Thursday, May 19, 2011

Interview review with J: Christine by Stephen King

Title/Author: Christine by Stephen King. (Audio)

Narrator: Holter Graham.

Genre: Horror.

Publisher: Penguin Audiobooks.

Source: Purchased.

Synopsis: It was love at first sight. From the moment 17-year-old Arnie Cunningham saw Christine, he knew he would do anything to possess her. But Christine is no lady. She is Stephen King's ultimate vehicle of terror.~Amazon.com

My husband's favorite book is Christine.  He doesn't really like to sit and read (except for car magazines) so he asked for the audio book for Christmas and I thought I would chat with him about it.  The thing you should know about my spouse, hereafter known as "J" is that he is a "car guy/gear head."  He has known the make and model of every car on the road since he was three years old, before he could even read.  He seems to know everything about them, from correct VIN numbers to years of production to available options.  I call him the "Rain Man" of cars or "Captain Car Man".  I've often wondered if there is a way he can utilize his talent for some kind of police work.  But I digress...check out what J thinks of Christine.

MR: What made you want to listen to this?
J: Christine is my favorite book because it’s about cars. I love horror and the cars made it even cooler. I love the fact that King picked an offbeat car because it made it more interesting.

MR: How is it an offbeat car?
J: It's a '58 Plymouth Fury.  It was never considered a classic and it didn't really get much "play" until Christine came out.

MR: Did you like listening to Christine as opposed to reading it?
J: I liked listening to it. I’m not really happy with the radio stations and this made me want to get in the car.

MR: How was the narration?
J: The narration was very good. He changed his voice with the different people. It wasn’t over the top, it was just enough.

MR: Any complaints?
J: King should have researched car terminology better. It was enough that I noticed but that would only matter to a “car guy.” He was close, but he missed a couple of things.

MR: How was the printed book compared to the audio book compared to the movie?
J: I liked the book and audio book better than the movie. Don’t get me wrong, the movie was great, but they cut a lot out.

MR: Besides the car, what do you like about Christine?
J: It’s a love triangle between Arnie, Christine and Leigh.  I feel that is the plot.  Nice and simple.  Stephen King is also my favorite author.  He builds suspense really well and he's got a twisted vengeful side.  Which I'm all *about*!

MR: Who is your favorite character?
J: Besides Christine? Arnie Cunningham. I can relate to him in a lot of ways because I was a geek in High School and I was an outsider and I also remember that cars was the thing that calmed me down and made me happy, just like him.

MR: Yes, I know you like your revenge in stories...
J: Yes, definitely! The revenge aspect reminded me of Deathwish because it's the underdog giving the bad guys their come-uppance.

MR: One of the themes I see is transformation.  What are your thoughts on that?
J: Arnie transforms from meek to assertive and then even more to almost a bully himself and then of course to being possessed.  It kind of reflects the car when he found it. Christine was rotting in a yard and Arnie fixed her up to be a beautiful showpiece.  The two of them transformed together.

MR: Did you think it was scary?
J: No, it wasn’t scary. It wasn’t even creepy it was just kind of cool.

MR: You weren’t scared at all?
J: Car guys don’t get scared by cars.

12 comments:

Savannah said...

Great interview! And so cool that you interview your husband! Nice twist! I have heard of this book but have not read it. Is there a movie of it?

Midnyte Reader said...

Yes, there is a movie! It's pretty good too. Made in the 80's I think.

Kaitlyn Devin and Grace said...

I've never been a super huge Stephen King fan, but I've heard that if you read only one or two, this should be one of them. I think I'll have to give it a try one of these days. I did read one of his books, Desperation, only because it was based on my home town, Ely Nevada.

-Kate the Book Buff
The Book Buff: Book Reviews for Regular People

Alyssa Kirk said...

Fun interview! I haven't read the book or seen the movie but my dad's a car guy and spends lots of time commuting. I think I'll get this for him!

And that last answer cracked me up!

Missie, The Unread Reader said...

Well, that is a different kind of love triangle, to have included the car. How curious and cool.

Great idea for an interview. When J mentioned the car terminology, I just had to laugh because since I'm not into cars, I probably wouldn't have noticed, but of course a car person would.

Logan E. Turner said...

That last line is hilarious! I've always wanted to read this and never got around to it - so true for lots of SK books though. :)

Kate @Midnight Book Girl said...

What a great idea! And of course, I'm a fan of any Stephen King fan. :)

Danielle Zappavigna said...

'Car guys don’t get scared by cars' - hilarious :-)

Midnyte Reader said...

@Kaitlyn-I haven't gotten around to reading Desperation yet. Any good?
@Alyssa-I hope your dad likes it. Maybe you should interview him...
@Missie-I didn't notice anything about the car terminology either. But that kind of thing drives him crazy. He notices it all the time.
@Logan-There's quite a few of his books I haven't gotten to yet.
@Kate-Thx!
@Mummazappa-I thought that comment was funny too. He didn't even realize it was funny.

xjd7410@gmail.com said...
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Penelope Sanchez said...

I think this is a really interesting read and probably worth the read just for diversion sake. If you're looking for reality, King is (in this book at least) the wrong place to look. But if you have a kind of "what if..." imagination, I think this classic work will entertain you a lot. I loved it. Oh, and if you are a writer, you'll learn a lot about your craft.

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rommelxaine said...

After enjoying this movie for years I finally decided to break down and read the book.. All I can say is, The book is WAY better! I thoroughly enjoyed it and enjoyed seeing the different twists that the movie didn't have!

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