Book #159: Rose Madder by Stephen King

 

Rose Madder

Stephen King

 Released: July 1st, 1995

My 25th book for 2026 was Stephen King's "Rose Madder".

The last month I had some personal things going on in life, so I had to cut back on reading.  I still plan to hit my goal of 70+ by year's end, but have new things to focus on in life that take higher precedent.  So if I do, cool.  If I don't hit the goal, it's all good.

My best friend Tim has been recommending this book for me for ages.  He even loaned me the book for several months and I never read it.  I'm bad at that.  People recommend me books and I either get stuck in a one-track mind with reading, or become a procrastinator.  But finally I got this one read.

This is my first Stephen King novel to be read.  I tried reading The Stand a few years back, but didn't make it through.  I did read "Rainy Season" in Midnight Graffiti, and really enjoyed it.  I do want to read more of his books, I just struggle to get into the groove.  It's similar to Dean Koontz.  I want to read him, but unsure where to start.

It's a dark book in a way.  Rosie is in an abusive relationship with her husband Norman.  She steals his bank card and runs away to a women's shelter that helps her to get back on her feet.  Norman stalks behind and discovers her whereabouts before going on a murderous rampage.  There is a final showdown where Rosie's newfound strength is tested.  In the later part, there is an homage in the form of a tree to be revisited annually.

I struggled with this one.  This was my first Stephen King book, which has been recommended to me all my life.  He is a good writer, but I struggled at the beginning.  I'm not sure if it's trying to envision the scenes, or just distracted by other things, but his writing needs attention to it.  The depth of which he describes scenes is great, however in the manner of horror and pure torture, he can be excessive.

My issue with this is that, yes, there are some horrible men out there who do absolutely horrific things.  Norman is sadly a very common stereotype for men.  Abusive, alcoholic, disrespectful.  This leads to distrust.  There are some great men out there, but people like Norman bring shame to not only themselves, but to good people in general.  At times I felt like I wanted to jump in, stop him, tell him to shut up, and just be respectful.  I think that's where King's writing is compelling.  It engages you.  You feel the heat, anger, and tension between the characters.

King's books explore themes that are not common, and borderline on psychotic extremes.  There's certainly some disturbing content in this one.

I never knew of Rose Matter until Tim recommended it.  The more detective and mystery-like elements were good, and King's changing Norman's thoughts and "storyline" into Italics was a good writing style.  I'd be inclined to read more, but probably one I'm more familiar with.  I do want to check out Dean Koontz at some point as well.  I don't know if they are comparable, but I generally associate both authors in the same sentence.

Here is what I learned:

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• This book is for Joan Marks.

• “I'm really Rosie, And I'm Rosie Real, You better believe me, I'm a great big deal...” - Maurice Sendak.

• “A bloody egg yolk. A burnt hole spreading in a sheet. An enraged rose threatening to bloom.” - May Swenson.

• Rosie Daniels is the lead character.

• Rosie is reading “Misery’s Journey”.

• Rosie suffers a miscarriage.

• Her husband Norman assaults her killing the baby faster.

• “The concept of dreaming is known to the waking mind but to the dreamer there is no waking, no real world, no sanity; there is only the screaming bedlam of sleep.”

• The miscarriage happens in 1985.

• 1985 was the year of the miscarriage, Wendy Yarrow, and the official reprimand.

• Rosie had over a dozen miscarriages.

• Norman is abusive.

• Norman loved to bite.

• Rosie endured this for 14 years.

• “I have to take this a step at a time.  If I think even one step ahead, I’m going to lose my nerve.”

• “No more.”

• Ann Corso is an Avon Lady.

• Her telephone number is 555-1731.

• “In that instant she knew what it must feel like to cross a river into a foreign country, and then set fire to the bridge behind you, and stand on the riverbank, watching and breathing deeply as your only chance of retreat went up in smoke.”

• “Paint n Carpet World” has a pay phone in front of it.

• The couple lives in Mapleton.

• Rosie uses the name “Angela Flyte”.

• “This man saw women like her all the time, women hiding behind dark glasses, women buying tickets to different timezones, women who looked as if they had forgotten who they were somewhere along the way, and what they thought they were doing, and why.”

• “I’m really Rosie…Rosie Real.”

• Rosie asked Travelers’ Aid volunteer Peter Slowik for help.

• Daughters and Sisters is a shelter for battered women.

• They are located at 251 Durham Drive.

• Hot Pot is her preferred coffee shop.

• Liberty City Loan & Pawn

• “When I need something uplifting, I’ll buy a support bra.”

• Bill Steiner runs the pawn shop.

• Rose trades her wedding ring for a painting titled “Rose Madder”.

• Rob Lefferts wants Rose to read from a 1946 book called “Dark Passage” by David Goodis.

• Rose was born in 1962.

• "Yes. That's really all art is about, I think, and not just pictures-it's the same with books and stories and sculpture and even castles in the sand. Some things call to us, that's all. It's as if the people who made them were speaking inside our heads. But this particular painting... is it beautiful to you, Rosie?"

• Rose’s new address is 897 Trenton Street.

• Rent is $320/month.

• “I hate the idea that everything we do gets done because of the things people have done to us.”

• The picnic is at Ettinger’s Pier.

• The Rose Madder picture does not contain an artist’s signature.

• Rosie would hike to the Lakeview Mall to save $10.

• Norman is sexually abusive with his tennis racket.

• Bill rides motorcycles.

• “It's not pain I'm afraid of; I know about pain. What I'm afraid of is the end of this small, sweet dream. I've had so few of them, you see.”

• Wendy Yarrow is the slutty high-yellow gal.

• Rhonda smokes Capris.

• Norman is registered as “Alvin Dodd” at the Whitestone.

• Rosie only had a little powder and 2-3 lipsticks with Norman.

• Norman once told her “If I wanted to look at a hooker, I would have married one.”

• Rosie likes to shower in the dark.

• Law enforcement is a family and cops are brothers.

• The new John Grisham novel is $16 at Walmart plus tax.

• No More Than 5 is a store where everything costs $5 or less.

• Anna Stevenson had been Mrs. Thumper before 1973.

• Della Femmina is an Italian restaurant.

• It is the nicest restaurant Rosie has ever been in.

• Norman shaves his head bald like Michael Jordan.

• Harley’s run in the Steiner family.

• Bill’s father has glaucoma.

• Vulpes Fulva are red foxes.

• Bill was once engaged to a woman named Bronwyn O’Hara.

• She died of a brain aneurysm.

• Gert can do a flying drop that Hulk Hogan would envy.

• Gert lost her virginity at Baptist Youth Camp in 1974.

• “Why won’t he let me alone?”

• “If God lets me, I’m gonna kill you twice.”

• “[Pamela Anna] sounds like a fruity dessert in a snooty California restaurant.”

• "Yeah, well, I want to finish today.  It's only another twenty pages. I want to finish the damned thing, Rho."

• Rose Madder was written June 10, 1993 - November 17, 1994.

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Overall, if you enjoy suspenseful thrillers with some deep and disturbing elements, this will be your cup of tea.  It's not my favorite book, but if I'm rating objectively, it reads decently.

Recommended.

On to Book #160: Batman by Craig Shaw Gardner.

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Need to catch up?  See previous blog post: Sons of the Profits by William C. Speidel.