À Little Tall, on ne sais toujours pas exactement ce qui s'est passé il y a trente ans, et si l'accident qui, le jour de l'éclipse, a coûté la vie ...
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Jan 10, 2012
Book Concierge
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The entire novel is told by Dolores Claiborne in her sworn statement to the investigating police. Her employer of 40 years has died in a tragic accident … or did Dolores kill her? Dolores doesn’t pull any punches, she tells us on page two that she did not kill Vera Donovan (though Vera deserved killing, more than once … she was a high-riding bitch). No, Dolores did nothing to hasten old Mrs Donovan’s ending … but she did kill her husband, Joe St George, twenty-nine years ago.
King More...
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Jul 07, 2008
Phoebe
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How the hell does Stephen King create such sympathetic, multifaceted, complex and wonderfully written sixty-year-old women?
I initially found myself extremely annoyed by the lack of chapter breaks. This is my problem, really, not King's, because I don't have the self control to stop reading without a discernible break in the action. But there is no break here, and that's the point--Dolores' four hundred page monologue sweeps the reader rapidly through a rather ugly life. By the time w More...
I initially found myself extremely annoyed by the lack of chapter breaks. This is my problem, really, not King's, because I don't have the self control to stop reading without a discernible break in the action. But there is no break here, and that's the point--Dolores' four hundred page monologue sweeps the reader rapidly through a rather ugly life. By the time w More...
Feb 16, 2008
Clare
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Unlike most King novels I believe, this does not include anything supernatural. It is an interesting story told by the title character in the form of an unbroken monologue. A hard-working abused mother of one, Dolores starts her story where she is being accused of the murder of her long time, aged wealthy employer Vera Donovan, with suspicions also about the disappearance of Dolores' no good sleaze bag husband.
There are some great lines in this book, as Dolores and Vera's working r More...
There are some great lines in this book, as Dolores and Vera's working r More...
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Jun 11, 2008
Brian
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This is the Stephen King book that I recommend to anyone who says they don't like horror books. Simply put, this is the story of a woman who kills her husband... I'm not giving anything away, you know this from the first few pages. This is as good as any suspense novel you'll find, but with real, true character development that makes you care about the protagonist, sympathize with her decision and feel genuinely sick to your stomach as she prepares to do the evil deed.
I tore throug More...
I tore throug More...
Apr 22, 2008
Hayley
rated it: 
If i could give this book half a star I would. This is the first Stephen King book that I have actually hated - I couldn't get in to the story and having the character talk in dialect was really annoying - it actually looked like a badly spelt book. The story could have been interesting if it had started with the beginning and so on but it started near the end of the story, the the main character starts in the middle of her story and moves backwards and forwards. This is a book I would not recom
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Dec 02, 2011
Sam
rated it: 
SPOILERS
Dolores Claiborne is being questioned by police over the death of her employer, Vera Donovan, who broke her back falling down the stairs - or was she pushed? But as Dolores tells her story, it turns out she is responsible for a death, just not Vera's.
Stephen King chose to write this novel in the first person voice of Dolores who speaks in a very folksy, colloquially New England style, and it's up to the reader whether or not this voice is something you can handle More...
Dolores Claiborne is being questioned by police over the death of her employer, Vera Donovan, who broke her back falling down the stairs - or was she pushed? But as Dolores tells her story, it turns out she is responsible for a death, just not Vera's.
Stephen King chose to write this novel in the first person voice of Dolores who speaks in a very folksy, colloquially New England style, and it's up to the reader whether or not this voice is something you can handle More...
Aug 13, 2011
Joanne
rated it: 
I read Delores Claiborne after being lent it by a mate who thought I would enjoy it, despite the fact it's outside my comfort zone genre wise. I was originally doubtful about how much I'd enjoy it, sure it would be a long ol' slog to get through and not particularly looking forward to it, but my mate had lent it to me, so I had to give it a go. Turns out it wasn't that bad.
I originally found the way it was written pretty annoying; it's written colloquially, and it takes a while to ge More...
I originally found the way it was written pretty annoying; it's written colloquially, and it takes a while to ge More...
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Feb 22, 2011
Jason
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I know that many Constant Readers consider this one of King's "eh" works. You know, one of the ones that is easily overlooked, and when someone points at it at a store and says to a fellow King fan, "which one's this about again?", the one who's read it or at least knows a cent about it will roll their eyes and go, "oh, its about this lady blah blah blah a well blah blah blah."
But....to tell you the truth, it isn't bad. Not at all.
certainly it' More...
But....to tell you the truth, it isn't bad. Not at all.
certainly it' More...
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Sep 26, 2010
R.E.
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I listened to the audio version of this book when it first came out and thought it was brilliant. I don't think I've ever heard a better performance in an audio book. Frances Sternahagen does such a terrific job bringing the story to life.
Earlier this week, I read the book, and reading it enabled me to better appreciate the amazing writing and storytelling. There are no sections or chapters. The entire story is the title character explaining to the police that although she might hav More...
Earlier this week, I read the book, and reading it enabled me to better appreciate the amazing writing and storytelling. There are no sections or chapters. The entire story is the title character explaining to the police that although she might hav More...
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Feb 28, 2011
Monica
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This was my first Stephen King book and I have to say I was quite pleased with the story. I have heard how scary his books are and that has been one of the reasons I have avoided reading his novels. I am glad that I finally took the time to give Stephen King a try.
Dolores Claiborne is the story of a woman who reveals the truth about her husbands death years latere because the woman that she has been caring for the past years dies and people in the town start talking about her havin More...
Dolores Claiborne is the story of a woman who reveals the truth about her husbands death years latere because the woman that she has been caring for the past years dies and people in the town start talking about her havin More...
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Sep 24, 2011
Catie
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I haven’t read very many from Stephen King (well, okay, I’ve read nine but seven of those were Dark Tower books). This is the least supernatural, most realistic of his that I’ve read. Yeah, there’s a teeny smidge of the supernatural in this book (which really, wasn’t at all necessary, but maybe he just can’t help himself), but the majority of the material here comes from cold, stark reality. It’s still completely frightening and gruesome, but in a subtle and restrained way that I really love.
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Jun 25, 2010
Nicholas
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Maybe I just haven't read enough books, but I have yet to read a book that was written in the manner of this. D.C. (I don't feel like writing the whole thing each time) is written in the first person but the context is of a person telling a story to three listeners. What is wholly amazing about this book is that not once during the story does it ever lose this feeling. I've talked myself for 3 hours straight but I feel even that would have paled in comparison to the diatribe D.C. goes on to her
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Sep 16, 2011
Michael
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I've seen the movie version many times and it's one of my favorite films. The cinematography really captured the melancholy and loneliness of the story. By reading the book, I felt that the inferior status afforded to women was prevalent, even for a very rich woman like Vera Donovan. In the end, it was her own fear, shame and guilt that got her. The money was from her husband, and at the end of the novel, Dolores realized that keeping the money would only bind her to a fate she did not want.
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Jun 21, 2010
Sarah
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According to a book of Stephen King criticism that I recently didn't finish reading because it was by and large total nonsense, some of Mr. King's squillion readers complained in the late 80s when people got concerned about these things that he didn't really DO women characters -- anodyne props, madonna/whore, blah blah blah. Being Stephen King, he apparently responded by saying "Then I shall write Dolores Claiborne and Gerald's Game." While I don't think that child molestation and a
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May 25, 2010
Kp
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Jan 31, 2012
Michael
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Dolores Claiborne takes the form of a 400 page monologue by the titular character describing in great detail how she DID kill her husband, Joe, on the day of the eclipse in 1963 but that she DIDN'T kill her longtime employer, that high riding bitch, Vera Donovan the day prior to the monologue. And I'm not giving anything away since dolores tells us so on page two King decides to keep the confessional open by refusing to take chapter breaks and he wonderfully captures the sound of the Little Tal
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Feb 02, 2011
Natacha
rated it: 
Este Dolores Claiborne é um livro pequeno, onde se conta a vida de uma mulher igual à de tantas mulheres por este mundo fora. Dolores é uma mulher já com alguma idade que se vê forçada a relembrar e reviver a sua vida com Joe St. George, o marido que morreu, de forma violenta, há trinta anos atrás, como forma de enquadrar a relação que mantinha com Vera Donovan, a patroa irascÃvel de quem cuidava e que morreu de forma aparentemente suspeita. Dolores Claiborne torna-se a principal suspeita deste
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Dec 07, 2011
Ercsi91
rated it:
I found this book in our local library and even thought I already have a Stephen King novel, this was the first one for me.
I read that this book isn't the typical "Stephen King horror", more like a crime novel.
The suspance can be easily seen, more or less the fact that there weren't chapter a bit made me confused, cause I didn't know where to stop.
I finished it real quick.
I had seen the main idea several times in crime novels or tv series, only this time a 60 y More...
I read that this book isn't the typical "Stephen King horror", more like a crime novel.
The suspance can be easily seen, more or less the fact that there weren't chapter a bit made me confused, cause I didn't know where to stop.
I finished it real quick.
I had seen the main idea several times in crime novels or tv series, only this time a 60 y More...
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Dec 20, 2011
C.p.
rated it:
While I enjoy Stephen King as a horror writer, I must admit Dolores Claiborne is an interesting selection. The most amazing thing about this book, at least to me, is the style it's written in. Writing in First Person narrative isn't something new, but it's written as a single narrative. 300 pages without a single chapter as Dolores tells her story.
Asked to come in for questioning as to the demise of her employer of thirty years, Dolores decides to tell the police everything from the wa More...
Asked to come in for questioning as to the demise of her employer of thirty years, Dolores decides to tell the police everything from the wa More...
Jan 25, 2011
Alessandro
rated it:
There's no going trought life unscatched. You will be making decisions and those will affect your life for worse or better. There's no fixing what has been done. Life is a song. And you don't get to rehearse it. I intensily disliked my first Stephen King's book. But I crossed my fingers and gave this one a shot. What? It was all alone in the shelf. It looked like it needed a friend. I don't regret it. I like it. Why! I like it very much. I grew up reading Edgar Allan Poe. And so I am used to the
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May 05, 2008
Allysmom
rated it:
The things we mom do for our babies. This is a good example of that. A woman gets sick of her husband taking advantage of their little girl, and she eventually ends up killing him. Of course, the whole town knows this but no one says anything until the old lady Delores is taking care of dies "oddly". really is a good story.
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Apr 18, 2011
Caterina
rated it:
Angoscioso e paranoico.
La storia non è male e Dolores è un buon personaggio.
Le tre stelline principalmente sono dovute a due cose: alla narrazione in prima persona (è più forte di me, proprio non la sopporto) e alla mancanza dei capitoli. Sembrerà stupido, banale, superficiale e tutto quello che volete... ma non avete nemmeno idea di quanto mi abbia dato urto leggere un romanzo privo di capitoli, o per lo meno di parti!
La caratterizzazione psicologica di Dolores è talmente perfett More...
La storia non è male e Dolores è un buon personaggio.
Le tre stelline principalmente sono dovute a due cose: alla narrazione in prima persona (è più forte di me, proprio non la sopporto) e alla mancanza dei capitoli. Sembrerà stupido, banale, superficiale e tutto quello che volete... ma non avete nemmeno idea di quanto mi abbia dato urto leggere un romanzo privo di capitoli, o per lo meno di parti!
La caratterizzazione psicologica di Dolores è talmente perfett More...
Jun 27, 2011
Jim
rated it:
Gosh, I thought looking at the copy of this book, this sounds like the last Stephen King book I read, Gerald's Game! Abusive man, abused woman, eclipse. And it was! Kind of! Taking place at the same time as an event in Gerald's Game, with a bit of supernatural-type crossover for a sentence or three.
The book started out interesting and a bit funny with Dolores Claiborne's folksy garsh-shucks narration. Then it set in. The whole book was like this. Non-stop. With no chapters!
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The book started out interesting and a bit funny with Dolores Claiborne's folksy garsh-shucks narration. Then it set in. The whole book was like this. Non-stop. With no chapters!
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Sep 26, 2011
Tasha
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This book was very interesting and it is different than what I normally expect from Stephen King. The book is one long narrative with no breaks or chapters. That I respect King for because I think it is hard to write a story from that kind of first person view.
This is also a very quick read, so if you want to read a King book but want it to be fast this is the book for you. I didn't considered it outright scary except for one scene which is alluded to by the cover on this edition of t More...
This is also a very quick read, so if you want to read a King book but want it to be fast this is the book for you. I didn't considered it outright scary except for one scene which is alluded to by the cover on this edition of t More...
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May 25, 2011
Krista
rated it:
I really, really love the movie Dolores Claiborne, so I wanted to give the book a try. I had no idea how it was written: basically all through Dolores's eyes....no real dialogue except for her paraphrasing. That kinda turned me off at first.
It was intresting seeing the differences in the book to movie....I do think the movie made for a better, higher drama story with actually having adult Selena part of the story....and Christopher Plummer's character was also awesome in the movie. More...
It was intresting seeing the differences in the book to movie....I do think the movie made for a better, higher drama story with actually having adult Selena part of the story....and Christopher Plummer's character was also awesome in the movie. More...
Apr 24, 2011
Jen
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Apr 10, 2011
Brian
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Dolores Claiborne is an exceptional piece of modern fiction. Structured as one long monologue from the title character confessing to the murder she's committed (and more importantly, explaining that she hasn't committed another murder), King takes you into the heart of Dolores in a way few authors do with their characters. Knowing she's telling the absolute, unvarnished truth throughout creates a portal into the character's soul that shows just how far a mother's love will go. What I enjoyed mos
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Jul 17, 2008
Charles
rated it:
I didn't think King could get me to care about the character of Dolores Claiborne, who has absolutely zero in common with me, but by the mid-point I was really rooting for her and had started to really like her as a person.
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Jan 26, 2012
Ariadna73
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Dolores Claiborne es una historia de suspenso escrita en segunda persona; una especie de confesión de una mujer a la que le ha tocado una vida dura con un esposo abusivo y una jefa senil que también pretende maltratarla en el trabajo. Dolores no mató a su jefa aunque así lo parezca, pero sí mató a su esposo aunque nunca nadie se hubiera dado cuenta. El estilo de SK siempre igual, adictivo y nada molesto; aunque con tantas cositas ricas por ahí para leer uno a veces se siente culpable por consumir este
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Apr 27, 2011
Heather
rated it:
i found this book quite odd, yet i couldn't put it down. i haven't read a lot of King, but i thought this was a more interesting and easier read than The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, which i read just before. the dialect of the main character could be difficult to deal with for some. i just pictured Kathy Bates (though i've never seen the movie) and i could actually hear the voice in my head. i enjoyed this writing style and thought the dialect brought dimension and realness to the story that woul
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