Fairytale

I started reading Stephen King’s newest novel “Fairytale,” while I was sick with covid. I finished it a few minutes before midnight. While Stephen King is a hit or miss author for me, “Fairytale” was amazing. The story is about a seventeen year old boy named Charlie Reade. Charlie is a normal highschool kid great at baseball and football and a decent student. Charlie has been through much hardship with his mother getting killed in a hit and run accident when he was seven and his father becoming an alcoholic due to his grief. Charlie learned how to take care of himself and his father. One day Charlie meets Howard Bowditch and his dog Radar. Howard lives in a big house on a big hill and hears odd noises coming from the shed. Charlie does chores for Bowditch and becomes closer to him and Radar. When Bowditch dies he leaves Charlie the cassette tape telling him the truth about the noises from the shed and the well in the shed that leads to another world…..

Pros

I debated on whether I should get it from the library or order it and chose the latter and I’m glad I bought it online. The writing is so beautiful I could picture myself being in that other world of Empis.  I love the character of Charlie. Charlie is mature for a seventeen year old and likes watching TCM with his dad and Bowditch. I like that it shows not all young people are the stereotypical millennial who thinks they’re owed everything and is disrespectful to old people. It’s quite the opposite with Charlie. I also like Leah and her horse Falada and how Leah is the Goose Girl but not a carbon copy of The Grimm Brothers story.

Cons

The only bone I have to pick with this novel is it seemed to drag in places. It took a little bit for the story to start in the beginning but then it did pick up when it was time for Charlie to listen to the cassette tape about Bowditch and the magical world. The prison scenes in Deep Maleen, I like Charlie was wondering when the heck he and the other prisoners get out? The prison bits were too long.

Overall

Overall I enjoyed it. I recommend this novel to anyone who’s a Stephen King fan or a fan of magical stories mixed with horror in it. While it does drag in places it’s not so bad that I gave up on it. It’s worth reading every single page.