"Fairy Tale" by Stephen King
If you haven't read Stephen King in many years, like I hadn't, then reading this book will really help you see how much an amazing writer can still grow! The first half of this book was...epic! The character development and world building...just wow! Stephen King does an amazing job of introducing characters like Charlie, the 17 year old main character who delivers to story to the reader. Mr. Bowditch reminded me of a neighbor that I once had...the nosey neighbor across the street...all very familiar...
Charlie has gone through some traumatic life experiences which included watching his father fall deep into alcoholism, so much so, that Charlie found himself praying for his father to be saved, and that leads to the story heading the direction that it does as Charlie feels as if he owes a higher power for saving his father's life.
Through the narration, we get glimpses of Charlie's background, the good and the bad, from Charlie being a great student, to his misadventures with a friend doing things that could have ended up with him being in trouble with the authorities. All of this helps build the realism of the world that this story takes place in, with a "hero" narrating the story with a checkered past for which Charlie regrets, but does not deny.
We meet Howard Bowditch and his dog Radar, for whom Charlie begins to provide care for after an accident leaves Mr. Bowditch in the hospital. What follows is a lead up to a "Fairy Tale" which you would not see on the Disney Channel!
Good vs Evil, world's other than these...classic Stephen King themes play out in this story. You will find yourself in familiar territory, even though the names/story are slightly different.
For as much as I loved the first 75% of the story, the lead up to the end of the story was a very different tale than the first part of the book. This felt like the rushed Stephen King story writing that I had been used to as a young reader. I felt pulled along at a blistering pace, found parts of the story that could have been much more detailed feeling rushed as we neared the end of the story.
Overall, I really enjoyed the book...but I did feel that the first part and last part of the story were very different in the way in which they were presented.
There is also an overabundance of swearing in the story...to a point that it became more distracting than it added value. This is something that I have not had issue with in prior books by King, but it just seemed so forced in this book.
Another thing that really pulled me out of the fantasy world...the continued emphasis on the way that the language was different and the continued mentions of this, especially later in the book after it had been pretty well established earlier.
Aside from the little nuances that pulled me out of the story, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys Stephen King or fantasy stories.
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