#41 – Rage

Plot

A disturbed high-school student with authority problems kills one of his teachers and takes the rest of his class hostage.

Over the course of one long, tense and unbearable hot afternoon, Charlie Decker explains what led him to this drastic sequence of events, while at the same time deconstructing the personalities of his classmates, forcing each one to justify his or her existence.

Review

Once I started to make enough money that I didn’t have to go bargain hunting for used books, I typically went to Amazon for all my new King books. All of them were easy to find and ran anywhere from $10-$30.

Except for Rage – some folks wanted $300 for this novel which made no sense to me. Since I don’t read anything about an upcoming book beforehand, I only realized after I had finished why it was so expensive (and no, I did not spend $300 for one novel – fortunately Rage is still being printed in The Bachman Books collection).

Stephen King asked for Rage to be pulled from production in the late-1990s because gun shootings in school (the premise for this book) was starting to become more prevalent in America. 2022 says to hold its beer.

Rage is very-early King – published originally in 1977 (his 4th novel). And while it does deal with gun violence, the foundation of this book deals with mental health.  The main character – Charlie – who is holding his class hostage begins to have very nuanced conversations with his classmates. The more his classmates learn about Charlie, the more they understand and empathize with his current situation. What an amazing concept, eh? Listening!

Details

Pages: 149

Dates Read: June 2019

Quote: “When you’re five and you hurt, you make a big noise in the world. At ten you whimper. But by the time you make fifteen you begin to eat the poisoned apples that grow on your own inner tree of pain.”

Best Part: Charlie’s classmates turn from hostages into rioters.

Hint for #40: A common phrase said at the end of phone calls.

 

Until next time, peace be the journey.