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DELORES CLAIBORNE by Stephen King
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DELORES CLAIBORNE (original 1993; edition 1993)

by Stephen King (Author)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingConversations / Mentions
8,56096986 (3.67)1 / 125
Suspected of killing Vera Donovan, her wealthy employer, Dolores Claiborne tells police the story of her life, harkening back to her violent husband, disintegrating marriage and the suspicious death of Joe Claiborne thirty years earlier. Dolores also tells of Vera's physical and mental decline and of her loyalty to an employer who has become emotionally demanding in recent years.… (more)
Member:maxptyson
Title:DELORES CLAIBORNE
Authors:Stephen King (Author)
Info:Viking (1993), Edition: First Edition, 305 pages
Collections:Audiobooks, Books Owned, Your library
Rating:
Tags:psychological horror

Work Information

Dolores Claiborne by Stephen King (1993)

  1. 60
    Gerald's Game by Stephen King (sturlington)
    sturlington: These two books are thematically related and tied together by a full eclipse of the sun that occurs at a climactic moment.
  2. 32
    Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg (khoov00)
  3. 24
    The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold (khoov00)
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» See also 125 mentions

English (88)  Spanish (1)  Swedish (1)  Catalan (1)  French (1)  Danish (1)  All languages (93)
Showing 1-5 of 88 (next | show all)
Initially I wasn’t expecting to like it, being entirely told through a single person. But it was very good. Could easily visualize everything (like with most of King’s books) and you really felt for all the characters. ( )
  HauntedTaco13 | Dec 29, 2023 |
The audiobook is absolutely phenomenal. One of the most enjoyable listening experiences I have had. ( )
  ForeverFey | Dec 20, 2023 |
A fine book to keep you company for a couple of hours.

You won't find any real horror in this book, although it definitely has a few thrilling moments, which is fine by me. It's my first reading of King, so I don't have any preconceived notion of his work. "Dolores Claiborne" is easy to read, and I really like the way it was written as the statement Dolores gave to the police. For the first forty pages or so, it was a little rough and slow to get the ball rolling. However, that aside, the pace of the story, building of characters and the flow of events was implemented to great effect. It exponentially gets better and by the end titbits are revealed here and there that make you more invested.

It's not an extraordinary book, but it is not a bad one either. It's just a really solid one. If you are out to read the works of Stephen King, I don't see why you should pass this up.

In 1995, it was adapted for the silver screen, and I would definitely recommend that you stay clear of that. It kind of makes Dolores a sidekick, making Selena more of a main character. It removes characters, ruins the pacing, and much more... A real shame because in its original form, the book would've made an excellent film. ( )
  Readerino | Sep 30, 2023 |
Nobody writes characters like King ( )
  ilsevr1977 | May 9, 2023 |
Written entirely as Dolores's statement to the police at Little Tall Island after she has been arrested for the murder of Vera Donovan, a woman for whom she has been a maid, house keeper and finally a carer, This is a rambling tale covering some 40 years of life on the tiny island in the Hamptons, a life of the everyday people who live there 365 days a year rather than the wealthy who turn up between Memorial Day and Labor Day for their holidays. This is a tale of poverty, domestic violence, class differences and love. I found it deeply moving. ( )
  nadineeg | Apr 6, 2023 |
Showing 1-5 of 88 (next | show all)
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» Add other authors (19 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
King, Stephenprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Dobner, TullioTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Duzee, LucienTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Edwards, LesCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Westenholz, AndersTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Epigraph
"What does a woman want?" -- Sigmund Freud
"R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it means to me." -- Aretha Franklin
Dedication
For my mother, Ruth Pillsbury King
First words
What did you ask, Andy Bissette?
Do I "understand these rights as you've explained them to me"?
Gorry! What makes some men so numb?
Quotations
What does a woman want? Sigmund Freud
Sometimes being a bitch is all a woman has to hold onto.
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
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Canonical LCC

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Wikipedia in English (1)

Suspected of killing Vera Donovan, her wealthy employer, Dolores Claiborne tells police the story of her life, harkening back to her violent husband, disintegrating marriage and the suspicious death of Joe Claiborne thirty years earlier. Dolores also tells of Vera's physical and mental decline and of her loyalty to an employer who has become emotionally demanding in recent years.

No library descriptions found.

Book description
By her own account she’s an old Yankee bitch, Dolores Claiborne; foul temper, foul mouth, foul life. Folks on Little Tall Island have been waiting thirty years to find out just what happened on the eerie dark day her husband, Joe, died – the day of the total eclipse. The police want to know what happened yesterday, when rich, bedridden Vera Donovan, the island’s grande dame sans merci and Dolores’s longtime employer, died suddenly in her care.
With no choice but to talk, Dolores Claiborne talks up a storm. “Everything I did, I did for love,” she says, and this spellbinding novel is at once her confession and her defense. Given a voice as compelling as any in contemporary fiction, her story centers on a disintegrating marriage’s molten core, where the mind’s unblinking eye becomes huge with hate and a woman’s heart turns murderous. It unfolds the strange intimacy between Dolores and Vera, and the link that binds them. It shows, finally, how fierce love can be, and how dreadful its consequences. And how the soul, harrowed by the hardest life, an achieve a kind of grace.
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