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Rose Madder
by Stephen King
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Viking Adult (1995-07-01)
ISBN: 0670858692
EAN: 9780670858699
Dewy Decimal #: 813.54
Hardcover: 432 pages
Edition: 1st Edition
SKU: 03289
Condition: Collectible: Very Go
Comments: First edition hardback with dust jacket, and full number line
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Editorial Reviews
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Product Description
Rosie Daniels flees her nightmare marriage to find refuge in a strange city, far from her brutal husband, Norman, whose relentless savagery and mad obsessions follow her to her sanctuary and drive her to transform herself to survive. 1,750,000 first printing. $200,000 ad/promo. BOMC Main.
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Amazon.com 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 at the edge.
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Customer Reviews
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"Come here so I can talk to you up close..."
Rating  (3)
Date: 2008-06-26
3 out of 3 customers found this reveiw helpful
I am a huge Stephen King fan, but I found this book to be one of his weaker efforts. The story centers on a woman named Rose Daniels, who escapes the wrath of her husband, Norman, after being subjected to extreme abuse for 14 years. She moves to a new city, and falls in with a group of women at a halfway house while Norman hunts her down with murder on his mind.
In my opinion, the best parts of the book were told from Norman's point of view. He is one sick individual, and King masterfully intertwines Norman's inhumanity with black humor. Norman's thoughts will make you laugh and cringe at the same time.
All the characters in the book, including the minor ones, have their own personality and depth, which is one of King's many great talents. The suspenseful and terrifying climax of the story(when Norman finally catches up to Rose) was excellent, and Norman's gradual degradation into pure insanity is both believable and horrifying.
Despite all this, "Rose Madder" is a very flawed book. King does an overall good job at portraying how inept Rose is at interacting with others after being kept prisoner at her house with Norman for so long, except for the fact that she so readily dives into a relationship with another man.
My main complaint however, is the magical/haunted/cursed painting, which is one of the main factors in the story. There is a large chunk in the book where Rose goes into the painting, and I found this to be tedious and dull. I thought the book could have done without the painting side story, as it seemed to be hastily tacked on the the rest of the story so that the book could have a supernatural aspect. Frankly, I thought Norman was much creepier than the painting.
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"You Better Believe Me, I'm a Great Big Deal..."
Rating  (4)
Date: 2008-06-20
2 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
After more than a decade, stuck under the power of her abusive, high-tempered husband, something inside Rose Daniels's brain pops, and she makes a break for it. She flees to a new city, some 800 miles away, to start a new life, hoping to be rid of her husband, Norman, for the rest of her life.
But Norman Daniels is a cop, and tracking people down is what a cop does best...
I have read most of King's work up to this point, and this was definately one of my favorites. The pages fly by, and the plot never seems to slow down, even when there is not much in the way of action going on. While the introduction of fantasy elements into the book was a unique twist, it did hamper the story, somewhat.
Rose herself is a very well-portrayed character, and easily the best of King's female leads. Norman was a pretty wicked bastard as well, but I think his actions were, at times, a bit over-the-top, especially towards the end. The whole "Ferdinand the Bull" thing was pretty darn creepy, though.
But despite its faults, 'Rose Madder' is another great effort by King, and it's definately something I'll read again. The audio recording of this book was also very impressive.
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Really good but not great.
Rating (4)
Date: 2008-06-16
2 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
This was one of those Stephen King books for whatever reason I missed or skipped. I read it recently for the first time and I was very pleased. The story was fairly tight good characters, all in all very entertaining. One detractor is the "world" thru the painting is clearly Mid World or the world of the Dark Tower. While this is apparent to Tower fans, the casual SK reader will probably go "Huh?!" and "Whassit?" What the heck does "Ka is a wheel" mean?? - Grins. Well WE know, and I loved the subtle DT references, I had not know they were here before or I would have read sooner.
Other small complaint is Norman, while scary, doesn't make much sense. He functioned as a cop and all around regular person (tho abusive husband) for decades, and then his wife leaving him and taking his bank card turns him into a savage, cannibalistic monster? Why? Yes he was abused a child but - well its a stretch that we just have to accept. That this abusive husband of Rose could snap into a monster unlike we have ever seen. Recent SK novels spend more time "showing" the descent into madness of his villains rather that just have us accept they are mad. But this novel was 1994 I think?
The character of Rosie, however, is wonderful. I would love to see her again. We root for her from the first page to the last. She is one of his best crafted characters. We cheer every good thing that happens to her.
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Mythology grafted onto spousal abuse story doesn't quite work
Rating (3)
Date: 2008-05-10
3 out of 3 customers found this reveiw helpful
Rose Daniels is a woman who has been married to a policeman for 14 years. Unfortunately, he has subjected her to abuse of the most extreme variety for that entire time until she is finally spurred to leave him and begin a new life. After taking a bus to a new city, she starts to build a new life but her husband, Norman, hunts for her with murderous intent.
The first half of this book is pretty strong. There were a few unlikely plot developments such as Rose being ready for a relationship with a man just a month or so after escaping 14 years of living hell with her psychotic husband. But the characters and story largely carry you along and make you want to see what happens next. The most compelling and scary parts of the book, not surprisingly, are the scenes where Norman hunts for Rose. He is one sick puppy and King is a master at wringing both suspense and humor from characters like this.
Then, the story gets hijacked by a lengthy interlude that carries Rose into a world of Greek mythology by means of a magical painting. I enjoy supernatural elements in a horror story, but in this case it feels completely out of place and tacked on to the rest of the plot. I also didn't care for King's choice to basically reveal the ending during this interlude and tell us what will happen to resolve the situation with Norman.
All in all, Rose Madder is not one of King's best books. Some parts are riveting, but I found myself struggling to get through some chapters and generally found most of the second half to be predictable and weak. If you've never read one of Stephen King's books, then you should start with one of his stronger works such as The Shining or Misery. If you're a long time fan, then go ahead and give it a try, but keep your expectations modest or you'll probably be disappointed.
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Rose Madder
Rating  (5)
Date: 2008-03-19
1 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
Rose Madder
This was another one of king's great books,I love every one of his books.This one just shows women living like that can get out and survive.Some women die in those situations,They dont have to.I'm used to his horror stories(of course this is one in it's own way).I didnt think it would be as good but I was entranced to finish every word.He is truly one of the best Authors,I've been reading his books since i was a teen.I have not found one i dont like.
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