2025~17. Fairy Tale

Stephen King. 2023.

I was a little nervous to start reading a Stephen King book. I am not a fan of horror, so have always shied away from his books, despite Delores Clayborn being one of my all-time favorite reads and having liked Eyes of The Dragon a few years ago.  I was therefore pleasantly surprised by the first part of this book, which is the set up for the actual adventure that comes fairly deep into the book.  This set-up portion of the book is exquisitely written, developing characters with depth, describing their friendships and interactions with so much detail and nuance that I was really sucked into the story before any of the fantasy part even started.

Unfortunately, once the actual adventure story starts, the narration lost me.  This was in large part because of the way in which the narrator describes the many people he encounters who have disabilities or disfigurements.  From blind and Deafness, to Dwarfism, to many others, the ableism and stereotypes that he employs in his descriptions of these characters shows such a lack of understanding of what it is to live with a disability that I could not suspend my disbelief and judgment.  He spends an exorbitant amount of time comparing and ranking their conditions, while at the same time saying things like: "Dissing disabled people is crap behavior even if they are an asshole."  As if having a a disability means that you should be coddled and pitied and given a pass for being a terrible human being.    As if that attitude is respectful of people with disabilities instead of a reflect of their dehumanization and othering.  

​Not recommended.

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