Rose Madder

What if Norman Bates from the film Psycho started stalking you? Would you run or would you buy a painting?

Name: Rose Madder

Writer: Stephen King

Country: United States

Year: 1995

Genre: Fantasy, Horror

Synopses

After years of a dreadful marriage, Rose decides to run away from home. Determined, she leaves for an abandoned city where she plans to build a new life. However, the fear never leaves. Her husband, Norman Daniels, is a police officer that will do anything in his power to find and punish her. In order to escape, Rose will have to transform herself into a woman she never imagined herself to become: Rose Madder.

Review

Stephen King is known for his ability to immerse the reader into his plots and, for that, I thought it was about time I tried this man’s writing. I must say, I was not disappointed.

The book portrays a case of domestic violence, where Rose Daniels is a woman that, after 14 years of constant suffering and abuse, decides to run away from home and from her husband, Norman Daniels, an experienced police officer and psychopath that will not rest until he finds her and makes her pay for her “audacity”.

Throughout the entire story, there is a tension lingering in the air that prevents the reader from putting the book down. I really enjoyed the way all the characters seemed real, and the contrast and importance that each one of them has in the narrative. The way the author chose to describe them, creates a very vivid and distinct picture in our head. For example, Rose is described as a fragile woman, yet with a strong spirit; in turn, Norman is “compared” to the character from Hitchcock’s movie Psycho, Norman Bates.

Between Rose’s point of view and Norman’s, we get immersed deeper and deeper into this cat and mouse game without even realising it. Stephen King’s writing is fluid and regular without falling into commonness. The author manages, in a brilliant way, to enter a madman’s mind and somehow justify his attitudes, making the story even more chilling.

Nevertheless, there was one thing that made me a bit confused. In this story, the author included mythological elements from Ancient Greece. Although the metaphor is intelligent, there were moments when I felt like I was reading two different stories that sometimes crossed. I don’t know if leaving the supernatural component out and focusing on the narrative of Norman and Rose would have been a better option.

I have to emphasise the end of the book, because the author managed to surprise me. I am not sure if I would have chosen that ending if I was writing the book, but it definitely was unexpected.

Whisper of the Heart

To sum it up, Rose Madder is an engaging book that takes on a timeless subject and makes us think about it and the concept of justice. In this story, we are able to see a small portion of the effects that domestic violence takes upon its victims, the terror they feel and the horrors that they go through. There were moments when I couldn’t help myself feeling disgusted by reading some passages and had to stop and take a deep breath before I continued. Some of them are so unthinkable and cruel that I could barely picture them in my head.

Stephen King also touches themes like racism and homophobia through the character of Norman.

I think congratulations are in order for the way the author approached the main subject and further develops it throughout the plot. It’s a book that I recommend for those who love stories with strong and interesting themes.

And that is exactly why I picked it to enter the Eclectic Heart 30 Post Challenge, in the topic “A book about a potential true story”, for it is a narrative that, unfortunately, very often becomes a reality.

Rating - 🟉🟉🟉🟉🟉🟉🟉🟉🟉 (9)