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Average Customer Rating: 
Rose Madder >
Customer Review #1:
 An uneven, yet definitely admirable attempt!
First off, dear reader, we all need to learn that Stephen King is not God. He is an immensely talented man, probably the best contemporary author of mass market books (in my opinion). But he is human, and stumbles every now and then. Even when he stumbles, I still cannot put him down, as was the case with Rose Madder. I dont have any problem with the general theme of the book, indeed, its very satisfying. Norman is Kings most monstrous human villain since Annie Wilkes. (Try not to be at the edge of your seat as he slowly moves in on his wife.) No, its not really the story I have a problem with, even though I felt that this time, the supernatural elements could have been left out and a more satisfying ending would have been for Rose herself to afce Norman down, instead of some bizarre, unexplained mystery woman who looks like Rose, but isnt. (King has this habit of late of not really telling us who the supernatural characters are...and we end up on the last page asking, "What was that all about?" See Storm of the Century to learn more on that.) No, my only real problem is that King is so so careful not to upset readers that he makes a few missteps in the battered women storyline. First off, kudos to him for even approaching this topic. The first 5 pages of the book are among the most terrifying hes ever written. Yet, he has Rose spend a month in a womans shelter after 14 years of severe abuse by an evil man, and after that, she can fall into a relationship with anothe rman just like that! I think it would have been more interesting, and built up Rose more as a character had she not fallen in love and made it truly on her own. (Considering Roses new love interest is the anti-Norman, that is, one of Kings dullest characters ever conceived.) King also seems to take pains to show us that battered women dont hate men (this can be true) and amazingly, not one of the women in this book is a lesbian, indeed, he bends over backward to stress that point. (Yet, when they hold a fundraiser later in the book, who is the headlining act? None other than The Indigo Girls!)That said, I think that by trying too carefully to avoid any such issue, the story feels flawed. Indeed, Rose seeking other women for comfort and love seems a more natural conclusion than the tacked on love interest who makes me yawn just by thinking about him. This should not hamper ones enjoyment of the novel (and its a thrillride) but nor should it be taken as how women in shelters all are (so desperate to prove that they STILL LIKE MEN!) All this, and a strange coda that seems to have been borrowed from "The Lord of the Rings." You half expect to hear Rose start hissing, "My preciousssssss" when she has her ex-husbands ring. Despite all this, it was a Stephen King novel, and while I am pickier than most, a mediocre King novel is sure a heck of a lot more pleasurable than most of the books out there. I think this book actually needs a sequel...I want to see more of Roses strange painting world.
Rose Madder >
Customer Review #2:
 This is an amazing book
ROSE MADDER has everything. Its:a real life thriller, with real life horror
a story of courage and survival
a fantasy adventure
a love story
a dark comedy
a satirical look at the left liberal political community Im sure I could come up with more, given the time. Rosie McClendon is a heroine who gains the readers utmost sympathy with the insane horror of the abuse she has endured, and her courage in leaving despite her terror. As she builds a new life and digs out her true character, long buried by subjugation to her brutal husband, we admire her and enjoy her humor and spunk. Norman Daniels, the viciously abusive husband she leaves, is one of the most terrifying, compelling, horrifyingly likeable, and darkly funny villians I can imagine. The sections written from his point of view are chilingly enjoyable. He sets out to find her by getting inside her head, "trolling," as he calls it. He imagines he is her, and does everything she would do, tracing her every step with deadly accuracy, leaving a trail of mutilated corpses in his wake. When Norman acquires a hokey rubber bull mask at a carnival, uses it as a hand puppet and begins having conversations with it, well, we know he has really lost it. I found these scenes quite funny. When he follows Rosie into the painting she bought at a pawn shop, he merges with the mask to become a sort of Minotaur. Normans crimes, and the cunning with which he stalks his prey, are only too believable. In a fully realistic novel, his end would be predictable - lifelong incarceration in a prison for the criminally insane, or getting killed somehow. Only in a fantasy world with the aid of supernatural figures is it possible to wreak satisfying vengeance for such crimes.
Rose Madder >
Customer Review #3:
Awesome
I thought this book was great-all i have to say is the husban got what he deserved what he got
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