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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Stopped reading this at 80% done because it just DRAGGED on. Also two house pets get killed and that just makes me feel gross every time.
i am the newest member of the leland gaunt fan club
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
First read: I read this was when I borrowed a hardback edition from the library, shortly after moving into my own place in 2007.
Re-read 1: 2017 (almost 10 years to the day) with the paperback I bought in Manchester, while working as a supply teacher.
Re-read 2: is courtesy of the audiobook narrated by King himself. The audiobook adds so much to the story, the bell jingles whenever someone walks into Needful Things 🤗 but hearing King narrate sex scenes is odd. I'm not entirely sure why this is my favourite King. Perhaps it's because it was the first adult fiction book I read. Maybe it's because I started reading it on the first night in my own place. Either way, I'm sure the reason is entirely sentimental. That said, it's probably because it's the first big King book I read that made sense after just one read 😂
Re-read 3: on my fourth read of Needful Things, I've finally figured out why I like it so much: it's a small town story. King’s ability to create a fictional town with a cast of distinguishable characters is brilliant and the way Gaunt plays them off each other is clever and eerie. Some parts are straight up funny but otherwise the whole story is just chaotic. Polly Chalmers is and always has been my favourite character, on par with Sheriff Alan Pangborn. My main complaint about this is King's use of certain language and some downright cringey sex scenes, but it's rare that I read a King without encountering these things, nevertheless the former makes for uncomfortable reading in places. Still a fun and sentimental read.
Re-read 1: 2017 (almost 10 years to the day) with the paperback I bought in Manchester, while working as a supply teacher.
Re-read 2: is courtesy of the audiobook narrated by King himself. The audiobook adds so much to the story, the bell jingles whenever someone walks into Needful Things 🤗 but hearing King narrate sex scenes is odd. I'm not entirely sure why this is my favourite King. Perhaps it's because it was the first adult fiction book I read. Maybe it's because I started reading it on the first night in my own place. Either way, I'm sure the reason is entirely sentimental. That said, it's probably because it's the first big King book I read that made sense after just one read 😂
Re-read 3: on my fourth read of Needful Things, I've finally figured out why I like it so much: it's a small town story. King’s ability to create a fictional town with a cast of distinguishable characters is brilliant and the way Gaunt plays them off each other is clever and eerie. Some parts are straight up funny but otherwise the whole story is just chaotic. Polly Chalmers is and always has been my favourite character, on par with Sheriff Alan Pangborn. My main complaint about this is King's use of certain language and some downright cringey sex scenes, but it's rare that I read a King without encountering these things, nevertheless the former makes for uncomfortable reading in places. Still a fun and sentimental read.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Does Stephen King play D&D? If not, he really should. He has the potential to be a fantastic DM. His ability to populate entire small towns with a cast of characters is almost unparalleled. Not just a family's worth of characters; not just a street's worth. I get the feeling that if I somehow found myself in Castle Rock, and I wandered into the most obscure corner of the town and started knocking on doors, I'd meet characters that are just as well-fleshed-out and believable as those found at the heart of the story.
That's always been one of the main reasons I love King's work, but it's a double edged sword. Having all these great characters (good, evil, and everything in between) must mean that the desire to use them all is strong, and that's where King sometimes runs into trouble. This book was unnecessarily long, and if the ending hadn't been so satisfying, I would've rated this lower. As it is, my goodwill towards the book was at a pretty low ebb after what felt like the millionth description of one of Gaunt's "pranks", or while waiting for the parade of minor characters trooping in and out of Needful Things to end so we could continue with the story. Entire storylines could have been removed without impacting the book's quality or storytelling.
That said, I rated this higher than I thought I would because I loved the ending, and I especially loved the references to the Dark Tower. They were brief, but they alone were worth the price of admission.
And on a personal note, this was my 50th King book! Inching ever closer to my Stephen King Completionist achievement ... ^_^
That's always been one of the main reasons I love King's work, but it's a double edged sword. Having all these great characters (good, evil, and everything in between) must mean that the desire to use them all is strong, and that's where King sometimes runs into trouble. This book was unnecessarily long, and if the ending hadn't been so satisfying, I would've rated this lower. As it is, my goodwill towards the book was at a pretty low ebb after what felt like the millionth description of one of Gaunt's "pranks", or while waiting for the parade of minor characters trooping in and out of Needful Things to end so we could continue with the story. Entire storylines
Spoiler
(the school principal and the shop teacher, Ace Merrill, the woman with the flowerbeds and the magenta aura, the mechanic and his disgruntled customer ... I get that these side stories added additional layers of depth under the main characters' stories, but did we really need to include all of them?)That said, I rated this higher than I thought I would because I loved the ending, and I especially loved the references to the Dark Tower. They were brief, but they alone were worth the price of admission.
And on a personal note, this was my 50th King book! Inching ever closer to my Stephen King Completionist achievement ... ^_^