A review by joyceheinen
Fairy Tale by Stephen King

adventurous dark lighthearted 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? No

4.0

We meet Charlie Reade, our main character and the narrator of the story. He is a nineteen-year-old kid who one day helps the elderly Mr. Bowditch. Because Mr. Bowditch has broken his leg, Charlie decides to take care of him and he becomes friends with him and Mr. Bowditch’s dog Radar. Charlie discovers a shed in Mr. Bowditch’s yard, which is always locked and there are strange sound coming from the inside of it. When Mr. Bowditch dies, he leaves Charlie his dog, his house and his money. But also a cassette tape, on which Mr. Bowditch tells Charlei what is in the shed and the instructions he should explore it. 

 

I immediately liked Charlie. I’m glad he was the main character. He is a kind, smart, selfless kid and I enjoyed reading from his perspective. Stephen King did a great job with this character. Also with Mr. Bowditch and even with the dog Radar. What King also did, and has always been one of his best qualities, is setting a scene and describing everything. It’s always so easy to form a picture in your head while reading a Stephen King novel. He created an interesting, magical, scary world in “Fairy Tale”. It's a fantasy novel at most and it’s not King’s preferred genre. But it’s excellently done. 

 

The story is full of characters and there is a lot of world-building. There is a lot of social and political commentary, as known from King’s other books. And the book had some surprising lightheartedness to it. It didn’t feel heavy, even though “Fairy Tale” also deals with themes like grief, addiction and death. 

 

I really enjoyed “Fairy Tale”. It’s a wonderfully imaginative, adventurous book. The only critique is that it was a tad too long and there were some parts in the book that dragged a bit or felt repetitive. I would definitely recommend this to people, if they want to start reading Stephen King.