Stephen King's 'The Life of Chuck' is a 'phenomenal' (USA Today) tale of life
and legacy - and now a feature film directed by Mike Flanagan and starring Tom
Hiddleston, Mark Hamill, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Karen Gillan out in the UK from
August 2025. Available for the first time in a beautiful standalone edition in
June. 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.