Fairy tale

THE Stephen King returns with a new novel written in the midst of a pandemic and already considered one of his best.

• #1 New York Times Bestseller
• New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice

The legendary storyteller dives into the deepest well of his imagination in this riveting novel about a seventeen-year-old boy who inherits the keys to a parallel world, where good collides with evil.

Early in the pandemic, King asked himself a question: “What could I write that would bring me joy? As if my imagination had been waiting for that question, a vast, desolate city appeared in my mind, desolate but alive. I saw the empty streets, the haunted buildings, the monstrous head of a gutter upside down in the street. I saw broken statues… I saw a vast, sprawling palace with glass turrets so tall they pierced the clouds. Those images liberated the story I wanted to tell.”

Charlie is an ordinary high school student, excelling in baseball and football, with decent grades. However, he carries a heavy burden. At seven, Charlie lost his mother and the grief drove his father to alcohol. Charlie learned how to take care of himself and his dad. At seventeen, Charlie meets a dog, Radar, and her elderly owner, Howard Bowditch, who lives isolated in a large house, with a locked storage room in the yard. From time to time, strange sounds are heard from inside the storage room.

Charlie takes on various errands for Mr. Bowditch and becomes infatuated with Radar. When Bowditch dies, he leaves Charlie a tape telling an incredible story. He had kept secret that inside the warehouse there is a portal that leads to another world.

They wrote about the book:

"I read the excellent The One-Faced Fairy Tale and it was an amazing journey! A journey to a magical, terrifying place where miracles and horror become one. But also a journey back home, to that voice that dragged me into nightmares in my adolescence. The voice of the King."

—Guillermo del Toro

"It contains the boldness, charm, and even romance of a classic bedtime story, but King's gripping writing will keep you awake and won't let you drift off into the arms of Morpheus."

—Vanity Fair

"Once upon a time, Stephen King dared to write a novel called Fairy Tale and managed to live up to this simple but demanding title. The book overflows with creativity. An optimistic story about good and evil… timeless and timely. When you turn the last page, you will feel a little stronger inside, you will long for another story, and, dare I say, maybe… you will live well, and we will live better."

—USA Today