Book review: "Gwendy's Button Box" by Stephen King and Richard Chizmar

@JohnRoberts (109865)
Los Angeles, California
May 22, 2018 1:49pm CST
One wonders who wrote the majority of “Gwendy’s Button Box” (Cemetery Dance Publications 2017): the famed Stephen King or little known short story writer Richard Chizmar. King must write in his sleep. How else can an author be so prolific in churning out two thick volumes yearly plus smaller works. “Gwendy’s Button Box” is a slim novella at 164 pages with wide margins and blank pages. The setting is Castle Rock (what a shock) in 1975. Overweight 12-year-old Gwendy Peterson is approached by a mysterious man in black named Richard Farris. He is not a pervert as feared by Gwendy but offering a life changing gift in the form of a mahogany button box. The box has two levers and eight buttons. One lever dispenses delicious tiny chocolate animal shapes acting as appetite suppressants. The other lever delivers flawless valuable Morgan silver dollars that will later pay for college and living expenses. Only the red button can be pressed more than once in granting wishes. Six buttons represent the continents and pressing means catastrophic results. The black button means world destruction. The story follows Gwendy the next 10 years as she frets and worries over the box she keeps hidden away. Gwendy develops into a beautiful straight A super athlete. If she stops eating the chocolates, she regresses. Life is hunky dory until a horrific incident happens. Then Farris shows up to collect the box and thanks Gwendy for being a great caretaker. The box will be moved to another child. That is it. What is the point? We learn nothing about Farris or the purpose of the box. Why is a doomsday button entrusted to a child? Some sort of test for mankind? There must be some socio political theme I am too dense to comprehend. As become his norm the past 10 years, King has interjected his liberal politics with nasty uncalled for remarks that neither enhance or have significance to story whatsoever. The writer is revealing himself to be a hater of anyone not lock step with his beliefs. “Gwendy’s Button Box” is mercifully a swift read and unsatisfying even without its pointless political snarks. Today’s Stephen King seems like a completely different writer from the man who wrote “Carrie” and “The Shining.” Quality and decent endings have been lacking for a long time.
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3 responses
@porwest (78726)
• United States
26 May 18
Unfortunately I have read King less and less, in large part for that very reason. His infusion of liberal politics which has no place in his story line. As for Chizmar, I used to work with him back in my FrightNet days. I believe he still runs his publishing company and may still be publishing Cemetery Dance.
1 person likes this
• Preston, England
25 May 18
sounds like the sort of story Ray Bradbury did in the 1950's.
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• Defuniak Springs, Florida
22 May 18
Sounds very different than the King I am familiar with.
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