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A review by iswendle
Fairy Tale by Stephen King
5.0
As if I went back in time and watched the Lord of the Rings for the first time, or Star Wars or Bambi. Not that the book resembles these movies, but the story perfectly captures the meaning of "Fairy Tale". It feels magical, fantastical, as if everything you see is slightly different. I felt like a magical kid again.
A closer resemblance would be calling this book King's version of Alice in Wonderland or Narnia. But be sure to mix in the Grimm's fairy tales you know, because then, after adding some dark and thrilling elements not found in the aforementioned, you'll get fairy tale. A boy and a dog, a secret passage to another world, a royal family in exile; with these familiar elements King shapes a story that in a nutshell should sound like something everyone has read or seen already.
But instead the book uses these elements to lure you into the fairy tale. It gives you a sense of comfort, like a warm blanket. But then ever so slightly creative twists are given to the characters, or strange ones are introduced that didn't fit your idea of where the story went. And then you recognize something, our hero finds shelter at a grandma's warm cottage: classic. This feeling of familiarity and strange turns just made me vanish into the book, I couldn't do anything else.
And if that had been the book, this was all I had to say for it. I would've probably added that despite the creativity, it lacked something really new. But then halfway through the book King added his own speciality to an otherwise magical and comforting story. The dark side of the fairy tale casts it shadow, and the original Grimm's fairy tales are told in their uneditied state. Our funny creatures, kind characters of before had encountered some beasts on their path. But now we are met with the monsters of the world of yore we had up until that moment only heard about. Not only are there new terrifying monsters, our lovely cast has to fight, draw blood, pick the lesser evil. The cover wasn't lying when it announced the book as the darker side of happily every after.
It was this combination that sealed the deal for me. A kick in the gut for an introduction, then a warm and magical embrace of your fantastical world as if you were a child, which is then dragged through the mud to show you that nothing good is without its fair share of evil. It is almost as if the book itself grows; an unlucky upbringing, then finding stability, enjoying the (delayed) magic of childishness, seeing it all crash to pieces once you can see beyond the good, and finally a balance. Although, 'tis a fairy tale, so there should be a happily ever after.
My favourite book of the year. It is magical, comforting, and riviting once you find it's comfort. Another world I would already want to step into for the first time, and I've only just put it down.
A closer resemblance would be calling this book King's version of Alice in Wonderland or Narnia. But be sure to mix in the Grimm's fairy tales you know, because then, after adding some dark and thrilling elements not found in the aforementioned, you'll get fairy tale. A boy and a dog, a secret passage to another world, a royal family in exile; with these familiar elements King shapes a story that in a nutshell should sound like something everyone has read or seen already.
But instead the book uses these elements to lure you into the fairy tale. It gives you a sense of comfort, like a warm blanket. But then ever so slightly creative twists are given to the characters, or strange ones are introduced that didn't fit your idea of where the story went. And then you recognize something, our hero finds shelter at a grandma's warm cottage: classic. This feeling of familiarity and strange turns just made me vanish into the book, I couldn't do anything else.
And if that had been the book, this was all I had to say for it. I would've probably added that despite the creativity, it lacked something really new. But then halfway through the book King added his own speciality to an otherwise magical and comforting story. The dark side of the fairy tale casts it shadow, and the original Grimm's fairy tales are told in their uneditied state. Our funny creatures, kind characters of before had encountered some beasts on their path. But now we are met with the monsters of the world of yore we had up until that moment only heard about. Not only are there new terrifying monsters, our lovely cast has to fight, draw blood, pick the lesser evil. The cover wasn't lying when it announced the book as the darker side of happily every after.
It was this combination that sealed the deal for me. A kick in the gut for an introduction, then a warm and magical embrace of your fantastical world as if you were a child, which is then dragged through the mud to show you that nothing good is without its fair share of evil. It is almost as if the book itself grows; an unlucky upbringing, then finding stability, enjoying the (delayed) magic of childishness, seeing it all crash to pieces once you can see beyond the good, and finally a balance. Although, 'tis a fairy tale, so there should be a happily ever after.
My favourite book of the year. It is magical, comforting, and riviting once you find it's comfort. Another world I would already want to step into for the first time, and I've only just put it down.