Stephen King - Rose Madder *REVIEW* 🐮 19 reasons to read this underrated thriller!

[@otherworldsthanthese]

This book has massively grown on me since I read it around a year and a half ago. It used to be in my bottom 2 King books, but I keep finding myself wanting to reread it!

[@DaveReadsKing]

Nice! I think it holds up really well today

[@mtwice4586]

I just finished Rose Madder and I really enjoyed it. A lot of people don't like the abrupt supernatural turn that it takes, but I think that is what makes this book so good. If not for the supernatural aspect, this would just be a really good normal story, not too original, just a really good story. I think it is the supernatural element that kicks it into high Stephen King gear and sets it apart from everything else. Nice review and I am really enjoying your channel.

[@DaveReadsKing]

Thank you!

[@dxn_only]

Remember reading it at the age of 15 - a scared kid in the post-war Tajikistan. The memories still linger with me and this video has made them even more astute. Thanks, Dave!

[@DaveReadsKing]

You're welcome!

[@aallerton]

Thanks for this video. It made me want to reread or, actually, re-listen the book as I have it on audiobook only. I absolutely agree that it's very underrated and I remember enjoying it a lot.

[@angelaholmes8888]

Yeah this book is definitely underrated it doesn't get the attention that it deserves

[@DaveReadsKing]

Nice! Glad to get you in the reread mood!

[@gena4638]

I read the book many times before buying it on Audible and I'm so glad I did. Many books aren't narrated well (like Weaveworld by Clive Barker...that one is best read, not listened to, at least with the current Audible version.) But Rose Madder was done so well. I love how they switch between King doing Norman's chapters and the female narrator doing Rosie's. She has a great voice that suits the story perfectly. Sometimes music in between chapters can be harsh and distracting, but in the audio book of Rose Madder, the music is fitting for each chapter and suits the mood as Norman spirals further down. Definitely massively underrated!

[@iexist7352]

Something I really didn't like about this book was Norman's descent into crazed murderer. I think he was more scary of an antagonist when he was acting like a detective and putting himself in Rose's shoes. It added more tension to the book, and it showed that he was more than just a brute

[@DaveReadsKing]

I definitely agree he was he scariest when he was still vaguely normal…but I also really enjoyed seeing him go full bull mode

[@painthrillers]

I DON'T NEED ANY!! One of my absolute favorites. It's what got me into him for real. I had read a few but when I read this I was hooked.

[@DaveReadsKing]

Nice!

[@Mari-il4bw]

Just ordered this book and can’t wait to reread it. I read it when I was in high school or possibly middle school I seriously cannot remember. Been watching reviews about it and now bits and pieces of it are coming back to me I remember it being a bit of a trippy book

[@DaveReadsKing]

Nice! Yeah, it’s definitely a wild ride - enjoy!

[@angelaholmes8888]

I absolutely enjoyed rose madder it's one of my favorite books from Stephen king I hope it someday gets an adaptation it definitely deserves it 🥰😘😍🧡📚

[@DaveReadsKing]

Heck yes! I'd *love* to see this given an adaptation

[@angelaholmes8888]

@@DaveReadsKing I think mike flannigan should do this one he did directed a great job on doctor sleep and gerald's game

[@DaveReadsKing]

@@angelaholmes8888 I'd take that! A miniseries would be great

[@JoanneRachel-u4n]

❤❤❤❤ just picked up the book can’t wait to read it

[@DaveReadsKing]

Enjoy!

[@leavoda3791]

I read this book twice when I was 16 and it saved my life. Especially the beginning when Rose finds the drop of blood, starts rocking violently in that rocking chair thinking about how to spare her aching back and the possible consequences. She then abruptly stops at the thought "but what if he doesn't kill me? What if he hits me in such a way .... I won't die but I allso won't be able to flee?". This is the short passage in the book that saved my life and sanity by forcing me to run away from my abusive father at 17. It nagged at me all the time and every time he would hit me or abused me, those words would spring up in my mind. That was 25 yrs. ago and I am so gratefull I read it when I did. Allso the ending, reminding me in my adulthood not to turn onto the learned path of violence but to fight against it and take the hard road of compassion and patience.

[@DaveReadsKing]

Wow, thank you for sharing and I’m so glad you’re ok!

[@Shey2brightside]

I really like this book, Rose is a great character and I feel like the feminist issues he didn’t do that well in Insomnia (imo) are great here. The part when she goes to the police by the last quarter and feels like they’re no help is really powerful! Rosie is just great

[@DaveReadsKing]

Totally agree!

[@paulflint6254]

Thanks for the review. Really enjoyed this book when I read a few years back. Have a new copy now. Looking forward to rereading this again.

[@DaveReadsKing]

Nice! I think this one has some really great moments

[@dominicaudy8479]

Great review. I really like that book as well, even though the mix between the hyper realism of Rose’s story with the mythology based magical realism isn’t always perfect. A little confusion, though: Dorcas from Lud (the one Rosie initially nicknames Wendy)isn’t the one who deals with Norman. She’s rather a follower of the powerful being who does, referred to as « Rose Madder », never directly named. However the « bull mask » (Fred) that talks to Norman slips at one point and reveals who Rose Madder is supposed to be, which is some sort of manifestation of the vengeful Demi-goddess and Magician Circe, a minor Greek moon goddess who can transform men into animals (thus the fact in the end Norman can no longer remove the mask, he became a bull). The mask, when he talks to Norman, alludes directly to the episode in the Odyssey when Circe transformed trespassers on her island into pigs. Circe is often presented as a symbol of female empowerment, but there’s a madness and fury underneath, thus Rosie’s struggle at the end: she needed to find that primeval fury in herself to stand up to Norman, but once unleashed that violence has a cost to be kept at bay. King also mixed what he took from the Circe myth with elements from Medusa, a dangerous female monster. Circe is also seen a cunning and duplicitous, thus the association to the Fox. Interesting point: Dorcas is the Greek translation of the name…Tabitha. In the New Testament Dorcas/Tabitha is a charitable woman who helps those in need. In Rose Madder the poney that drives Rose Madder’s cart, the one Dorcas tells Rosie she doesn’t need to fear, is named after the demi-god that is a judge of the dead. The boy-statue in the temple of the bull is a manifestation of Priapus, a protector of cattle and beasts (which is why the statue tries to help Norman by grabbing Rosie). Another parallel: at the end Rosie’s middle name is revealed as Diana, yet another goddess who is dangerous to men if angered. Another interesting parallel. The city Norman starts from is a thinly veiled Buffalo, a wild bull, and the city the confrontation takes place is a thinly veiled Chicago, the home of the Bulls (mentioned in the story, at the Barber shop Norman goes).

[@DaveReadsKing]

Nice, thanks for all of this! I'd guessed the city was meant to be Chicago, but hadn't picked up on it starting in a version of Buffalo

[@dominicaudy8479]

@@DaveReadsKing It’s like a deliberate mix of elements from Rochester and Buffalo - some features he used have real names from one or the other - but the sports teams that characters wear caps or jerseys from are all Buffalo’s. The distance between the two cities and the highways he described are fictional - that’s part of his usual tricks. I guess the fact Misery Chastain books exist is a clue this takes place in the America where his fictional Maine exists, like Desperation also did.

[@DaveReadsKing]

@@dominicaudy8479 cool, thank you!

[@sashaqueenie]

I love Rose Madder so much since I read it like over 20 years ago. I still about Rosie after so many years and wonder if she ever managed to fully control her rage.

[@DaveReadsKing]

I think it’s more power to her that she has it! And I think the end of the book does show some control - or at least some awareness that’s it’s there and the power it could have

[@mayzo51184]

Every time I see thisee someone referenceing this book, I always think they are talking about the book based on that series called Rose red which I thought sucked but now that I've actually seen your review, I'm really thinking I might read it. As always love your videos and I'll catch you in the next one!

[@DaveReadsKing]

nice! Hope you enjoy Rose Madder if you decide to jump in!

[@GetFramed]

Holy shit I just finished this book yesterday and I read it in three days! I was hooked from the word go and I had heard by some people that you just kinda have to go with the supernatural stuff and accept it for being weird, and I did and I thought it was a lot of fun. Also I don't know if someone's mentioned it yet but I think Dorcas was the black woman that resembled Wendy Yarrow, not Rose Madder. Some spoilers below. I fucking laughed when Norman turned into a minotaur, his mask just morphed into his face and it was so weird! Also, Rose Madder turning into a giant spider (hem hem it hem hem) and biting Bull Norman to death was great.

[@DaveReadsKing]

Yeah, I got Dorcas wrong - it had been a while after reading that I did this video. Thanks for your take as ever!

[@gena4638]

SPOILERS Agree with all of the above! Many of my favorite parts (besides Rosie's first visit to the other world) include Norman after he goes insane. The part where he is driving down the street after getting his ass kicked by Gertie (another favorite part-lol), he has the mask on his hand and is talking to it/singing with it....another driver pulls up alongside him, looks at him, slams the lock down and slowly faces forward. 😂 That part was so well done. A massively underrated book, for sure.

[@lewbasnight6283]

Just read this one! because people say it has some slight Dark Tower connections. i liked it. but some aspects of the ending were a little "weird" 3/5

[@DaveReadsKing]

Yep, I can see that - I'd give it slightly higher than a 3, but I always love hearing other people's ratings...thanks for sharing!

[@peterconlon8234]

Quite enjoyed it, it's definitely on the (humongous ?) list of favorites. I kinda get what you've saying about the painting...but I came out of it with the impression that that was on purpose...that that was his way of making it's magic odd,, disjarring but also alluring...like a sirens call, drawing you in tho you never see it.

[@DaveReadsKing]

I really like that reading of the painting, very cool!

[@josebro352]

Probably the least popular King novel but I loved it. I loved the alternate realm inside the painting!

[@DaveReadsKing]

I’m a big fan of it - brutal, gripping and weird af

[@gena4638]

I reread this book often, probably once a year. It's one of my favorites of King's and in general (alongside Weaveworld by Clive Barker.) Reading both of those books...it's like returning to an old friend. Each time I read them, I notice things I didn't before, the experience is always a bit different. I also have it on Audible and I love the way it's narrated, the woman narrator doing Rosie's parts (her voice is perfection) and King doing Norman's voice. The subtle music between chapters that fits the mood of each. Rose Madder is considered one of King's "flops" and I just don't get it. The world within the painting, the plot, Norman?? I think the reason he's my favorite (or scariest) villain is because he is the most realistic. I loved the supernatural, bizarre turn the story took at the end. It's part of Stephen King's appeal, in my opinion. Loved reading the comments and listening to the review, knowing many others enjoyed it as much as I did. I loved your description of this book and your list of reasons to read. You put all my thoughts into words. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I keep editing this because I keep thinking of more to say (I could go on and on.) I read a recent review of this book and the critic just destroyed it. She was very upset at Norman's homohobia, misogyny, racism, etc. That, for this particular critic, was her whole reason for hating this book. That doesn't surprise me in today's climate, but come on people...its FICTION. More to the point, people like Norman DO exist...King just exaggerated those qualities to create a terrifying and evil villain. That is all.

[@DaveReadsKing]

Thanks for such a thorough comment! And yes, Norman is terrifying because he is so real!

[@MrDjurdjevka]

The beginning of the book was amazing, and it got me hooked, but as it progressed, I had some mixed feelings. I almost wished that the part with the painting didn't exist as it was kind of weird and in my opinion, didn't add much to the already strong storyline. That said, it's still a good read, and I'd definitely recommend it.

[@DaveReadsKing]

💯💯

[@hdguy5]

Rose Madder was my first King book. Totally blew me away, especially Norman’s chapters. Something really creepy and sickening being in the mind of someone like that.

[@DaveReadsKing]

Oh heck yes - Norman is off-the-scale terrifying

[@WilliamsLibrary]

I read this book years ago. It was surreal.

[@DaveReadsKing]

It sure is...but also really brutal and hard-hitting in parts too

[@matthewmedley8532]

Good review of a good book. Worth a reread.

[@DaveReadsKing]

For sure!

[@davidphillips9726]

Rose Madder is a fascinating ride of a novel. I've read it multiple times, still love it.

[@DaveReadsKing]

Awesome!

[@lordsnot9540]

What are your thoughts on the theory of the 'Woman in the Painting' actually being the Crimson Queen?

[@DaveReadsKing]

It’s an interesting one for sure! She’s certainly complex - good for getting rid of Norman but also still hella terrifying

[@susancarraher7721]

I totally agree with your review, I Loved this book!

[@DaveReadsKing]

It’s so good - yet so underrated

[@troyjackson836]

The mask oddly resembles the bull's 'face' on the cover of Rose Madder

[@DaveReadsKing]

Mask? What mask?? ;-)

[@troyjackson836]

@@DaveReadsKing come to think of it, I have no idea. ;-))

[@ianblackmore-allen163]

I bloody love your way of talking about books, it would be wicked if customers got that from bookshop staff! "It's not the Tommyknockers is it? Thank fuck!" mwuahahahahaaaaa classic.

[@DaveReadsKing]

🤷‍♂️😂

[@Unknown-cf9gq]

Thank you for this review.

[@DaveReadsKing]

You're welcome

[@viktorwolfe8333]

Good review. Of course I read the book when it first came out, and wasn't a big fan (because Gerald's Game and Dolores Claiborne was so good!) I gave it a re-read in 2018 and liked it a little more, giving it a 7/10. Btw, where do you live? England?

[@DaveReadsKing]

Yep, I'm in England - thanks for stopping by!

[@di_ana_salazar]

The mask not coming off was very R.L. Stine 😮

[@DaveReadsKing]

😂😂

[@bethanyhall7252]

Rose Madder wasn't my cup of tea personally. I adored it until the latter sections that get a bit too bizarre. But the one thing I will give it, is that I hate Norman with a burning passion. In my opinion, he is the best (worst?) King villain. Human, but utterly evil.

[@DaveReadsKing]

Yeah, the ending is...odd to say the least! And I agree with you on Norman, he is awful in a quite brilliant way

[@chesterbrooks3606]

When she pisses on him 🤣

[@DaveReadsKing]

Yeah - grim and good at the same time!

[@gerlinderosensteiner8250]

He is such a mofo! AAaaaaarrrrggghhhh!!!!

[@gena4638]

One of my favorite parts!

[@jeffgacy846]

😢 poor tommyknockers

[@DaveReadsKing]

Tommyknockers? In Rose Madder?

[@lewbasnight6283]

LOL 🤣 "Viva ze boll"

[@DaveReadsKing]

🐮

[@mctasty6094]

Iam a King Fan but I thought this book sucked.

[@DaveReadsKing]

I respectfully disagree, but thanks for commenting!

[@gerlinderosensteiner8250]

Whaaaaat? This one is fascinating! To me!

[@DaveReadsKing]

@@gerlinderosensteiner8250 I'm with you!

[@gena4638]

Many others thought it sucked as well, as Rose Madder was considered a "flop", but I kindly disagree with you and the critics. I thought it was bizarre, beautiful, alluring, realistic in some aspects with nightmarish fiction blended in, etc, etc.

[@mctasty6094]

@@gena4638 hello, I didn't like the book simply because, the book goes from generic thriller to some surrealist sillyness. It's a very awkward book.

[@BeckywiseTheDancingClown]

Nice bull mask 🤣

[@DaveReadsKing]

Mask? What mask? ;-)