Gwendy's Button Box: A Novella (Gwendy's Button Box Trilogy Book 1)

Stephen King and Richard Chizmar take the reader back to the town of Castle Rock, Maine where the unlikely is always likely to happen. In Gwendy's Button Box, twelve-year-old Gwendy Peterson breaks a child’s cardinal rule; she talks to a stranger. When a stranger calls her over for a “palaver” she hesitantly joins him on a bench. In a King thriller a stranger is almost always a bad thing. What follows is classic King as the stage is set for a tale spanning years. The stranger is dressed appropriately for a questionable character; “…black jeans, a black coat like for a suit, and a white shirt unbuttoned at the top. On his head is a small neat black hat.” Most children seeing a man they didn’t know, attired so oddly on a hot summer day, would run all the way home. However, little Gwendy does the opposite. Her curiosity gets the best of her. She is not the most popular child; her list of friends is short. At the end of summer, she will enter middle school, hopefully leaving elementary school teasing behind. You see, Gwendy is on the “plump” side. Observed by the man in black, her figure becomes a short topic of conversation. Uneasy about the direction the talk is taking Gwendy opts to take off. But then, the stranger tells her he has been watching her and he has a gift for her. My radar went up as I read this part. Fortunately, things didn’t go the way I feared. Finally introducing himself as Mr. Farris, he encourages her to sit beside him, and he brings forth a box. As he instructs her on how to operate this mysterious box with buttons that can be pressed and levers to be pulled. After demonstrating what the box can do when the buttons are pushed, he turns the box over to the young girl with the admonishment she keeps the treasure a secret. Without giving away exactly what the mysterious box can do, I will only reveal Gwendy can have anything she wants if she pushes the red button. Imagine the temptation of a simple button on a box being the doorway to your wildest dreams! Imagine giving such a tempting device to a pre-teen girl! The black button is what Farris calls, “The whole shebang”; a curious phrase that might presage things to come. The book follows Gwendy through middle and high school. There are buttons that can be pushed regularly that will reward her. There are the dangerous red and black buttons. This is a story of responsibility, a cautionary tale. It’s an inspection of what can happen when not God, but, a young girl, has the whole world in her hands. I loved this book. I loved the characters. I adore Gwendy; her spunk, her curiosity, her honestly, and her courage. Every experience she has throughout the book touches my heart. She is me, my daughters, and my granddaughters all wrapped up in one girl. I think every girl and every woman should read this book to realize what we can be. Every man should read it, so they can understand what most girls and women can be. It’s amazingly insightful for a book written by two men. I haven’t enjoyed a King book this much in a while. And I am now going to buy Richard Chizmar’s book. Gwendy’s Button Box is damned fine writing and terrific reading.

This is a quick read, and unlike many of King’s longer epics, this tale is completely trimmed of fat. I think Richard Chizmar’s co-authorship may have had something to do with the taut narrative. Gwendy is a well developed and believable character, although that’s not true of the other characters, with the exception of the mysterious black hatted Mr. Farris who appears only at the beginning and at the end. But Farris’ presence is felt throughout the story. -- and just who is this guy, anyway? (Seasoned King readers may know the answer.) The story’s antagonist, Frankie, is a flat out bully, and any observant reader will know he’ll cause trouble later in the story. Harry, Gwendy’s handsome boyfriend, is the all American high school hero on whom any teenaged girl with active hormones would have a massive crush, but his appearance later in the story seems more of a plot device to serve as a catalyst for Gwendy’s growth. I wanted to see more of the button box in action, some demonstrations of the various buttons’ abilities, considering each colored button served a specific function. That would have driven the plot more into the realm of the supernatural, or even better, outright horror. Still, Gwendy’s tale delivers in its own measured and restrained way, and the occasional inserts of illustrations served as a nice 'scrapbook' touch that kept the storyline seemingly real. This collaboratively written story by two masters of the horror/dark fiction genre is a genuine good read.

Gwendy’s Button Box by Stephen King and Richard Chizmar is a welcome home to Castle Rock party. Fans of Stephen King will be sad that the party is too short. Readers will finish this short novel feeling that their reading speed has increased dramatically. Maybe. Others might feel that they have been led on a short sprint in which they were not allowed to fall behind. OK. Either way, for voracious readers with reading completion anxiety, pick up this novel. It will not inhabit your TBR shelf and you will feel good about yourself. I left Castle Rock and went to the Richard Chizmar author web page at Amazon. Another great storyteller discovered (for me).

Readers first meet a pre-middle schooler Wendy, a generously proportioned student who cannot quite see her running sneakers. She wants to lose weight before entering seventh grade. If she succeeds, she might be able to escape the nickname “Blimp.” While on an exercise run up the ominously named suicide stairs, she meets an older, almost non-threatening older man in a black hat who invites, almost demands, her sit down, listen to his offer and accept a gift. The beautiful wooden box she will receive has eight buttons and a couple of levers. Pulling or pushing these will produce consequences either positive or negative.

Richard Farris will never give Wendy a complete explanation of the rewards or punishments associated with ownership of the box. Once given to Wendy, the box is hers. Richard will have no further input. But he will be watching. Already I have creepy feelings about what is going on here. Of course, I am curious about the box and what the buttons and levers can do. But this entire opening sequence is creepy for another reason. Or maybe it is just sad that a pre-seventh grade student should be so aware of the dangers of talking to weird older guys sitting on a park bench offering gifts with no apparent return demands and then deciding to do it anyway.

Due to the immediate gratification offered by the box through chocolate, Wendy accepts the box and the burden of keeping it hidden from others. She returns home and the rest of the tale will track her life through high school graduation. The box is always present, always affecting her life through either dream or waking life, and always well hidden. Her life is good, her grades are near-perfect, she is the best at all she attempts and life is good. She didn’t use the box to ask for anything, really. OK, there was the one time that didn’t work out well, but she hadn’t really consulted the box for any advice. Just the chocolate.

Everything is good. Wendy and empathetic readers should be happy. But questions remain. Is the box an active or passive agent in Wendy’s life? Even though she doesn’t continually consult the box, does it still have an effect on her life? Wendy’s life seems perfect but this may not be true. She is aware of some jealousy from close friends about Wendy’s life following her 100% winning record. One big question, can Wendy appreciate all her good fortune if there are absolutely no negatives to compare her good fortune with? And a final question. What’s up with the infrequently appearing black hat?

The novel is short, it’s fun (positives), it’s expensive (negative) but after a cost/benefit analysis I paid the price and was happy to do so. Now on to read Richard Chizmar.

Well hello, faithful followers (all two of you). Today, I am going to review Gwendy's Button Box - a collaborative venture from Richard Chizmar and Stephen King. Before I do, I have to go off on a little tangent for a bit. I've been a Stephen King fan since the mid 70's - right when 'Salem's Lot came out. My collection is 99% first editions, and includes a personalized signed letter from him that he sent me back in 1985. Ok, so maybe "fan" isn't the right word - just call me "Annie".

I "met" Richard a few years back and have been a HUGE fan of both the company he created - Cemetery Dance Publication - as well as his writing (do NOT pass up an opportunity to read his collection "A Long December").

So, when I first found out that these two were putting their collective genius together to revisit Castle Rock, well, let's just say I was a little more than excited. I immediately pre-ordered a signed copy from CDP.

It was originally supposed to release on May 22nd, but was released a week earlier. Somehow, mine is lost in USPS hell. The tracking (as of May 23rd) is still showing May 17th "in transit". So, why am I wasting your time telling you this? For this simple reason: I couldn't wait any longer to read this so I broke down and bought the ebook. That's right folks - me; apparently the one person left on the planet that despises ebooks with every fiber of their being - broke down and bought the ebook.

Only Richard and Stephen could make me commit such a heinous crime against Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg. I felt ashamed for what I had done. I felt the need to shower. But I needed my fix. Like a junkie.

I only read ebooks while I'm on the treadmill at the gym - three times a day, for about an hour. I opened Gwendy's and started walking - and lost all track of time. As I wrote Richard, by the time the treadmill finally stopped on it's own, my legs were screaming, and my bladder was ready to burst! I almost didn't make it to the locker room - and would have blamed Richard for any embarrassment an "accident" would have cause.

Hopefully, by now (if you've read this far), the above paragraph will make you realize just how good this novella is. Right from the beginning, the man in black (nice DT reference) and Gwendy suck you in and don't let go. Constant Readers will revel in the subtle references to previous works, and new folks will just enjoy the ride. One of the best things about this book is that you cannot distinguish who wrote what. I'm not a fan of Peter Straub (as I have mentioned a few times in other reviews) and I had a real hard time reading "The Talisman" and "Black House" because in both of those it was more than clear who wrote what. But in "Gwendy's Button Box", Richard matches Stephen's rhythm and flow so perfectly that I would challenge either of THEM to remember who wrote what; and that's the sign of a great collaboration.

So, that's the good. Here's some "not so good". I do wish it was a little longer - not out of selfishness, but out of more story development. At times it felt a little rushed, and the ending was a little too clean - and left a few unanswered questions. But, that can all be forgiven provided Richard and Stephen promise to collaborate again.

I purposely avoided writing any type of synopsis for this review - I don't want to spoil the story for anyone. Pick this one up - I'd be curious to see what y'all think.

'Till next time.

I wasn't sure about this before starting. I am a Constant Reader of King's, and I have read something by Chizmar before that I quite liked, but nothing about this grabbed me but the names attached.

Needless to say that didn't last long. The story was absolutely magical, odd, and riveting. Quickly, I began to worry over the short length of the book, and to try to read slowly to prolong the experience; to really draw it out.

That's a wonderful and special treat. Thank you Gentlemen, for that gift.