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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
I was debating on giving this book a 2 or 3 stars but wound up deciding that it was at least slightly enjoyable... I did LIKE it. I just didn’t love it.
There was just SOOO much excess, it was really frustrating to get through this book and although the concept is incredible, I didn’t need all the repetitive scenes and insane cast of characters. It was just TOO TOO much. The book really didn’t start getting interesting for me until part three and even then, the best part of the book was rushed!!!
Please spend a little less time with your foundation and give some more of that love to the climax. This book did NOT need to be as long as it was.
I’m glad I’ve read it, but unlike The Stand, I will never be picking up this book again.
There was just SOOO much excess, it was really frustrating to get through this book and although the concept is incredible, I didn’t need all the repetitive scenes and insane cast of characters. It was just TOO TOO much. The book really didn’t start getting interesting for me until part three and even then, the best part of the book was rushed!!!
Please spend a little less time with your foundation and give some more of that love to the climax. This book did NOT need to be as long as it was.
I’m glad I’ve read it, but unlike The Stand, I will never be picking up this book again.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
First read in 1993, reread in 2020.
I bought the paperback of this book at a travel center-type gas station while on vacation with my family. I had been on the lookout for this book and I was very eagerly anticipating reading it; you might say I NEEDED this book.
But it wasn’t available at the first several stops of our trip. I remember perusing rotating racks of paperbacks and coming up empty. I found a different Stephen King paperback—Gerald’s Game—and bought that instead.
When I found Needful Things later during that trip, I was so into Gerald’s Game that I didn’t start Needful Things until we were already home.
On rereading, I was surprised by two things: how little I remembered and how gross and mind-terrifyingly creepy the plot gets. There were passages that bothered me that must not have fazed me as a kid as they left no lasting impression. The way King can describe things, such as the pain in Polly’s arthritic hands, is so tangible I could almost feel it myself. Other passages were absurdly crazy—the Elvis fantasies for instance. King must be mellowing as he gets older because the gory, creepy, crazy stuff that happens in this book—just doesn’t exist in his more recent works.
Looking back at my desire for—my NEED for—possessing this book—much like the trinkets the consumers of Castle Rock NEED to buy from Needful Things—I’m not sure if it lived up to my expectations. I can’t even remember if I liked it at the time.
Reading it now just serves as a reminder that all the things we fill our lives up with—well, maybe we just don’t need them after all.
I bought the paperback of this book at a travel center-type gas station while on vacation with my family. I had been on the lookout for this book and I was very eagerly anticipating reading it; you might say I NEEDED this book.
But it wasn’t available at the first several stops of our trip. I remember perusing rotating racks of paperbacks and coming up empty. I found a different Stephen King paperback—Gerald’s Game—and bought that instead.
When I found Needful Things later during that trip, I was so into Gerald’s Game that I didn’t start Needful Things until we were already home.
On rereading, I was surprised by two things: how little I remembered and how gross and mind-terrifyingly creepy the plot gets. There were passages that bothered me that must not have fazed me as a kid as they left no lasting impression. The way King can describe things, such as the pain in Polly’s arthritic hands, is so tangible I could almost feel it myself. Other passages were absurdly crazy—the Elvis fantasies for instance. King must be mellowing as he gets older because the gory, creepy, crazy stuff that happens in this book—just doesn’t exist in his more recent works.
Looking back at my desire for—my NEED for—possessing this book—much like the trinkets the consumers of Castle Rock NEED to buy from Needful Things—I’m not sure if it lived up to my expectations. I can’t even remember if I liked it at the time.
Reading it now just serves as a reminder that all the things we fill our lives up with—well, maybe we just don’t need them after all.
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
fast-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:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Terrible ending to a mostly enjoyable ride.
This was one of the most spectacular books I’ve ever read. You know it’s good when a 700 page book seems to fly by. I truly could not put this one down at times! Everything that makes King great is featured in Needful Things. A masterpiece!
5/5 stars
5/5 stars
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Suicide, Violence, Religious bigotry