Fantasy | Book Chatter

Fairy Tale
By Stephen King
Scribner, 9781668002179, September 2022, 608pp.

The Short of It:

My prediction is that lovers of fantasy will absolutely love Fairy Tale. However, that is not me.

The Rest of It:

Legendary storyteller Stephen King goes into the deepest well of his imagination in this spellbinding novel about a seventeen-year-old boy who inherits the keys to a parallel world where good and evil are at war, and the stakes could not be higher—for that world or ours. ` Indiebound

Although the fantasy elements didn’t win me over, the main character and dog did. Charlie Reade is probably right up there with my favorite King characters. And Radar, his aging canine sidekick, made me like this book even though the fantasy parts didn’t score any points with me. The one thing that is always true, is that King is a heck of a storyteller. He pulls me right in and I keep drinking his Kool-aid. Willingly.

While Charlie is caring for his injured neighbor, he stumbles across a mysterious shed, hears some strange sounds and becomes all too aware of how Radar reacts to those noises. Who is in that shed? What is in that shed and what could his neighbor Mr. Bowditch be hiding?

I may be the only reader to notice this but I found some similarities between Fairy Tale and Murakami’s Killing Commendatore and The Wind-up Bird Chronicle. At one point Fairy Tale felt very familiar to me and yet it wasn’t at all what I expected from King. It was at this point that I began to skim a little. It’s a chunk of a book and it felt a tad repetitive but I also wanted to finish it.

Have you read it? What are your thoughts? King fans might be surprised by this one but fans of fantasy might find a new favorite in Fairy Tale.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

Piranesi
By Susanna Clarke
Bloomsbury Publishing, 9781635577808, September 2021, 272pp.

The Short of It:

Wildly imaginative.

The Rest of It:

Our main character is called Piranesi, although he knows this is not his real name. He lives in a house with many halls and rooms. Each room is filled with beautiful statues in various stages of decomposition. Many, damaged by the birds or the harsh salt water environment. Because you see, this “house” has been taken over by the tides and the sea life within it. Fog rolls in. Rain is the only source of fresh water. Piranesi lives here with one Other, literally called “Other” and he tends to the many remains of those who came before him.

I am not much of a fantasy reader but from page two, I was completely sucked into this story. For one, the writing is lovely. Two, I could “see” this house in my mind. And although it’s a lonely kind of story, Piranesi is a happy person, content with keeping track of the tides and his research. But as you read, many questions come to mind. How did he get there? What has happened to civilization? Why doesn’t he leave?

I read an interview with the author and how she was suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome while writing this. How she felt so isolated from the real world, while tending to her debilitating illness. This definitely played a role in how the story plays out. The isolation is palpable but so is hope.

This story is so different and refreshing. There’s enough of a mystery to pull you in, but your heart will be with Piranesi as he tries to piece this all together. It’s a fascinating read. I really need to own a nice physical copy of this one. I can see myself picking it up again to read soon. A classic.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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