Book Review: ‘Fairy Tale’ by Stephen King
For horror fans, Stephen King has always been the go-to author to read. He has a way of building an eerie atmosphere that compliments the characters and the lore behind the city. He has written 65 novels/novellas and has had plenty of film adaptations. Some he didn’t even approve of (The Shining), and others that didn’t do too well.
Regardless of how you know Stephen King, whether it’s from his novels or the film adaptations, he will always suck you into the world that he creates. Fairy Tale by Stephen King had been nominated for the best Fantasy novel in 2022 by Goodreads. That was a major factor as to why we wanted to read this one for Maude’s Book Club in October!
Also, in case you didn’t know, Maude doesn’t really like horror, so we needed a good combination of fantasy to get her to somewhat enjoy this one.
Synopsis:
Charlie Reade looks like a regular high school kid, great at baseball and football, and a decent student. But he carries a heavy load. When he was ten, his mom was killed in a hit-and-run accident, and grief drove his dad to drink. Charlie learned how to take care of himself — and his dad. Then when Charlie is seventeen, he meets Howard Bowditch, a recluse with a big dog in a big house at the top of a big hill.
In the backyard is a locked shed from which strange sounds emerge, as if some creature is trying to escape. When Mr. Bowditch dies, he leaves Charlie the house, a massive amount of gold, a cassette tape telling a story that is impossible to believe, and a responsibility far too massive for a boy to shoulder.
***SPOILERS BELOW***
Quotes
“I didn’t exactly hate my father (although I’m sure I would have come to in time), but I felt contempt for him. Weak. weak, I’d think, lying in bed listening to him snore.” - Charlie Reade
“Lindy said my father getting sober was a miracle. Then he added, “But miracles ain’t magic.” - Charlie Reade
“You have to keep in mind that high school kids — no matter how big the boys, no matter how beautiful the girl — are still mostly children inside.” - Charlie Reade
“A brave man helps. A coward just gives presents.” - Mr. Bowditch
“He was too busy drinking to think of things like that, I thought. My old resentments were mostly gone, but not entirely. Fright and loss leave a residue.” - Charlie Reade
“There’s something else, young man. Something a person your age can’t understand. I’ve almost had enough. Not quite, but almost. Life gets old. You might not believe that. I know I didn’t when I was young, but it’s true.” - Mr. Bowditch
“Time is water, Charlie. Life is just the bridge it flows under.” - Mr. Bowditch
“I was insubstantial, and I remember thinking that we all are, really, just ghosts on the face of the Earth trying to believe we have weight and a place in the world.” - Mr. Bowditch
“It was a quote from Benjamin Franklin: “Three may keep a secret if two of them are dead.”
“What had I learned? That this was a place of magic operating under a curse. That the people who lived here were suffering some sort of progressive sickness or disease. I thought I understood now why Dora’s sign — the one Mr. Bowditch had printed for her — only needed the shoe poem on the side that faced the abandoned city. It was because people came from that direction.” - Charlie Reade
“Here is something I learned from Empis: good people shine brightest in dark times.” - Charlie Reade
“I knew the chances were slim, but you know what they say about hope: it’s the thing with the feathers. It can fly even for those who are imprisoned. Maybe especially for them.” - Charlie Reade
“There is a dark well in everyone, I think, and it never goes dry. But you drink from it at your peril. That water is poison.” - Charlie Reade
Themes
Coming-of-Age
Free will
Consequences of moral decisions
Good vs. Evil
Religion vs. Magic
Characters
Charlie Reade: Charlie is the main protagonist of the story and is a 17-year-old boy who goes on an adventure. Early in his life, he lost his mother, and he had an absent father because of his alcoholism. Charlie was inherently good and became a caretaker for his father. He was very young when he became the provider for his father, which made him grow up faster. Once his father became sober, Charlie stumbled upon an old man, who also needed help. Due to his upbringing and his promise to God when he was younger, he felt an obligation to help Mr. Bowditch and take care of his dog, Radar.
Mr. Bowditch: Howard Bowditch is an elderly man who lives alone with his dog, Radar. He kept to himself and had no family. Until one day, Mr. Bowditch fell off his ladder and couldn’t get up because he broke his hip. Charlie just so happened to walk by, and Radar was barking in concern. Even though Mr. Bowditch had a short temper, he was very kind to people he trusted. As Mr. Bowditch weakened, Charlie became his caregiver and was responsible for many things, including the mysterious shed in the backyard. Before Mr. Bowditch passed on, he recorded everything Charlie needed to know about him. He told him about the gold pellets, the shed, and the sundial.
Radar: Mr. Bowditch had a friendly companion in Radar. Charlie found out that the sundial in Empis would be able to make anyone younger so they could live longer. Since Mr. Bowditch got older, he didn’t have the strength to go back down into the other world. So, Charlie took it upon himself to save Radar and give her more time to live. At one point Mr. Bowditch extended his own life and changed his name in Empis, only for Radar to outlive him.
Book Chat Part 1: Fairy Tale by Stephen King
Book Chat Part 2: Fairy Tale by Stephen King
Review
Is Fairy Tale by Stephen King worth the read?
The first half of Fairy Tale has the Stephen King world-building we know and love. He instantly places the reader in the mind of Charlie Reade by having him narrate his story. By doing this, Reade foreshadows a lot of what happens to him, which adds a layer to King’s storytelling. What was so gripping about this first half was the way Charlie prayed that he could do everything in his power to have his father stop drinking. You felt his pain and his struggle because he did not want to lose another parent. When praying to God he felt there was an exchange of good duty for his dad to become sober. However, this prayer and exchange is completely forgotten by the midpoint of the novel when he gets to Empis.
What’s so jarring about the descent into Empis and the fantastical journey King created for Charlie is that the themes that were so heavily implemented in the beginning are lost. Charlie knows and references many fairytales throughout the novel. He has conflicting thoughts about religion and magic and how they coincide. He questions that faith is simply trying to believe in magic. Charlie truly believed that his prayers would help his father, but on the other hand, it was just hard work and the desire to get sober that helped him in the end. It’s the reality of life that Charlie had a hard time dealing with because of his great loss. He so desperately wanted help when he was a child that he prayed. From being a caretaker to his father to voluntarily taking care of Mr. Bowditch because of his prayer, he felt he had this outstanding duty to fulfill.
All of this was compelling enough in the first half before Charlie went down to the shed. When he is in Empis, he finds this whole other world. Here, people have been tormented by the Flight Killer. Their senses have all been affected in one way or another. He sees that there is kindness in the people of Empis even if they don’t have much. He attempts to get to the sundial without being seen, and as he successfully helps Radar, he also gets captured on the way out. This is where the book completely takes a turn and loses what made it so great to read in the first place. It becomes a dystopian tournament that feels all too familiar. It almost feels like two different stories being combined that didn’t quite work. In this case, the first half was more engaging because of Charlie’s relationship with Mr. Bowditch.
So, to answer the question, Fairy Tale is a tough book to get through because of the shift to the underground world. It is a fantasy book through and through, but the horror elements that are promised by a King novel weren’t present. There was mystery and suspense in the first half with Mr. Bowditch, which made it incredibly engaging. King slowly revealed the relationship between them and why Mr. Bowditch was so keen on leaving everything with Charlie. Once Charlie gets captured, it feels like a generic fairy tale that drags out because that wasn’t the world he was originally building. It becomes convoluted and overstuffed with characters that aren’t necessary to the world above them. It also poses no real threat because we already know that Charlie is alive by the end of the book due to his narration and foreshadowing.
What did you think about Fairy Tale by Stephen King? Is it one of his best? Let us know in the comments below, or join our discord today!
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