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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
“Everyone loves something for nothing...even if it costs everything.” Needful Things by Stephen King. An odd new shop opens in the sleepy Maine town of Castle Rock and it has the strangest name, “Needful Things”. The proprietor of the shop is a mysteriously charming older man by the name of Leland Gaunt. Mr. Gaunt has countless rare and collectable items for sale at unbelievable low prices! Sometimes there is a catch though, with the great deal you just received you might be asked to play a harmless trick on someones else in town.
Needful Things is a story about paranoia And doing anything to protect your most valuable possessions. After all, how much harm can a simple “prank” cause? Overall I did enjoy this story, it dragged on in some spots; but with being such a massive book I suppose that could be expected and forgiven. My biggest mark against it was the ending, as everything is going to hell in a handbasket and we are revving up for the climatic showdown, the battle we’ve been waiting for plays out very rushed and too overly convenient the end result just felt a little underwhelming. With that being said, it was a fun read and it’s a book that has been referenced a lot in pop culture so it was fun to see the origin of that.
Needful Things is a story about paranoia And doing anything to protect your most valuable possessions. After all, how much harm can a simple “prank” cause? Overall I did enjoy this story, it dragged on in some spots; but with being such a massive book I suppose that could be expected and forgiven. My biggest mark against it was the ending, as everything is going to hell in a handbasket and we are revving up for the climatic showdown, the battle we’ve been waiting for plays out very rushed and too overly convenient the end result just felt a little underwhelming. With that being said, it was a fun read and it’s a book that has been referenced a lot in pop culture so it was fun to see the origin of that.
This is one of my favourite books by King. The premise of a small town turning from calm to chaotic due to everyone acting on their base instincts is one that I enjoy and in this book King does very, very well. The writing is King’s usual style of almost over giving details and information which leads you to know the characters and their situations almost more than they would know themselves. There was a large range of characters with motives ranging from desire to anger to jealousy, however, some did feel mildly caricaturish. The main characters were unique yet realistic and their actions and decisions helped push forward the story. As per most King books, the book culminated in a big action sequence which I am sure Bruce Willis or Chuck Norris would have felt at home in and in which King managed to bring together all the story lines in a satisfying way. Also, fans of King will easily be able to see and enjoy the liberal references to Kings other books sprinkled throughout this one.
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Viel zu langatmig. Die Maschen könnten dichter sein, es bräuchte auch nicht gar so viele Charaktere. Idee gut, Umsetzung mau.
With complex characters, a thick plot, and the specific humor that emanates from any King novel, this book was wonderful. This is, to date, the longest book that I have ever read, with a whopping 943 pages in the pocket books edition that I purchased. Even so, I feel that I have read books three times the length of this one. I never got bored with the plot or the characters; the story was paced well and not confusing in the way that some long novels can be.
King built this whole novel off of these simple questions:
>What do we need in life? What do we want?
>Where do the needs and the wants cross over?
>How far will we go to get the things that we say we "need"?
In addition to creating a wonderful novel, King makes the reader ask themselves these questions... and they are not easy questions to ponder, that is for sure. Sometimes we want something so much that we feel we need it. Is that a good thing? Does it show passion and care? Or does it prove one to be greedy? Have we all gotten too used to getting what we want all the time? Tough questions...
Castle Rock, the quaint Maine town that is the setting for many Stephen King books, reminded me a lot of the small town that I live in... everyone knows everyone. That is usually a bad thing. In this book, it definitely was.
As far as characters go, I just love Alan... he is the wholesome, warm-hearted, caring cop that I didn't know I needed. He was the Jim Hopper of Needful Things. I understand now that some tropes are good tropes! I also liked Nettie a lot... but for those who haven't read this book yet, just don't get too attached...
Finally, just as in every other King novel I've read, the setting was beyond perfect and explained in remarkably vivid detail.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to any King fan. I didn't realize until about 3/4 through the book that this is the final Castle Rock story, so I wish that I would have read the other Castle Rock books before I read this one. Oh well... just means more Stephen King for me to read!
King built this whole novel off of these simple questions:
>What do we need in life? What do we want?
>Where do the needs and the wants cross over?
>How far will we go to get the things that we say we "need"?
In addition to creating a wonderful novel, King makes the reader ask themselves these questions... and they are not easy questions to ponder, that is for sure. Sometimes we want something so much that we feel we need it. Is that a good thing? Does it show passion and care? Or does it prove one to be greedy? Have we all gotten too used to getting what we want all the time? Tough questions...
Castle Rock, the quaint Maine town that is the setting for many Stephen King books, reminded me a lot of the small town that I live in... everyone knows everyone. That is usually a bad thing. In this book, it definitely was.
As far as characters go, I just love Alan... he is the wholesome, warm-hearted, caring cop that I didn't know I needed. He was the Jim Hopper of Needful Things. I understand now that some tropes are good tropes! I also liked Nettie a lot... but for those who haven't read this book yet, just don't get too attached...
Finally, just as in every other King novel I've read, the setting was beyond perfect and explained in remarkably vivid detail.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to any King fan. I didn't realize until about 3/4 through the book that this is the final Castle Rock story, so I wish that I would have read the other Castle Rock books before I read this one. Oh well... just means more Stephen King for me to read!
You can find this review and more at Novel Notions.
Are you a seasonal reader? I sure am. Winter is for classics and childhood favorites and romances. Spring is for fiction that builds my faith and fantasies that build intricate worlds in my mind. Summer is for rereads when I’m feeling lazy and new-to-me realms of fantasy when I’m not. But autumn is without a doubt the season that dictates my reading the most. For the past few years, October has been for horror in general and Stephen King in particular. This year, I kicked my King-a-Thon off a little early. And I’m happy to report that I started it off with a bang.
Though I’ve visited through film and the novella Gwendy’s Button Box, Needful Things marks my first novel-length journey into Castle Rock. It was quite the introduction, let me tell you. Originally billed as the last Castle Rock novel, you know going in that things probably aren’t going to end well. King is a master of the slow burn, of stories that so gradually develop their tone of impending doom that you find yourself suddenly frightened with no way to pinpoint what it is exactly that is scaring you. Needful Things was no exception.
Castle Rock is a quaint little town that has experienced it share of weird. It’s the setting of The Dead Zone, Cujo, and The Dark Half, all of which took place prior to this book. But as with all small towns, they’ve done their best to sweep the weird under the proverbial rug and pretend that it never happened. Whether that willful ignorance has any impact on the events of this book is for the reader to decide.
The story opens with townspeople whispering excitedly over the opening of a new shop. In a town this size, change is rare and is made much of, though the citizenry is sure to feign disinterest; no one wants to seem too excited, as that would reveal a lack of restraint and refinement to others in town. Regardless, nearly everyone in town ends up paying Mr. Leeland Gaunt a visit at his curiosity shop, Needful Things. And every single visitor finds within the shop the fulfillment of their deepest and most treasured wish in the form of an object on the shelves of the new shop. Every customer is desperate to secure said object, but certain it’s something they could never afford.
Imagine their absolute delight when Mr. Gaunt quotes them a rock-bottom price on the item that physically embodies their wildest dream. They get a steal of a deal, as long as they’re also willing to perform a tiny favor for the proprietor in the form of a harmless prank played on another Castle Rock citizen. What’s the harm, right?
These purchases begin to change the people of the town, bringing out the darkness inside them. Greed and selfishness, suspicion and mistrust begin to bleed onto the streets and into the hearts of those who walk out the doors of Needful Things. Even though each customer has just made the purchase of a lifetime, there is no rushing to show off these remarkable finds to family or bragging of them to friends. Each treasure is jealously guarded, and each owner lives in terror of someone stealing this prized possession from them. Because they never share their treasures with each other, no one sees said treasure for what it really is: a lie.
Each of Mr. Gaunt’s customers becomes so obsessed with their purchase that they fail to see the malice festering all over town. Those “harmless” pranks? When you have enough of them built up, they’re not so harmless. Neighbor is pitted against neighbor, lover against love, friend against friend and church against church as parties are framed for stunts they never pulled. When all of this mischief finally comes to a head, the whole town is likely to explode.
Mr. Gaunt is a fascinating character who is undoubtedly a supernatural being, though what exactly he is never comes to light. He is the most masterful manipulator of people I have ever come across. But he’s not what made this story so scary. What frightened me was King’s portrayal of human nature. While Gaunt is the orchestrator of the madness that takes hold of the town, its people are willing participants. Each is out for their own gain, and are quick to accept that whoever Gaunt framed is to blame for their misery without every asking said person if they really did these hurtful things. We see an entire town of diverse individuals become replicas of Tolkien’s Gollum, focused single-mindedly on guarding their precious object and mistrusting of everyone around them, convinced that a potential thief lives in the shadowed hearts of their family and friends and neighbors. Man’s readiness to see the worst in his fellow man with no effort to investigate for himself is mind boggling to me, even though I’ve seen it countless times in both fiction and reality. The scariest monsters to leave King’s mind for a home on a page are not the killer clown or rabid dog or reanimated cats, but the men and women who find themselves twisted and do nothing to fight the change, choosing instead to embrace their inner darkness. His take on humanity is terrifying in its probability.
What keeps me coming back to King isn’t the fear factor, but the hope that finds a way to shine through the utter bleakness of his stories. While he shows humanity at its worst, he also shows it at its best. There is always someone who rises up to fight the darkness, even when they fight alone. But the tiniest ray of light can banish the darkest shadows, and King is wonderful at showing the power of that light. Evil might not be forever defeated, but it has been vanquished for a time to lick its wounds. Good triumphs in the battle, even if the war wages on.
King is kind of known for not being able to stick the landing when it comes to ending a story. I don’t know if it’s because I’ve come to expect so little from his endings or because it was legitimately better than most, but I was super happy with the way this book wrapped up. Everything built up to this epic battle, and I wasn’t disappointed with either the battle itself or the outcome. I didn’t feel like cheated in anyway by the final pages, which I have in the past. Whatever the case, I’m so glad I kicked off my King-a-Thon with this book. Time to backtrack and dig into the rest of Castle Rock’s history!
“Ladies and gentlemen, attention, please!
Come in close where everyone can see!
I got a tale to tell, it isn’t gonna cost a dime!
(And if you believe that,
we’re gonna get along just fine.)”
Are you a seasonal reader? I sure am. Winter is for classics and childhood favorites and romances. Spring is for fiction that builds my faith and fantasies that build intricate worlds in my mind. Summer is for rereads when I’m feeling lazy and new-to-me realms of fantasy when I’m not. But autumn is without a doubt the season that dictates my reading the most. For the past few years, October has been for horror in general and Stephen King in particular. This year, I kicked my King-a-Thon off a little early. And I’m happy to report that I started it off with a bang.
Though I’ve visited through film and the novella Gwendy’s Button Box, Needful Things marks my first novel-length journey into Castle Rock. It was quite the introduction, let me tell you. Originally billed as the last Castle Rock novel, you know going in that things probably aren’t going to end well. King is a master of the slow burn, of stories that so gradually develop their tone of impending doom that you find yourself suddenly frightened with no way to pinpoint what it is exactly that is scaring you. Needful Things was no exception.
Castle Rock is a quaint little town that has experienced it share of weird. It’s the setting of The Dead Zone, Cujo, and The Dark Half, all of which took place prior to this book. But as with all small towns, they’ve done their best to sweep the weird under the proverbial rug and pretend that it never happened. Whether that willful ignorance has any impact on the events of this book is for the reader to decide.
“Love, the simplest, strongest, and most unforgiving of all emotions.”
The story opens with townspeople whispering excitedly over the opening of a new shop. In a town this size, change is rare and is made much of, though the citizenry is sure to feign disinterest; no one wants to seem too excited, as that would reveal a lack of restraint and refinement to others in town. Regardless, nearly everyone in town ends up paying Mr. Leeland Gaunt a visit at his curiosity shop, Needful Things. And every single visitor finds within the shop the fulfillment of their deepest and most treasured wish in the form of an object on the shelves of the new shop. Every customer is desperate to secure said object, but certain it’s something they could never afford.
“Because in America, you could have anything you wanted, just as long as you could pay for it. If you couldn't pay, or refused to pay, you would remain needful for ever.”
Imagine their absolute delight when Mr. Gaunt quotes them a rock-bottom price on the item that physically embodies their wildest dream. They get a steal of a deal, as long as they’re also willing to perform a tiny favor for the proprietor in the form of a harmless prank played on another Castle Rock citizen. What’s the harm, right?
These purchases begin to change the people of the town, bringing out the darkness inside them. Greed and selfishness, suspicion and mistrust begin to bleed onto the streets and into the hearts of those who walk out the doors of Needful Things. Even though each customer has just made the purchase of a lifetime, there is no rushing to show off these remarkable finds to family or bragging of them to friends. Each treasure is jealously guarded, and each owner lives in terror of someone stealing this prized possession from them. Because they never share their treasures with each other, no one sees said treasure for what it really is: a lie.
“Everyone loves something for nothing...even if it costs everything.”
Each of Mr. Gaunt’s customers becomes so obsessed with their purchase that they fail to see the malice festering all over town. Those “harmless” pranks? When you have enough of them built up, they’re not so harmless. Neighbor is pitted against neighbor, lover against love, friend against friend and church against church as parties are framed for stunts they never pulled. When all of this mischief finally comes to a head, the whole town is likely to explode.
“Men and women who can't get over their past . . . That's what ghosts are.”
Mr. Gaunt is a fascinating character who is undoubtedly a supernatural being, though what exactly he is never comes to light. He is the most masterful manipulator of people I have ever come across. But he’s not what made this story so scary. What frightened me was King’s portrayal of human nature. While Gaunt is the orchestrator of the madness that takes hold of the town, its people are willing participants. Each is out for their own gain, and are quick to accept that whoever Gaunt framed is to blame for their misery without every asking said person if they really did these hurtful things. We see an entire town of diverse individuals become replicas of Tolkien’s Gollum, focused single-mindedly on guarding their precious object and mistrusting of everyone around them, convinced that a potential thief lives in the shadowed hearts of their family and friends and neighbors. Man’s readiness to see the worst in his fellow man with no effort to investigate for himself is mind boggling to me, even though I’ve seen it countless times in both fiction and reality. The scariest monsters to leave King’s mind for a home on a page are not the killer clown or rabid dog or reanimated cats, but the men and women who find themselves twisted and do nothing to fight the change, choosing instead to embrace their inner darkness. His take on humanity is terrifying in its probability.
“Some tears have to be cried no matter what the hour- until they are, they simply rave and burn inside.”
What keeps me coming back to King isn’t the fear factor, but the hope that finds a way to shine through the utter bleakness of his stories. While he shows humanity at its worst, he also shows it at its best. There is always someone who rises up to fight the darkness, even when they fight alone. But the tiniest ray of light can banish the darkest shadows, and King is wonderful at showing the power of that light. Evil might not be forever defeated, but it has been vanquished for a time to lick its wounds. Good triumphs in the battle, even if the war wages on.
“That was what I wanted, but I don't need it to be gone. I can love you and I can love life and bear the pain all at the same time. I think the pain might even make the rest better, the way a good setting can make a diamond look better.”
King is kind of known for not being able to stick the landing when it comes to ending a story. I don’t know if it’s because I’ve come to expect so little from his endings or because it was legitimately better than most, but I was super happy with the way this book wrapped up. Everything built up to this epic battle, and I wasn’t disappointed with either the battle itself or the outcome. I didn’t feel like cheated in anyway by the final pages, which I have in the past. Whatever the case, I’m so glad I kicked off my King-a-Thon with this book. Time to backtrack and dig into the rest of Castle Rock’s history!
I don’t feel quite right giving this book 4 and not 5 stars because I really did love it and it features one of my new favourite villains. But there’s one aspect of the book that just won’t let me give it a full 5 stars. And that is the fact that there’s SO many damn characters and it was incredibly difficult for me to keep them all straight and remember their stories. There were a few I obviously couldn’t help but remember but some didn’t stick and I’d have to go back and find where they were introduced. Despite that minor detail this is one phenomenal story! I definitely think it’s one of those Kings that get better each time you read it because you absorb more each time. It also features one of my new favourite King villains. I LOVED Leland Gaunt, he truly is a deliciously evil character! The chaos he causes is spectacular and I loved seeing it all build up to the final event where everything just completely degenerates and Castle Rock goes wild!
Ahh, Needful Things. A Stephen King that has sat on my TBR for far, far too long and now having read it, I’m mad that I didn’t make time sooner to enjoy it. Once again, King dazzles with his ability to create a visceral world filled with incredibly realistic characters. It’s not so much of a surprise because Castle Rock is the back drop to many of his novels so he’s had time to cultivate this background but man he does it so well.
This is a thick book but it reads so easily that it’s not tough to plow through. The initial set up for the meat of the story can come off as a bit slow but I think it works because it allows the story to breathe like a fine bottle of wine. Over time, the book tantalizingly grows with its eeriness as the town finds itself swept up in perfect unraveling chaos.
Often when you have a book that utilizes a number of characters and subplots to drive the story, things can become a bit muddled. King really shows how to navigate such an endeavor that it really feels cohesive like building a puzzle with the bigger picture in mind.
Needless to say, this book was a fantastic read for me. I typically enjoy Stephen King’s books but I was pleasantly surprised by exactly HOW much I enjoyed this one. I know I’ve been on such a King trip lately but bear with me since I’m not sure when it’ll be over!
This is a thick book but it reads so easily that it’s not tough to plow through. The initial set up for the meat of the story can come off as a bit slow but I think it works because it allows the story to breathe like a fine bottle of wine. Over time, the book tantalizingly grows with its eeriness as the town finds itself swept up in perfect unraveling chaos.
Often when you have a book that utilizes a number of characters and subplots to drive the story, things can become a bit muddled. King really shows how to navigate such an endeavor that it really feels cohesive like building a puzzle with the bigger picture in mind.
Needless to say, this book was a fantastic read for me. I typically enjoy Stephen King’s books but I was pleasantly surprised by exactly HOW much I enjoyed this one. I know I’ve been on such a King trip lately but bear with me since I’m not sure when it’ll be over!
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes