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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
Stephen King has a way of creating characters that are so easy to hate that you find yourself not wanting any of them to get out of the story alive. That’s not to say that he doesn’t also create characters that are just as easily likable because he does that very well too, but this story had more of the former than the latter. My biggest complaint about not just this particular book, but a lot of the King titles I’ve read is that with as many tools he has in his character toolbox he usually makes the ones you’re supposed to dislike racist, homophobic animal killers. Those are highly disgusting things and yes those characteristics WILL make me hate a character, but come on Stephen….you can come up with other ways. And the fat shaming gets a little excessive as well.
Having said that, this book was quite a bonkers ride. The ending fell flat for me, but that’s not unusual with King. I enjoyed the town of Castle Rock and the small town feel. None of these characters were likable and I took pleasure in their exits when and if they happened.
Trigger warning for animal death(s)
Having said that, this book was quite a bonkers ride. The ending fell flat for me, but that’s not unusual with King. I enjoyed the town of Castle Rock and the small town feel. None of these characters were likable and I took pleasure in their exits when and if they happened.
Trigger warning for animal death(s)
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
tense
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
“Everyone loves something for nothing...even if it costs everything.”
Needful Things by Stephen King is about the town of Castle Rock in Maine. A stranger named Leland Gaunt opens a shop called Needful Things. He prides himself on knowing that there is something for everyone and of course for everything there is a price.
This book was very exciting to read. Going in blind I didn’t know what to expect and after the first few chapters I was hooked.
There is a huge cast of characters in this book to fall in love with and some which were bat shit crazy!! Leland Gaunt our protagonist mysterious man was my favourite. His personality and appearance captivated the people in the town and King portrays this in a creepy way. We all love a crazy character and Nettie was one for sure. I felt both sorry for her and frustrated with her. There are many more and each person was an influence on what happened in this town.
The story was intense. Whilst reading the lead up to a shocking event there was that fear and dread the character was thinking which made the reader feel the same way. So many occasions that gave me a creepy chill and had me hooked into the bizarre practices of Gaunt.
What I took from this story was that Gaunt was the influencer/lucifer who was playing with the people in this town. His evil tendencies are what heightened the disturbing reality of what was going on.
This book was an insight into our behaviour when we want things and our value to them, of course I laughed at this because my book buying obsession is out of control 🤣
Needful Things by Stephen King is about the town of Castle Rock in Maine. A stranger named Leland Gaunt opens a shop called Needful Things. He prides himself on knowing that there is something for everyone and of course for everything there is a price.
This book was very exciting to read. Going in blind I didn’t know what to expect and after the first few chapters I was hooked.
There is a huge cast of characters in this book to fall in love with and some which were bat shit crazy!! Leland Gaunt our protagonist mysterious man was my favourite. His personality and appearance captivated the people in the town and King portrays this in a creepy way. We all love a crazy character and Nettie was one for sure. I felt both sorry for her and frustrated with her. There are many more and each person was an influence on what happened in this town.
The story was intense. Whilst reading the lead up to a shocking event there was that fear and dread the character was thinking which made the reader feel the same way. So many occasions that gave me a creepy chill and had me hooked into the bizarre practices of Gaunt.
What I took from this story was that Gaunt was the influencer/lucifer who was playing with the people in this town. His evil tendencies are what heightened the disturbing reality of what was going on.
This book was an insight into our behaviour when we want things and our value to them, of course I laughed at this because my book buying obsession is out of control 🤣
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
slow-paced
Originally pitched as "the final Castle Rock" story, this one deals with a new shop opening in the town, and the shop sells your heart's deepest desire for a real bargain. Oh, but there's also the matter of playing a little prank on someone to complete the transaction, and the shop's proprietor--Mr. Leland Gaunt--has ways of making sure they get carried out.
What follows is a town gone mad as old grudges and animosities are ignited to a fever pitch. It's largely up to Sheriff Pangborn (who readers may remember from The Dark Half) to save the town from itself.
The book is...ok. It references previous Castle Rock works such as Cujo, The Dead Zone, The Dark Half and The Body, and--as it was billed as the last Castle Rock story--nobody is safe....not even the physical town itself.
The problem is the overlong nature of the novel. I'm usually fine with King's longer novels, but there's too much repetition and unnecessary filler in this one. The ending is another example of King's "ah crap, I need to end this...deus ex machina time!" sort of endings. Sometimes they work better than others, and this one only sorta works.
Still a good read overall. It has some truly creepy and disturbing moments, a good look at how petty desires and even pettier personal conflicts can destroy people (King has such a knack for creating largely believable small-town life), and a great scene-chewing villain that I couldn't help but picture as Vincent Price.
Overall worth reading, but not my favorite King novel by any stretch.
What follows is a town gone mad as old grudges and animosities are ignited to a fever pitch. It's largely up to Sheriff Pangborn (who readers may remember from The Dark Half) to save the town from itself.
The book is...ok. It references previous Castle Rock works such as Cujo, The Dead Zone, The Dark Half and The Body, and--as it was billed as the last Castle Rock story--nobody is safe....not even the physical town itself.
The problem is the overlong nature of the novel. I'm usually fine with King's longer novels, but there's too much repetition and unnecessary filler in this one. The ending is another example of King's "ah crap, I need to end this...deus ex machina time!" sort of endings. Sometimes they work better than others, and this one only sorta works.
Still a good read overall. It has some truly creepy and disturbing moments, a good look at how petty desires and even pettier personal conflicts can destroy people (King has such a knack for creating largely believable small-town life), and a great scene-chewing villain that I couldn't help but picture as Vincent Price.
Overall worth reading, but not my favorite King novel by any stretch.