnors7418]

Rose Madder is not one of the King books I’ve read. I went off his books for a while, but picked up more recent books and enjoyed them. So I started picking up early books. Far as I can tell I like his early books, don’t like his middle books (his drug years?), and like his books he wrote after his accident. I still have a few to read from his middle years though.

[@Dylan13Collins]

The reading excerpts are incredible and never let anyone tell you otherwise! Lol, I love them. Also, rose Madder may be in my top 5 King books so far. Well, if we include only 1 tower book. Otherwise there would be 3 tower books in my top 5. I was in an abusive relationship and when I left it was the scariest thing I've ever done. I had a panic attack listening to the audio book of this because he captures that fear so perfectly!

[@tmtb80]

If anyone thinks of Norman as cartoonish, they must not have lived with anyone like him or a victim of him.

[@bettinanielsen6336]

I remember reading this book right after Dolores Claiborne. This one in particular was almost cathartic to me because I had just escaped a very violent relationship (on all levels). There was so much in her character I could relate to. I had fled from Denmark to USA with my daughter to get away from him until things cleared up. So yes, the book has flaws, it is not one of my favorites. But it helped me at the time.

[@rodhamm8484]

I remember this book as being very good until that change to what I considered to be unoriginal writing that was entertaining but disappointing because it was not original.

[@Thecatladybooknook_PennyD]

Yep men can definitely experience abuse. My younger son was in a relationship with a girl who would hit him etc. Not many talk abt it and I'm glad you are and Johnny Depp for a big thing by coming out and telling his story. #mentoo

[@ginabeachy4897]

I liked the first part of this book, but the second part lost me. It just didn't work for me and is probably my least favorite King book.

[@mariposa9506]

Not a guy, but I am guessing that everytime a guy stands up and admits to having been through an abusive relationship, it makes it just a little bit easier for the next guy to come forward and ask for help. Maybe you helped someone today just by mentioning that here.