Bruce Springsteen, The Eagles and a Plymouth Fury in Stephen King's Christine, a hymn to rock 'n' roll, cars and adolescent sex

Stephen King's 13th novel is a hymn to those twin masculine teenage obsessions: cars and rock 'n' roll. As the author acknowledges, both are preludes to a third side of the adolescent love triangle: sex.

Each chapter of the novel is ushered in by lyrics about cars, driving or girls - and frequently all three. There are three pages of permissions for songs from the golden age of popular music - everyone from The Eagles and Bruce Springsteen to Elvis Costello and Chuck Berry is represented.

This sets the tone for a fable about an insecure young man, Arnie Cunningham, who is transformed from an awkward adolescent into a love god when he buys a beat-up red '58 Plymouth Fury. This is Christine, and it is love at first sight: "He was running round the car like a man possessed."

However, it isn't long before the casualties left in Christine's slipstream make Formula 1 motor racing look as dangerous as flying kites.

Our narrator, Dennis, also Arnie's best friend, is mystified by the bond between Arnie and car. For him, Christine is simply a "bad joke, and what Arnie saw in her that day I'll never know".