I’ve been reading Stephen King since the mid-nineties – devouring his works when I was in middle and high school. (My senior picture is of me reading The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon.) My favorites are Bag of Bones and Desperation, but I also have a special love for The Tommyknockers (which may or may not also be a nickname for my bewbs) And while I haven’t read his entire catalog and I don’t read every release, King is still a comforting and familiar writer – a creepy hug of a book always awaits. Fairy Tale (Scribner 2022), with that classic King storytelling, readily jumped to the top of my favorites. A story about a boy trying to extend the life of his dog? I’m there. Tell me how. But also, the moment I realized Radar, the GSD, would be a main character, I promised myself I would never read another King novel if he killed that dog. I couldn’t put the novel down – mostly because I wanted to ensure the dog lived, but also because I had to know what happened. It’s been a long time since a book kept me up past my bedtime on a “school” night – maybe that’s why I love this so much – it reminded me of how I consumed those books in the 1990s.
Quick and dirty summary because I could talk about this book all day – with a dead mom and an alcoholic dad, a young boy makes a deal with God and a debt is owed. When he is a teenager, he believes that the universe has called to collect that debt when he stumbles over the grumpy old town recluse in need of help. Charlies makes a decision to not only get him medical attention, but to care for his dog while he is hospitalized. And Charlie falls head of heels in love with Radar, and he also grows to care for her owner, Mr. Bowditch, quite a bit. The feeling is mutual, and Mr. Bowditch reveals his wealth and his secrets to the young boy – secrets that involve a magical fairytale land with a sundial that if you spin on it, reverses aging. Charlie only needs to get there and place Radar on the dial, and he will be granted many more years with the dog he loves.
The second part of the novel follows Charlie’s journey within this very dark fairy tale of a once brilliant land. A disease is taking over the inhabitants, save for the ones with royal blood, there are massive cockroaches, crickets, and monarchs, there are vicious wolves that prowl, zombie-esqu electrical soldiers that terrorize at night, a malicious giant (with some of the loudest farts you’ve ever heard), and a king who thrives on destruction of all that is beautiful. Charlie’s quest is no longer just about saving Radar – he’ll need to save himself, and he has the opportunity to do what Mr. Bowditch didn’t; cowards bring presents, and Charlie came empty handed.
This is the best Stephen King book I’ve read in a long time. But the question is, will I read another? I guess you’ll have to read it to find out if Radar lives.
Read this book.
Told you. (I selected The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon because it was what I was actually reading when senior portraits were taken. And yes, I’m reading here. I managed to sneak in a good 5 minutes of reading time by posing with a book. ha)
A Girl Named Tommi 