Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

Fairy Tale by Stephen King

47 reviews

wlreed312's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Stephen King has been writing novels as long as I've been alive, so at this point you probably know if his style is for you or not. This one was enjoyable, and reminded me strongly of The Talisman (one of my favorites) in places. I very much liked all the fairy tale references, and like most of the characters a lot (unsurprising. The way King writes characters has always been one of his strong points for me). I will say the dog doesn't die, but it was a rough road, and if you've lost a pet due to old age you might need to skip this. I didn't know much about it going in, but I don't think I would have read it at this time of year if I had realized Charlie was trying to save an aging dog. It definitely endeared Charlie to me, because given the chance, who wouldn't risk everything to have a few more years with their beloved pet? I would give everything I have to have more time with my Tara, so parts of this were incredibly emotional. 

I did have a few issues with it. Number one, it's an incredibly hetero normative world (I refuse to believe Eris and Jaya weren't in love, and Eris hooking up with Charlie at the end made zero sense to me), with no mention of anyone who might be anywhere in the LGBTQIA+ pantheon. There are mentions of homelessness, including a character who is a villain that's homeless, but no examination on any underlying societal issues on what may have led to that. There is some examination on good vs. evil, and quite a bit on repenting and trying to be better, but it is still structured like a fairy tale, with clear distinctions on which characters are good and which ones aren't. Also, it definitely doesn't read like a 17 year old is telling the story (it is revealed at the end that the story wasn't written immediately, that Charlie waited a few years before telling it, so there is at least an explanation for that).

But overall this was a fun ride, I love Radar, and I would love to see what happens to Dora (she was my favorite). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, and Confinement

Moderate: Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, and Death of parent

mandaraffe's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Gun violence, Slavery, Body horror, Addiction, Blood, Murder, Physical abuse, Confinement, Death, Kidnapping, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Police brutality, Car accident, Excrement, Gore, Grief, and Violence

Moderate: Body shaming, Ableism, Chronic illness, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Infertility, and Incest

rachelunabridged's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This was a really enjoyable read! I absolutely loved the first half of the book. It was just so wholesome, and I really enjoyed watching the relationship develop between Charlie, Mr. Bowditch, and Radar. I had so many feels and thought that this would be a 5-star read for sure; however, the last half of the book fell kind of flat in some places, and I ended up not enjoying it as much as the first part. It was still a great read, regardless. There were some really fantastic characters, and I loved the homage being paid to the various fairy tale and classic stories that many of us know and love. Would definitely recommend to anyone who has ever enjoyed a fairy tale.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Confinement, Cursing, Gore, Slavery, and Torture

Moderate: Body horror

boglord's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Confinement, Gore, Torture, Addiction, Car accident, Death, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Violence, Ableism, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Slavery, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Vomit, Forced institutionalization, Sexism, Body horror, Animal cruelty, Excrement, Infertility, Terminal illness, and Xenophobia

Minor: Colonisation, Adult/minor relationship, Cannibalism, Racism, and Rape

kelseyr713's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I really enjoyed both halves of this tome by Stephen King. I’ve seen a lot of reviewers who say they lost interest when Charlie goes down the well, but I’m not sure what they were expecting since the book is called Fairy Tale. Stephen King shares in his author’s note that he wrote this as a comfort during COVID, and I definitely got swept away by the characters and world building. He did a fantastic job building up my love for both Charlie and Radar. I would love to read more stories set in this little corner of the King-iverse.

I was hoping for an Eyes of the Dragon reference, since that’s one of my favorite books ever, but didn’t notice any.

I took a star off for some pacing issues and the fact that Charlie does NOT sound like a teenager from the present day.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Physical abuse, Body horror, Confinement, and Violence

Moderate: Cursing, Kidnapping, Murder, War, Alcoholism, Death, Torture, Gore, and Slavery

Minor: Animal cruelty, Child death, Sexual content, and Bullying

nrogers_1030's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Blood, Car accident, Confinement, Cursing, Excrement, Grief, Medical content, Physical abuse, Violence, Gun violence, Alcohol, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Body horror

Moderate: Addiction and Torture

Minor: Infertility, Incest, and Racial slurs

kittyswinny's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

As a fan of Stephen King, I'd say this is something quite different to his usual style but extremely enjoyable. For fans of adventure, classic fairy tales with a grotesque twist and a journey, it's perfect! 

<Spoiler>I would perhaps say that there weren't as many catastrophes as there should have been. Sometimes it seemed too easy for our hero Charlie to succeed. There were opportunities to have me on the edge of my seat but they fell just a little flat.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Excrement, Death of parent, Confinement, Child death, Blood, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Violence, Torture, Terminal illness, Cancer, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief