Rose Madder
Rose Madder book cover

Rose Madder

Audio Cassette – Unabridged, July 1, 1995

by
Price
$10.99
Publisher
Penguin Audio
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-0140861587
Dimensions
4.5 x 3.75 x 7.25 inches
Weight
1.35 pounds

Description

From Library Journal In King's (Insomnia, Audio Reviews, LJ 1/95) latest work, the physical and psychological relationship of an abused wife, Rose, and her psychopathic husband, Norman, is laid bare. When Rose walks out on their 14-year-old marriage and makes a new life, Norman, a police detective, uses his investigative skills to track her down. While developing her self-assurance, Rose visits a pawn shop whose owner is as mesmerized with her as she is with an eerie, mythological painting. She swaps her engagement ring for the art, hangs the painting in her new apartment, and strange, surreal things start to happen. Meanwhile, Norman simply can't let Rose walk out on him, and his relentless pursuit fuels the tension and suspense. The recording is narrated by the author (as Norman) and actress Blair Brown (as Rose). Purchase wherever King is popular.?Kristin M. Jacobi, Mitchell Coll. Lib., New London, Ct.Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. From AudioFile After Rose Daniels flees her abusive husband her first job is narrating audiobooks, a coincidence that will intrigue listeners, but might have less impact in print. Rose's voice is wonderful as her employer points out--soft, silky and dynamic. Blair Brown projects this, as well as Rose's hesitancy, fear, growing self-confidence, then fear again as she's tracked down by Norman, her brutal cop husband. Stephen King reads the chapters in which Norman narrates and, unfortunately his nasal voice is just not believable as the foul-mouthed sadist. King intrudes with his narrative and snaps the listener out of the immersion Brown fosters. The long program is nicely cued, and good electronic sound adds to the tension. With so many cassettes, better packaging is a must, even for an individual listener. R.F.W. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Features & Highlights

  • Rosie Daniels flees her nightmare marriage to find refuge in a strange city, far from her brutal husband, whose relentless savagery and mad obsessions follow her to her sanctuary.

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
60%
(3K)
★★★★
25%
(1.3K)
★★★
15%
(758)
★★
7%
(354)
★
-7%
(-354)

Most Helpful Reviews

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a masterpiece by any other name...

The more I read by Stephen King, the more entranced I become by his work as a whole. In particular, I have come to seek out the various threads of the Dark Tower that are woven through many of his books. Rose Madder, which does indeed weave itself into King's masterwork (while maintaining its viability as a "stand-alone" novel) is a masterpiece.
Norman Daniels, though thoroughly human, is a monster more horrible that many of King's worst beasts. Cujo has nothing on him when it comes to ferocity. Annie Wilkes looks downright domestic when compared to Normie.
Yet evil is not the whole name of the game in Rose Madder. It is more of a story about finding life-even in the shadow of death. Norman's wife Rose is a character for the ages (one of King's greatest creations)-and in spite of Norman-this is her story.
I don't want to give away too much of this wonderful story. Rose Madder is a masterpiece of gradual revelation. So rather than sucking the life out of it, I'll just make a few random comments:
First, I give this book my full recommendation. There are scenes of horrid nastiness here...yet there are also moments of great hope and beauty. King captures a great truth of life in this.
Rose Madder has some wonderfully developed minor characters (one of which becomes a big character in one of King's later novels-Desperation). One character-Gert, is my all time favorite "King" minor character. She sends Norman a great "message."
I must finally note that the audio version of this book is wonderfully done by both King (Norman's Perspective) and Blair Brown (Rose's Perspective). Rose Madder is certainly not King's most "important" or even representative novel. That said--it still gets my five stars.
81 people found this helpful
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A Great Reading of a Great Book!

This was one of my favorite King books when I first read it the 'old-fashioned way,' page by page. It's a great story about a woman's newfound independence, and what she has to go through to acheive it. The story itself is worth the price.
When I listening to it as an audiobook, one finds that the reading can make or break the presentation. Fortunately, King teams up with Blair Brown, with Ms. Brown reading all of the parts told from Rose's perspective, and King reading the parts told from Rose's violent husband Norman's point of view.
Blair Brown is a wonderful reader for any book. I've gotten to the point where I'll listen to an audiobook just because she reads it, whether I'm really into the book or not. She brings an individual subtlety and life to each character, without making it corny or overdone. The fact that Rose, the main character, takes a job as a reader of audiobooks about midway in the novel makes it all the more fitting.
King has always read his own work well, and this is no exception. His parts, because they are the parts of the 'villain' are not always easy to listen to, but they are always well-performed. His reading style, surprisingly, works well with Brown's.
This is not an easy book. The subject matter is difficult, ranging from miscarriage to spousal abuse of the worst kind. The calculated nature of Norman's character makes it all the more disturbing. The plot has twists and turns like any of King's best novels, and despite a slight misstep at the end, still leaves the reader (or listener) pretty well-satisfied. The reading is as close to perfect as one could hope.
This is one of my favorite audiobooks, and a prize of my personal collection.
8 people found this helpful
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A Compelling Story - and very well read

One of my all time favorite stories. In typical King fashion, we get deep into the hearts and minds of the characters. We can totally empathize with Rose, the terror she feels towards her brutal husband, her paralyzing fear as she goes out into the world all alone. We cheer for her as she begins her new life, finds friends, finds herself, and maybe even love.
This was the first audio book I ever purchased, and I have to admit, it's been hard to find ones that measure up to this. The story is written from two perspectives - the villain, Norman, and his wife, Rosie, who finally leaves him after years of violent abuse. At first I thought it was odd that there were "Rose chapters" and "Norman chapters", but as the story progressed, I found that it really enhanced the story. As Norman goes 'trolling' for Rose, their stories begin to overlap. As he closes is on her, the chapters seems to close in on each other as well - it really adds to the tension. It's actually quite brilliant.
The story is read by Stephen King (who reads the Norman chapters) and Blair Underwood (who reads the Rosie chapters). Although I am not usually a big fan of Stephen King's audio reading (I find his voice kind of annoying), in this case it suits the story. And Blair Underwood is absolutely amazing. Since hearing her read this book, I've purchased other works she's read, just for her reading.
This is definitely an audio book worth getting!
3 people found this helpful

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