Rating: 
Summary: Good, but not up to King standards
Review: I'm biased, let's just start with that. If this had been written by another author, I may nave given it 5 stars, but having read at least ten of Stephen King's books in the past, I don't find it to be up to his usual unique chilling style.Parts of this book are great. The opening is fabulous. He really gets to the heart of how truly disgusting Norman is. No messing about there. But, as it continues, this book seems somewhat unnecessarily repetitive and predictable. I felt sort of underestimated as a reader in many parts. I get the fact that Norman wants to find Rose and "talk to her up close." I get that Rose is frightened. However, I don't get the quick romance between her and Bill. It seems as though King didn't want men to think he was man-bashing and women to think he was saying all men are evil, so he threw in the character of Bill, who's virtually a picture perfect guy. I thought it made Bill look sort of like a sissy, and not someone as strong as Rose would end up with. Other than this (which I think is a lot), I did enjoy the descriptions and actions inside the "alternate world," and I immensely liked the character of Anna Stevenson, who is disappointingly underused. Kind of a "Sleeping with the Enemy" meets "Alice Through the Looking Glass," but not a bad read, and I have hope for future great works from King.
Rating: 
Summary: Ruined by a horrible ending!
Review: I was really enjoying this book and was looking forward to the denouement, when King drops this absolute schlock on my head. How awful! And it's not like he couldn't do better. I've read most of his books, and I guess I just expected more. Up until the end, this was at least a four-star read (probably five), but I'm very picky about endings and this was just the pits!
Rating: 
Summary: Outstanding Insight into the Psyche
Review: I've never been much of a horror fan, especially of the hack-n-slash genre, but Stephen King's works are generally different because of the plausibility factor. The characters are (generally speaking) normal people involved in something with otherworldly origins. Founding the story in reality serves to heighten the impact of the supernatural, turning the contrast knob all the way over. In Rose Madder's picture, the reader finds it opens a door in Rosie's heart and mind as much as it does her body, carrying her out of herself into a world where she can overcome her limitations. In keeping with many of Mr. King's other works, the antagonist is a creature of pure evil who appears normal at first (to the world at large!) but degenerates into the loathsome beast it truly is as the story moves inexorably forward. (Leland Gaunt of Needful Things comes to mind). One facet of King's works that I particularly enjoy is his ability to let the reader in on what's going to happen in the future (generally something horrible), just to set the hook, and then drag the reader toward the conclusion, terrified and excited to see how it will all transpire (Wilma Jerzik and Nettie Cobb, Needful Things). Rose Madder is an exemplary novel in King's formidable body of work, and I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Why did I wait so long?
Review: When this book first came out. I looked at it because I had read over 18 of king's book. I read the back and said who want to read a book about a husband that beats his wife. I only looked for king's book with monster,vampire,aliens, or something evil. boy was I wrong about Rose madder. Froom the first page king take you into the lives of Rose and norman. Rose who can take no more pain see a drop of blood on her side of the bed after another beating from norman leaves never to return.Norman a cop who can never let his wife go. He want to find her so that he can talk to her up close. Rose with a new life and hopes finds a picture she most have in her new home away and free of her husband,and she also find true love. Norman using his skills as a cop to hunt Rose. The horror start. Norman want to hurt Rose he wants her dead. The picture that rose has hold the answer to her horror. It is the only hope she has. It is more than just a picture. This is just a little bit about the book. You must read. Don't let this go by.
Rating:
Summary: Rose is a powerful character
Review: I have always been a Stephen King fan but was mildly disappointed in Rose Madder. This is not an easy or fast read. Rose is quite an interesting character. We get just a glimpse of the turmoil she had endured with her husband. Rose changes quite dramatically from beginning to end and it was always a thrill to find out who and what she would encounter on the next page. Her husband, on the other hand. Such an evil man. His thoughts will send chills down your spine. King goes through great lengths telling much detail of his past and present. Alot of which I found boring and slow. With those final chapters, I was on the edge of my seat. What great suspense!
Rating:
Summary: Bravo Bravo!!
Review: Why no one has made this book required reading for young women I'll never know;Rose is "real" as the song suggests; she's frightened and feels helpless, but demonstrates such courage just leaving Norman like that; I was jumping up and down cheering her on. The ending makes you wish that a world like the one in the picture existed so the abusive spouses/boyfriends could be executed the way Norman was. This book should be passed out at women's shelters whenever anyone wants to go back to a dangerous realtionship.
Rating:
Summary: King's finest hour!
Review: "Rose Madder" is the stuff nightmares are made of, and that's not in a negative way, either. King's novel about a repressed housewife who leaves to begin a new life is densely atmospheric, filled with images stemming from the macabre and supernatural, and blending all of this into a terrific psychological drama which takes place in the minds of its characters. This is the perfect breaching of reality and fantasy; King is relentless in his details, meticulous in his plot structure, and handy with his use of borderline terror while keeping the intense horror and gorey images at bay, a far cry from his past novels but a winner just the same. We begin by an introduction into the life of Rose McClendon, a repressed housewife who cannot even venture out of the house without risking a brutal beating from her husband, Norman, of fourteen years. King layers on the emotions of Rose in this first piece of the novel, bringing to vivid life all of her feelings and fears as she reminisces about themany times her husband has attacked her, causing a miscarriage and a severe laceration of one of her lungs by a broken rib. We are also given the fact that he is a police officer, which makes it easier to understand why, given his status among society, many would never even think that his wife's scars and injuries lay at his hands. One day, while sitting in her favorite chair, she spots a single drop of blood on the snow-white bedspread, and all of her floodgates open, overwhelming her with intense emotion until she finds herself walking out of the house and down the street, not knowing where she is going, her husband's bank card in tow. She makes her way to a train station and flees from town, making her way to a small halfway house named "Daughters and Sisters," where she gets herself on her feet. This section of plot is done mostly through her feelings, the fear she feels in stealing a small amount of money from Norman, and the fact that she knows he will come looking for her and will succeed in finding her. Rose becomes a human in this stage of the novel, a human we can identify with on certain terms, and we can really begin to care for her and what happens to her. Soon, Rose is on her feet, with a job doing audio-books and a budding relationship with a clerk in a store. She met this man when she purchased a painting at his shop, a painting that seems to call out to her. It is of a woman in a "rose-madder chiton" standing on a hill, peering down at the ruins of a temple beneath her, the sky cloudy and thunderous. Rose takes it to her new place and hangs it on the wall, and soon strange things begin to happen, until she finds herself traversed between two worlds, the real world and the utterly surreal realm of the painting. King's masterful use of macabre imagery and atmosphere bring the painting's world to life, rising to the brink of horror but keeping its status as a psyche thriller. It is at this point that Rose's worst nightmare has come true: Norman has come calling, and this time he's looking for more than just a conversation where he can talk to her "up close." This time, he is out for revenge of the utmost evil kind, and what will ensue in the final chapters of the novel is a meeting of these two rich worlds and a climax that is chilling and gratifying in its execution. The most commendable aspect of this novel is King's characterization. Rose is brought to life so vividly, and so emotionally, through King's intensified descriptions of her subconscious, diving into her fears and thoughts, bringing each one of them to light at important moments in the novel. He places his audience right into the mix with her, so that we can experience every action she takes and can imagine the possible consequences she will pay later in the novel. King also dives deeply into the mind of her deranged husband, Norman, who is shown as a psychopath in the very beginning, but goes even crazier with rage as each little nuance of his wife's departure turns up. King's ability to match the description of his settings with his descriptions of his characters is what keeps this novel moving. This is not typical King fare, either. It strays from the usual horror/gore that king has given us over the years, and instead gives us scares that seem to chill us instead of grossing us out. His descriptions of the woman in the painting go into detail, but as we see it through Rose's eyes, things are left unseen to both Rose and the audience, which is quite eerie and keeps us right alongside our heroine for the journey. His climactic finish is very admirable and intelligent, and leads us to believe that we will see more of his works turn out like this. Like its characters, "Rose Madder" is a force to be reckoned with, and a good one at that. King brings virtually everything to life, leaving no stones unturned, giving us a true psychological story that takes us to the brink of madness and surreal worlds.
Rating:
Summary: Rose Madder
Review: Rose Madder is the thrilling, suspenseful story of a woman, Rose McClendon, running away from her abusive husband. She is scared to do so because he's a police officer who knows how to hide his mistakes well. One day, she is pushed too far and leaves while her husband is at work. He follows her to Kansas City and the suspense begins. This book compares to other books written by King in its gripping manner. It gives colorful descriptions for the reader to picture. I reccomend this to anyone who is a King fan. The book has many high points, and it was very well written. The vivid descriptions really help you picture what exactly is going on. One thing that, in my opinion, could be changed is the first chapter or two. This part of the book drags out and you wait and wait for something to happen.
Rating:
Summary: Rose Madder
Review: This book is excellent. I can really relate with the life of the main character. The book starts out with a wife Rose Daniels of an abusive husband. She can't get the courage to leave him and she has been taking these beatings for around fourteen years. Finally one day she gets the courage to leave him and she moves away. It seems that everything will be all right from here on out but what she doesn't know is that her husband can't live with out her and is looking for her. This book is written from what seems like a person who has been in an abusive relationship there self. Stephen King puts you in this book he makes you feel like you are the one doing all the actions through out the book. I would definitely recommend this book but I would have to say it should be read by a more mature reader. There are a few dry parts in the book but over all it is great and you wont be able to put it down from the time you pick it up or at least I had a hard time putting it down.
Rating:
Summary: King Gets Better With Time
Review: WOW! What a book. I had not read any Stephen King in years, not since The Tommyknockers was released. I think I managed to wade through half of that book, and then could stand no more of the same stuff he had churned out for years. But, what a difference a day, or in this case several years, makes. I read this immediately following Bag of Bones, the best Stephen King I have ever read. After racing through that, Rose Madder was recommended to me, as being another King book that offered something different. Demons of a different kind. Demons of the past, but demons that were just as real as the creatures of his prior novels. Rose, the novel's central character, extricates herself from an abusive marriage, and leaves her life behind to start over when she has finally had enough of her husband, Norman. Suffering physical and emotional torture for years, she finally summons the courage to run. Norman isn't quite so eager to split, though, not until he 'punishes' Rose for daring to mistreat him so. Starting over in a new town, with a new life, and finding new life in herself, Rose sinks into a false security of relative anonymity. She finds an old painting in a junk shop, of a woman in a 'red' dress, which seems to call to her to buy it for her new apartment. The painting continues to haunt and mesmerize her, and eventually becomes her salvation, for just when she thinks she has escaped her former life, found a new career, and perhaps a new love, the demons of her past come back to haunt her, in the form of Norman, bent on making her pay for her 'crimes' against him. This book blends just the right amount of fantasy with reality as the story builds to a rather climactic finish, as hunter becomes hunted, predator becomes prey. This is one of the strongest King novels I can ever recall reading, and proof that his writing gets better with time. In Rose Madder, he takes a very different turn and explores real humans and their emotions just as vividly as his horrific creatures have been. I recommend this book to King fans and non-King fans alike.
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