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Dolores Claiborne

3.68 of 5 stars 3.68 · rating details · 53,878 ratings · 730 reviews

"Everything I did, I did for love..."

For thirty years, folks on Little Tall Island have been waiting to find out just what happened on the eerie dark day Dolores Claiborne's husband died --- the day of the total eclipse. Now, the police want to know what happened yesterday when her rich, bedridden employer died suddenly in her care. With no choice but to talk, Dolores give...more

Paperback, 372 pages

Published July 6th 2004 by Signet (first published November 1992)

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Mar 30, 2012 Trudi rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-want-to-marry, in-her-own-words, mothers, small-town-living, secrets, made-into-movie, stephen-king, horror, friendship-women, crime-mystery, audiobook, re-reads, my-desert-island, 2012-reads, a-sense-of-place, awesome-audio, modern-lit

Sometimes being a bitch is all a woman's got to hold on to.
~Dolores Claiborne

Meet Dolores Claiborne -- island woman, mother of three, murderess and overall high-riding bitch. And I love her! She is strength and smarts and dignity personified and in my opinion, one of the most vivid and memorable literary creations ever to walk the pages of any book. I don't say that lightly. Yes I'm a fan, yes I'm gushing, but this is also a more tempered, critical evaluation after living with her existence these many years. She has stood the test of time and I have no doubt she will continue to do so long after her creator has passed.

Arguably one of Stephen King's most underrated and dismissed works, Dolores Claiborne remains for me one of his best and most literary novels. The first-person narrative voice is brilliantly executed, the island dialect ringing true, the rhythm of the language making the sense of place so vibrant and tangible. The reading experience is only enhanced by the audio version (which I highly recommend).

Bringing nothing but his A-game, King delves into the life of a poor, uneducated, island woman, who marries young and gets to repent in leisure. I love this story so much because not only does it capture small town life and a woman's place in it, but also the unshakeable bonds of friendship that can be forged like steel between women, and the ferocious love a mother feels for her children.

In her awesome review, Catie puts it this way:

This book is a powerful and naked look at mother-love, at how desperate, intense, and all-consuming it really is....But mainly this is the story of an unlikely alliance between two hard talkin’, high riding bitches; two women from very different walks of life who find that they have a similar core of bitter strength.

At its heart, this is a book about a desperate woman who is driven to a very desperate act. It is a crime novel built around a detailed confession that's so urgent, so immediate, the story sucks you in like quicksand and does not want to let go. This is not a horror novel, but there are a few moments of unadulterated suspense and terror that had my heart jack-rabbiting in my chest. (view spoiler)

Dolores Claiborne is not the only high-riding bitch in this story, there is also Ms. Vera Donovan, her contrary, vitriolic employer who explains the facts of life thusly: "Husbands die every day Dolores. Why, one is probably dying right now while you're sitting here weeping....An accident can be an unhappy woman's best friend." Dolores and Vera make an unlikely pair, but over the years they cleave to one another in an unexpected, unforgettable friendship that runs dark and deep.

This review can also be found at Busty Book Bimbo (less)

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Jan 10, 2012 Book Concierge rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Book Concierge by: Clara Zukrow

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 is a master...more

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Jul 07, 2008 Phoebe rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: friction, loved-it

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 we get to the...more

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Feb 16, 2008 Clare Bear rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 relationship mo...more

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Jun 11, 2008 Brian Hodges rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: stephen-king, bloody-brilliant

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 through this one in...more

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Nov 04, 2012 D. VonThaer rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Without spoiling any of the points in Dolores Claiborne, I'd like to jump right in to why I love this book so much.

First, it should be noted this book is connected -albeit slightly- to Gerald's Game. They're totally different books and stories, though there is a thread of connectivity there which is nice, but not necessary to make Dolores Claiborne great.

Second, D.C. is written totally from Dolores' perspective. You hear only her voice, only her side of the story. Her voice, however, is so a...more

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Jun 02, 2012 Angelica rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: stephen_king

"There ain't no power in heaven or on earth that can stop people from thinking the worst when they want to."

"In those days I still believed the love of a man for a woman and a woman for a man was stronger than the love of drinkin and hell-raisin -- that love would eventually rise to the top like cream in a bottle of milk. I learned better over the next ten years. The world's a sorry schoolroom isn't it?"

"...A coward is more afraid of being discovered than he is of everything else, even dyin."

"So...more

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Apr 22, 2008 Hayley rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: stephen-king

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...more

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Jun 16, 2013 Jane Stewart rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: relationships-fiction, abused-women

Wonderful character development. Good plot with abusive husband. Narrator not for me.

A good story about ordinary people who turn into something different but they are still ordinary.

Two stories are told. 1: Dolores is married to an abusive man. I loved her strength about it. I loved what she did to make him stop hitting her. I wonder if more women could do that.

(view spoiler)...more

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Apr 07, 2013 *~Silvypoo~* (Chaser of Artemis) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was a pretty good book by Stephen King. I lived how he decided to write the book, solely through the testimony of the mouthy Dolores Claiborne. This way, there was a lot of room for the reader to imagine how the town and people looked because Dolores hardly gave full descriptions of the people she talked about. It was different, and I liked it.

I love the quote from this book, about how women have to be bitches to get things accomplished. It's a great quote and one most people should live b...more This was a pretty good book by Stephen King. I lived how he decided to write the book, solely through the testimony of the mouthy Dolores Claiborne. This way, there was a lot of room for the reader to imagine how the town and people looked because Dolores hardly gave full descriptions of the people she talked about. It was different, and I liked it.

I love the quote from this book, about how women have to be bitches to get things accomplished. It's a great quote and one most people should live by! Great job, King!

As far as the issues that were brought up in the book because of Dolores's husband, King was again, spot on. About how most girls would feel in little Selena's situation, and how Dolores had felt as well. It was crazy accurate and I loved it!

What I didn't like about this book was Dolores herself. I loved how outspoken she was and quick with the tongue, but she annoyed and aggravated me throughout the book. For one, she wasn't all that bright. The lights were on, but no one was home. Even though she got ideas and advice from other people ~SPOILERS~ I find it hard to believe that she had come up with that elaborate plan to kill her husband. Of course, thy had been married and perhaps she just knew him well enough to trick him. She was good at tricking people.

Speaking of killing her husband, that was the most annoying part of the book for me. The well was 35 feet down with some swampy water at the bottom. Even though there was swamp, he should have died from the harsh fall of 35 feet, or at least he had to have broken multiple bones. Yet, he still climbed up 35 feet of well to try and escape! That seemed to defy logic for me there, especially when he should have had broken bones and a punctured lung. It seemed like an impossible feat. Then Dolores began to show how unintelligent she was by constantly falling asleep after her husband tried to escape. It was made clear that she had had a great rest the night before, but killing her husband took a lot of energy, so she fell asleep like five times after he almost escaped. Shouldn't that have raised a flag to put on a fucking pot of coffee and make sure he didn't escape? No, she proceeds to fall asleep and check on him, almost letting him live! No! I was so angry at this part, and was telling her how to just kill him. Literally talking to the pages! Then when he did die, she wouldn't stop going to the well to make sure he was dead. You couldn't have done that when he was alive?

Unfortunately, I didn't like the main character all that much, and almost thought he was a little bit god-modded, which is hard to say because I love Stephen King's writing. The story was a great one, how a woman sacrificed her own bastard, conscienceless husband to save her children from a horrible life. Unfortunately, it didn't happen the way she wanted it to, but that seemed to make the book more believable and lifelike. Not that Joe didn't deserve to die, that was definitely the right thing to do. Bitchy, but right. (less)

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Feb 07, 2013 Al rated it 4 of 5 stars

SUMMARY:
Extraordinarily vivid...an impressive tour de force, a sensitive character study that holds the reader rapt.
PlayboyMore of a mystery than a horror novel, Dolores Claiborne contains only the briefest glances at the supernatural. The novel presents Stephen King as a writer experimenting with style and narrative, time and perspective. Fans looking for a skin-crawling, page-turning fright or an undead bloodbath will be disappointed, but a patient reader willing to savor King's leisurely st...more SUMMARY:
Extraordinarily vivid...an impressive tour de force, a sensitive character study that holds the reader rapt.
PlayboyMore of a mystery than a horror novel, Dolores Claiborne contains only the briefest glances at the supernatural. The novel presents Stephen King as a writer experimenting with style and narrative, time and perspective. Fans looking for a skin-crawling, page-turning fright or an undead bloodbath will be disappointed, but a patient reader willing to savor King's leisurely study of character and island life will find many rewards. And all of this is not to say that the book is without suspense.
The story unfolds in one continuous chapter, told in the first person by the cranky, 65-year-old housekeeper, Dolores, who is explaining to police officers and a stenographer how and why she killed her husband, Joe, 30 years ago. At the same time, in her rambling monologue, she insists that she did not kill her longtime employer, Vera Donovan--notwithstanding what the residents of Little Tall Island may be whispering. Joe was a drinker, and, as Dolores gradually argues, he deserved to die for the horrifying crimes he committed against his family. But Vera, despite her cantankerous disposition as a lady governing her decaying estate with her precise rules about even the most mundane household chore ("Six pins! Remember to use six pins! Don't you let the wind blow my good sheets down to the corner of the yard!"), was a good woman--or at least not an evil one. She was the woman who hired the young Dolores and kept her on even after Dolores got pregnant again. Dolores cleaned and cared for her even as the old matron faded into senility.
Dolores Claiborne is a rich novel that recalls the regionalist writing of the turn of the century. It is a fine place for a skeptical newcomer--put off by King's reputation for outright terror--to start. And for fans, it is a book that offers new insights into an author who's an old favorite. --Patrick O'Kelley(less)

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Oct 28, 2012 Varun rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: thriller, stephen-king

Dolores Claiborne is a first rate tale of guilt,crime and punishment and is easily one of the better psychological thrillers available in the market today.The story consists of no chapters or page breaks and is essentially a 400 page monologue given by the titular character to the local police concerning the sudden death of her employee in her care.The novel takes this case as just a tipping point to examine many catholic themes of guilt,sin and redemption.The problem apparent with psychological...more

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Jun 09, 2012 Lauren rated it 5 of 5 stars

I didn't actually read this one. I listened to the audio book read by Frances Sternahagen. As far as the quality of the audio book, it was one of the best I've ever listened to because Ms. Sternahagen is one of the best narrators I have ever heard. It was a real pleasure to listen to. As far as the story goes, I would give it five stars, also. This is only the second Stephen King book I've ever read, the first being Dreamcatcher, which I would consider more of a sci-fi type story about aliens th...more

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Jun 03, 2012 Jeff rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The novel, Dolores Claiborne, sat on my shelf for many years before I finally not only reached for it, but opened it, and read it start to finish. Sometimes you have to be ready for a book, and I previously wasn't ready for this one. I am a huge fan of Stephen King. However, the description of this novel didn't pull me in - sounded boring. Ends up the novel is far from boring, one - because it is a lesson in character development and how murder can begin in the heart, and two because of King's m...more

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Mar 06, 2012 Evan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

At 372 pages without a single chapter break and all a monologue delivered by the titular character, this was a novella compared to other books by Stephen King. It made for a really nice one-day read. I'd seen the movie in the '90s on cable but had forgotten just enough to make it fresh. I even watched it on Netflix Instant that same lazy Sunday after I finished the book and found a lot of pleasant differentiations in the plot and narrative.

This parallels another King book, Gerald's Game, and it...more

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Dec 02, 2011 Sam Quixote rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 or not as it goes on fo...more 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 or not as it goes on for the entire book. At times it feels like Grandpa Simpson telling a story, rambling on and on about something completely unrelated and uninteresting, and Dolores always must comment on anything anyone says. So when she relates a conversation she tacks on her thought on what that person said after it. It makes for an exhausting read.

My real problem was that this book didn't need to be this long. There's an extended section of the novel at the start where she talks about her relationship with Vera and focuses exclusively on her toilet habits. Then she relates everything about her family - bear in mind the framing device of this story is that she is sat in a police interrogation room - and then everything about her boring life.

There is a decent story here, of how she killed her husband after he molested their eldest daughter, but good lord it takes a helluva long time to get there. Most of the time I wanted to throttle Dolores and her endless banal platitudes that didn't add anything to the story and only made me angrier that King indulged so freely in tedious padding to what shouldn't have been longer than a short story of about 75-100 pages.

This is really only for hardcore King fans as it is far from his best work. There's no horror here, except some half-baked nightmares Dolores has, and the folksy nonsense Dolores spouts and her dull existence he seems to hold up as so virtuous because she's working class is nothing more than drivel coming from white trash. "Lisey's Story" is still the worst thing King's written but "Dolores Claiborne" runs a close second. (less)

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Aug 13, 2011 Joanne rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 get used to. T...more

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Feb 22, 2011 J.C. rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, literature, movie

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's no masterpiece, but it's definitely not a weak p...more

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Sep 26, 2010 R.E. Chambliss rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 have killed her...more

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Jan 27, 2013 Luffy Monkey D. rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I thought that Dolores would in the end, get more from life than her harsh but fair employer Vera. I did think that she'll be what Vera wanted herself to be. Rich and having the company of her children. Dolores Claiborne must be a character that divides opinion.

Many people have trouble identifying with a murderer from fiction. I may be one of them. But the way King wrote this book made me think twice. Think twice, shame on me? Who knows. There are bits and pieces where deliberate and small tou...more

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Aug 11, 2012 Dennis Troy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: king

Dolores Claiborne, written in 1992 by the legendary Stephen King, is a novel simple in concept but brilliant in execution. Spinning a yarn about a women from Little Tall Island in Maine, this dark story from the mind of King gives readers a glimpse into a reality scary and riveting. While its not the sprawling epic style of storytelling he is best known for with stories like It, The Stand nor the more supernaturally driven tales like The Shining or Carrie this is a powerful from the master just...more Dolores Claiborne, written in 1992 by the legendary Stephen King, is a novel simple in concept but brilliant in execution. Spinning a yarn about a women from Little Tall Island in Maine, this dark story from the mind of King gives readers a glimpse into a reality scary and riveting. While its not the sprawling epic style of storytelling he is best known for with stories like It, The Stand nor the more supernaturally driven tales like The Shining or Carrie this is a powerful from the master just the same. There are small flecks of both though. This makes Dolores Claiborne very different in many ways but still recognizable as a Stephen King novel. Dolores Claiborne is not the flashiest in King's bibliography but its a beautiful moment of telling a story and telling it well.

The story of Dolores Claiborne begins when she sits down with the local law enforcement consisting of Andy and Frank along with the stenographer Nancy who is charged with the task of writing down everything Dolores Claiborne has to say. Dolores, a sixty five year old women who clearly is feeling every one of those years, has come to tell them a story. The reader soon finds out that Dolores is suspected of murdering her employer Vera Donovan. Donovan is an old, reclusive rich women who she had been working for most of her life. Dolores Claiborne is claiming she is innocent of harming her long time meal ticket and companion and sets out to convince the local sherrif. She goes back to the beginning and tells us of the first murder she did commit. The reader learns that thirty years before she murdered her husband. The suspense of the novel is not the outcome of that murder as much as the journey. King takes the reader on a winding road into the minds of a simple island women and her far from simple life.

The characterization of Dolores is the heart and soul of the book. This book succeeds because the reader is somehow convinced that Dolores is a living breathing women somewhere up in Maine. The person flipping the pages can easily see her now in a nursing home blustering and shooting off her not so clean mouth to some young CNA. Even after finishing the book one almost has to convince themselves she's not real. King achieves this in a number of ways. For one, he captures her speach and vocal ticks in the written word. Whether its the mispelling that shows off her rural, islander accent or her euphanisms that leap from the page its not hard to hear her voice. Her backstory, her thoughts and her motivations are explained but not over explained. The reader begins to have an intimate knowledge of how her mind works through some well selected reminescents. Her memories of how she met her husband, her realization of his heinous behavior and one important one of when she was a child all help the reader put all the pieces of the puzzle into place. Dolores is not necessarily someone most people would like but by the end you'll definitely understand her.

The setting of the story is brilliantly depicted as well. The reader will easily get a picture of the house Dolores lives in, the sprawling mansion she works in and the harbor she sees the eclipse in as well. The reader never feels like they are being bowled over with pages of pages description yet the reader also feels like they've been somewhere completely different by the end of the book. This is nothing unusual for the work of Stephen King. Whether its the town of Derry, Maine where all the action of It took place or the Overlook Hotel featured in The Shining, King has a habit of making these fictional places feel real.

The plot of the story really just follows the narrative story with the biggest question being if she really killed Vera Donovan or not. This is definitely a character driven tale rather than plot driven. The wonderful thing about this story is that it is the sum of its parts. There is one moment in the story where Dolores stands up to her deadbeat, alcoholic husband and is powerful. So are some of the moments that truly define her relationship with Vera Donovan. The story exists in these relationships and how they all interconnect together to make the story of one women reflecting back on her life and the decisions that she has made. Her depiction of the night she kills her husband is chilling and the reader feels as if they were watching the proceedings right there with her.

Stephen King's novel Dolores Claiborne is one you won't forget soon after reading the words typed on the page. Dolores Claiborne is a wonderful character study about a women whose life is horrifying but also moving. She isn't exactly a hero but she's certainly not a villian. She ends up being a women who tried to do the very best she can with tragic circumstances.

The 1995 film adaptation remained as true as it possible to the book, and was very well told, with a superbly cast Kathy Bates in the role of Dolores. (less)

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Feb 28, 2011 Monica rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror, fiction, popular-fiction

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 having murdered the...more

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Apr 17, 2013 Lisa M. rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 5252-second-year, fiction

I was not sure about this book at first. While I am a fan of Stephen King's, I have only read his horror novels before. This was less a horror novel, and more a mystery. When I opened the book, I also doubted the format and the voice. Really? She's confessing to the cops ... for the whole book? That's cheesy. I was also unsure about the vernacular used in the book. As I stated, the book is Delores' confession to the cops-- and she uses some very colorful, island-off-Maine language.

My doubts abou...more I was not sure about this book at first. While I am a fan of Stephen King's, I have only read his horror novels before. This was less a horror novel, and more a mystery. When I opened the book, I also doubted the format and the voice. Really? She's confessing to the cops ... for the whole book? That's cheesy. I was also unsure about the vernacular used in the book. As I stated, the book is Delores' confession to the cops-- and she uses some very colorful, island-off-Maine language.

My doubts about this book were assuaged.

First, the plot of the book intrigued me. Although some of the twists were easily predictable, others were not. I kept wanting to read so I could find out what was happening next. Although I wouldn't classify this as horror, it definitely scared me.

I think King was too wishy-washy about the paranormal events in the story. I don't think he succeeded in having elements that were "interpret them as you will;" if he wanted some psychic elements, he should have just included them. I especially disliked the visions of the little girl, those could have been removed. I think these aspects of the story could have been reinforced by some island folklore, and they would have been great.

Overall, the plot was well-developed, but I had a few issues with character development. In the beginning of the book, Delores' husband, Joe, doesn't have a problem with drinking. Throughout the novel, it seems like this is retracted whenever it's easy for King. Dolores' political stance is used in the same way.

While I don't think confession-to-the-cops was the form that best honored this story, it wasn't terrible. King could have done a better job to make this a more "serious" novel. But honestly, I think this was supposed to be a light, fun read. So, he used a less serious, self-indulgent mode that he knew readers would enjoy. The vernacular was entertaining, however.

One of the most interesting themes of this book is that sometimes, the world is so terrible, all you can do is become a bitch-- and that you can perpetuate the darkness through that. So try to keep your head up and stay positive!

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was self-indulgent, and clearly written as a fun read-- he didn't take this one too seriously. But such a "light" read was surprisingly dark and scary! (less)

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Sep 24, 2011 Catie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Catie by: Maja

Shelves: mystery-thriller-noir, read-in-2011

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.

Th...more 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.

This book has so many wonderful lines, but this one is my favorite:

“She said that sometimes a woman had to be a high-ridin bitch. ‘Sometimes,’ she told me, ‘being a bitch is all a woman has to hold onto.’ Ayuh, I thought. When there’s nothing else left, there’s that. There’s always that.”

This book is a powerful and naked look at mother-love, at how desperate, intense, and all-consuming it really is. It’s also a dark portrayal of battered woman syndrome and how sometimes the ugly choices seem like the only options. But mainly this is the story of an unlikely alliance between two hard talkin’, high riding bitches; two women from very different walks of life who find that they have a similar core of bitter strength.

This is essentially a monologue/confession delivered by Dolores Claiborne in a small town police station. There are no other speakers in this story, but Dolores’ interrogators are given personalities through her simple interactions with each of them, which is some very clever writing.

The audiobook is phenomenal. It’s produced with the background noise of the police station and the sound of Dolores’ water glass refilling. The narrator even modifies the volume of her voice to fit with the story (for example, when Dolores moves too far away from the microphone and her voice gets softer). The narrator captures Dolores perfectly: her age-roughened voice and Maine dialect. The only part that I don’t like is when a musical track is added into the “supernatural” scenes. It shatters the illusion that this is a confessional recording, and reminds the reader that it’s an audiobook.

I highly recommend this for readers who want to try Stephen King, but aren’t interested in horror/fantasy/sci-fi. Thanks to Maja for encouraging me to read this!

Perfect Musical Pairing

Nina Simone – Ain’t No Use

I had to pull out the Nina for this book. Her low, smokey voice is a perfect match for Dolores and Vera and this song is so filled with resigned hardness.
(less)

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Jun 25, 2010 Nicholas Armstrong rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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...more 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 three listeners. The story is riddled with 'You know who I'm talking about Andy' and 'I can see by the way Nancy's smilin she understands' and it is actually a wholly impressive feat.

Stephen King had to write a story but write it in the way a person would tell it. Despite being a lengthy story, he stuck true to it. Additionally, he had questions posed to our narrator, but we never heard them, all we ever get in this story is D.C.'s voice and perspective. What makes it even more amazing is that King had to use questions which were simple enough that his reader could infer their meaning through the answers the narrator gave, and he had to answer these unknown questions in such a way so that it would appear natural but the reader could still pick up on it. It was, by far, one of the most unique and impressive feats I've seen a writer undertake.

I think, for me, that is where my love of King comes from. Novels like this are examples of King branching out to try new mediums. He is never comfortable with the confines of one voice, or one tone, so he is constantly shifting it.

Outside of the authorial impressiveness of the novel, it is actually a really fantastic portrayal of what it was like to be a woman and a mother during a time period and in a location where neither was easy. I don't honestly see how any other books on the subject (Beloved comes to mind) are considered so much better when I think this book says things that are more coherent and beautiful about the idea. The casualness with which King describes that women were hit and the casualness with which these actions are perceived and received is a shocking testament to a way things really were and never should have been. It's about a time where a man had his say and a woman had hers but never in public.

This is a novel about the two selves of a relationship, the one that can exist in a relationship, and the one that exists on the outside; it is, for all intensive purposes, the same issue that The Taming of the Shrew tackles. Where Taming tackles love on the inside while portraying a strong, male-dominated relationship on the outside D.C. is almost a reversal of this. Balancing this portrayal with the tasks of supporting a family and raising children and the strengths and weakness of the bonds formed was really remarkably impressive.

That people can underestimate the message and esteem with which King can carry himself shocks me. This is the same man who wrote Shawshank Redemption and Green Mile. This, like those, is a touchingly beautiful story about survival in our world, not in a ridiculous melodramatic ghost world like Beloved, but a real one with real pains. It accurately shows what it took to survive, the fortitude of character, and how a person could cope and move on, day to day, with the decisions they make.

Remarkable, really.(less)

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Sep 16, 2011 Michael Zuniga rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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. Wha...more

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Feb 12, 2013 T.L. Barrett rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have avoided reading this book for a long time, which is interesting because Stephen King is my favorite author. Many books I saved away so that I would have something to read in the dry spells, but I had read one other book in King's "women in bad situation" era, Rose Madder, and was not overly impressed. Then, I picked up this book and couldn't put it down. By the middle I realized that I loved the book, by the end I had decided that the book was an undiscovered American classic on the par w...more

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Sep 22, 2012 Brian Schwartz rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: general-fiction

I used to positively loathe the book almost as much as I disliked Gerald’s Game and Rose Madder. I don’t dislike it that much anymore.

I still would not rank it as anything more than average, however. I am a bit prejudiced by its tie in with Gerald’s Game which disappointed me like no book had before or since. Having been published immediately after Gerald’s Game, I loathed it because I feared that Stephen King would dedicate the rest of his career to writing thinly veiled treatises on feminism o...more I used to positively loathe the book almost as much as I disliked Gerald’s Game and Rose Madder. I don’t dislike it that much anymore.

I still would not rank it as anything more than average, however. I am a bit prejudiced by its tie in with Gerald’s Game which disappointed me like no book had before or since. Having been published immediately after Gerald’s Game, I loathed it because I feared that Stephen King would dedicate the rest of his career to writing thinly veiled treatises on feminism or other political causes. Had it been written years before or years later, I would have appreciated it more.

I will give King credit for his unusual manner of telling the story of Dolores Claiborne. The monologue is replete with Maine accent phonetics that I usually find irritating. King found just the right balance of proper English and phonetics. He didn’t let you forget that you were reading nothing but dialogue, but the phonetics didn’t detract from the story. He really went one step beyond the standard first person narrative to tell his story in a unique way.

The characters are caricatures. Joe St. George is the consummate abusive, ignorant, ne’er do well white male complete with bigotry, unnatural sex drives, and a taste for spousal abuse. He’s one dimensional. Vera Donovan is the standard matriarch. She has no depth. Dolores is the long suffering domestic servant and battered spouse. While King’s story was interesting, his characters weren’t.

As I noted, this was the second of King’s evil white male books. Most of his Constant Readers hoped it would be the last. But he wasn’t done. He would continue to disappoint his fans who’d come to love his supernatural tales with more feminist bullshit.

This most disappointing phase of King’s writing career would not end until 1996 when he published the serialized The Green Mile. This deep and meaningful novel would have his fans breathing a sigh of relief. Dolores Claiborne was the best of that awful period, but it would rank as below average in his body of work. (less)

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Apr 30, 2013 Sven McNiven rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Can Stephen King write a bad book? If he has written one, I've yet to read it. I approached Dolores Claiborne with hesitation given its average rating on Bookreads. When your young son arrives home, excited that he's found you a book he thinks you'll like, what more can you do but read it? So I did......and I enjoyed it. King engages the reader in a story telling romp about an old woman that plans the murder of her husband. You're aware of her intentions from the start. The trepidation is in the...more

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Jun 21, 2010 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010-reads

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 abusive husba...more

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About Stephen King

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Stephen Edwin King was born in Portland, Maine in 1947, the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. After his parents separated when Stephen was a toddler, he and his older brother, David, were raised by his mother. Parts of his childhood were spent in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where his father's family...more Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Stephen Edwin King was born in Portland, Maine in 1947, the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. After his parents separated when Stephen was a toddler, he and his older brother, David, were raised by his mother. Parts of his childhood were spent in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where his father's family was at the time, and in Stratford, Connecticut. When Stephen was eleven, his mother brought her children back to Durham, Maine, for good. Her parents, Guy and Nellie Pillsbury, had become incapacitated with old age, and Ruth King was persuaded by her sisters to take over the physical care of the elderly couple. Other family members provided a small house in Durham and financial support. After Stephen's grandparents passed away, Mrs. King found work in the kitchens of Pineland, a nearby residential facility for the mentally challenged.

Stephen attended the grammar school in Durham and then Lisbon Falls High School, graduating in 1966. From his sophomore year at the University of Maine at Orono, he wrote a weekly column for the school newspaper, THE MAINE CAMPUS. He was also active in student politics, serving as a member of the Student Senate. He came to support the anti-war movement on the Orono campus, arriving at his stance from a conservative view that the war in Vietnam was unconstitutional. He graduated from the University of Maine at Orono in 1970, with a B.A. in English and qualified to teach on the high school level. A draft board examination immediately post-graduation found him 4-F on grounds of high blood pressure, limited vision, flat feet, and punctured eardrums.

He and Tabitha Spruce married in January of 1971. He met Tabitha in the stacks of the Fogler Library at the University of Maine at Orono, where they both worked as students. As Stephen was unable to find placement as a teacher immediately, the Kings lived on his earnings as a laborer at an industrial laundry, and her student loan and savings, with an occasional boost from a short story sale to men's magazines.

Stephen made his first professional short story sale ("The Glass Floor") to Startling Mystery Stories in 1967. Throughout the early years of his marriage, he continued to sell stories to men's magazines. Many of these were later gathered into the Night Shift collection or appeared in other anthologies.

In the fall of 1971, Stephen began teaching high school English classes at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels.(less)

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“Sometimes being a bitch is all a woman's got to hold on to.” — 1,118 people liked it

“and the rain went rollin down the windowpanes, and the shadows wiggled n' squiggled on her check and forehead like black veins.” — 10 people liked it

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