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jennyraec9 's review for:
Needful Things
by Stephen King
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!