Hodder & Stoughton Fairy Tale: The No. 1 Sunday Times Bestseller

"I'd like to tell you I came back to my better self at the very end. To say I felt regret. It wouldn't be true. There's 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 is a regular seventeen year old kid. Only Charlie has lived his life mostly looking after himself. After the tragic death of his mother, Charlie's father was driven to drink, barely able to look after himself, let alone a child. A chance meeting with Mr Bowditch, a recluse with a big dog in a big house at the top of a big hill, changes the course of Charlies life forever. After receiving a major inheritance, all of which included a creepy shed down in the back of the yard, Charlie sets out to save a life. In true King fashion, the story is a very slow build, crafting every single moment so you don't miss even the tiniest detail. The story is created based on the old Grimm's Fairy Tales, spun in a new light and modernized to fit with more recent times. The characters and their relationships are put together so beautifully, they draw you in and make you feel for every single one. Not one character feels insignificant. The stunning world building had me lost in a daydream, just imagining the spaces. The read will leave you happy and sad, nervous and excited, I wove through a multitude of emotions on each chapter. This is quite different from most of King's previous works, it is a work of fairy tale art as opposed to strictly horror style novels. There are some quite graphic scenes though, so younger readers may need to be aware of those.

Apenas voy comenzándolo, pero la voz principal con que está narrada (la del adolescente) y los personajes (el perro, el papá) se me hacen muy auténticos e interesantes. Me emociona seguir avanzando y descubrir cómo se desenvuelve la historia.

I really, really enjoyed this book. I read it over three nights, losing hours of sleep because I just couldn’t put it down. I’ve read a lot of Stephen King’s books, devoured some (like this one), enjoyed most, was a bit puzzled by others and didn’t like a few. This one is amazing. The story is an adventure, an escape from reality, a good dream with nightmares too. Right from the beginning, it drew me in. The Amazon review summary suggests that a lot of reviewers have negatively mentioned pacing in this novel but I found the pacing to be perfect. There is a lot of detail and there is a significant backstory to discover but it’s all so captivating. I chuckled, I welled up, I couldn’t wait to turn the next page. The descriptions were so brilliant that I could picture everything so well in my minds eye. I feel like this story took me in a journey and I loved every minute. It’s one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. I’ll probably find myself thinking about it in days to come. That’s one true indication of a great book, in my opinion.

King is not known for brevity, but this feels a bit too slow. It takes halh a book to get to the essence. Not bad, but not a masterpiece either.

The cover is perfect and the book is intact! I love this version because the writing is easy to read compared to other editions and every chapter has a small picture. Amazing!