The Life of Chuck

By Stephen King

Book Overview

Stephen King's "The Life of Chuck" is a "phenomenal" (USA TODAY) tale of life and legacy--now a feature film directed by Mike Flanagan and starring Tom Hiddleston, Mark Hamill, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Karen Gillan--available for the first time in a beautiful stand-alone edition with a new introduction by Stephen King and a design surprise.

Originally featured in the acclaimed story collection If It Bleeds, this unforgettable, mind-bending tale unfolds in reverse, taking readers through the extraordinary life of Charles "Chuck" Krantz.

In a crumbling world plagued by natural disasters, collapsing infrastructure, and mass panic, bizarre billboards and advertisements appear throughout town: "Charles Krantz. Thirty-nine great years. Thanks, Chuck " Marty Anderson, a schoolteacher, becomes obsessed with these messages as the world, inexplicably linked to Chuck's life, seems to be approaching its end.

Told in three acts, presented in reverse order, The Life of Chuck explores one man's past. We see him in middle age on a business trip in Boston as he is seduced by a busker into spinning a gorgeous sidewalk dance. And we see him as a child, in a house haunted by a terrible secret, learning to dance with his grandmother. In these pages King reminds us that life's quotidian pleasures are even more glorious because they are fleeting: the outrageous good fortune of a beautiful blue day after a string of gray ones; the delight of dancing when every move feels perfect; a serendipitous meeting. King's ability to describe pure joy rivals his ability to terrify us.

Now a major motion picture and winner of the Toronto International Film Festival People's Choice Award, The Life of Chuck is a glorious story about community and about humanity at its best, a celebration of joy, mystery, existential wonder, and the multitudes contained in all of us.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1668208784
• ISBN13: 9781668208786
• Release Date: June 2025
• Publisher: Scribner Book Company
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 0.69 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.2" x 7.1"

Customer Reviews

Disappointing

I've been a King fan from his early, early days and this time is the first I'm disappointed with one of his books. For starters, the book is less than 200 pages long (that includes a page advertising the movie and a few pictures of Chuck dancing). The story is nothing special and certainly not as detailed as so many his previous books have been. Can't believe I paid almost $17 for what amounts to just a short story.