Gwendy's Button Box
(The Button Box Series)
-
-
4.5 • 2 Ratings
-
-
- €5.49
Publisher Description
'A resonant novella set in one of King's signature locales: the small town of Castle Rock, Maine' Washington Post
The small town of CASTLE ROCK, MAINE has witnessed some strange events and unusual visitors over the years, but there is one story that has never been told...until now.
There are three ways up to Castle View from the town of Castle Rock: Route 117, Pleasant Road, and the Suicide Stairs. Every day in the summer of 1974 twelve-year-old Gwendy Peterson has taken the stairs, which are held by strong (if time-rusted) iron bolts and zig-zag up the cliffside.
At the top of the stairs, Gwendy catches her breath and listens to the shouts of the kids on the playground. From a bit farther away comes the chink of an aluminum bat hitting a baseball as the Senior League kids practice for the Labor Day charity game.
One day, a stranger calls to Gwendy: 'Hey, girl. Come on over here for a bit. We ought to palaver, you and me.'
On a bench in the shade sits a man in black jeans, a black suit coat, and a white shirt unbuttoned at the top. On his head is a small neat black hat. The time will come when Gwendy has nightmares about that hat...
Journey back to Castle Rock in this chilling new novella by Stephen King, bestselling author of The Bazaar of Bad Dreams, and Richard Chizmar, award-winning author of A Long December.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This absorbing novella by horror giants King (End of Watch) and Chizmar (A Long December) revisits one of King's most popular locales. It's 1974 when 12-year-old Gwendy Peterson is offered a magic box by a man named Richard Farris, whom she meets at the top of one of the cliffside Suicide Stairs in Castle Rock, Maine. Farris wears a "small neat black hat" and seems to know just who Gwendy is and what she wants. Eight buttons grace the mahogany box he offers to Gwendy, and a lever dispenses silver dollars and intricate chocolates that Farris claims will help Gwendy lose weight and escape being called "Goodyear" by her classmates. Lose weight she does, but that's not all. Wonderful things keep happening in Gwendy's life, and she's happier than she's ever been. But when she decides to press one of the buttons, the consequences are horrendous. The novella follows Gwendy through high school and beyond, capturing the golden-hued joy of childhood and the wonder of friendship and first love, all under the shadow of temptation. This bite-size gem of a story packs quite a punch, and the only complaint readers will likely have is that it isn't longer.
Customer Reviews
A Short, but Engrossing Palaver
This was a short, but highly engrossing palaver.
This novella is connected to King’s ‘The Dark Tower’ series of fantasy novels.
You don’t necessarily have to have read these before this, but you will really enjoy and appreciate what King and Chizmar have cooked up here even more if that is the case.
One minor quibble is the writing style.
It annoyed me at times and, furthermore, it’s impossible to discern which author wrote which segments of the story.
As I say, though, it’s only a minor thing.
Highly recommended.
I only hope that the two sequels are just as engrossing now…