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A review by kjanie
Needful Things by Stephen King
5.0
4.5/5 stars
This was an epic book, and not just because it's the longest I've ever read. I don't think I can ever use the term 'things escalated' in a review ever again after reading this. The book started off as slow then turned into a completely crazy, violent and chaotic story. Truly, at least 250 pages towards the end of the novel was just pure craziness, but I loved it. This also has one of the most interesting premises that I've ever read, which is why I had such high expectations going into it. What would you do to get the thing you most desire? Leland Gaunt, the owner of the notorious store in this book is also one of the creepiest characters that I've ever read about and I hated him so much (but in a good way, I think I loved to hate him more).
Castle Rock is a small, quiet town so the folk tend to take notice when a new shop opens, especially if it’s a shop like Needful Thing. Leland Gaunt’s shop has stirred up almost as much gossip and speculation as the man himself. The good folk of Castle Rock aren’t used to Mr Gaunt’s method of sales for one. He doesn’t care about the money, no, that’s not what he wants at all. To Leland, it’s all about the transaction and the favours that people can grant him. Needful Things sells people’s most desired belongings, but for a steep price. How much are people willing to pay and what are people willing to do for the things they think they want most? Once this kind of shop has taken over the town, how will the folk of Castle Rock be able to ever return to normality.
I’ve never been a huge fan of large books. I’ve always been scared by them (and I still am), like how could you fill up a 900 page book with good content? The answer is right here. Despite how giant this book was, it was never anywhere near boring. I really fell into the world of this book from the very beginning and only came up to breathe at the end. It was quite slow building full of character development at the start, but soon it became full of action, violence and downright craziness. Trust me, things get absolutely wild. For at least the last 300 pages, things were completely insane and full of on-the-edge-of-my-seat excitement. I could never really predict what was going to happen and the twists were just so shocking and unexpected. It got to this point when I felt like I knew where things were heading (downhill and very fast), but I couldn’t do anything to stop it and instead had to watch as things went from subtle manipulation to absolute chaos. I don’t know if I’m doing this crazy ride of a book any justice with my descriptions, but just know, it was definitely a fantastic time.
I don’t know how to explain my love for the premise of this book other than by first clarifying that I identify as a Slytherin. This book is absolutely perfect for a Slytherin as it is just full of manipulation, ambition and scheming. I absolutely adored the slow progression into violence and craziness that this book took. At the beginning, Leland didn’t seem too bad, maybe just a little odd in an uncomfortable way. Very soon though it became very obvious that Leland’s manipulations of the town folk was dangerous and sinister. He was such an evil but genius character that was so interesting and compelling to read about. I never knew how the favours that he asked would contribute to the conflict, but it became very evident very quickly. I think he was just so well-written and developed, making me just love to hate him.
I think the premise of this book is absolutely phenomenal. As soon as I read the synopsis, I knew that it would be something that I'd completely love. It was just so darn interesting to explore and to think about. It really made me question what I would be willing to do for things that I want above everything. In this book, we get to watch people’s morals be thrown to one side as their obsession and desire takes full power of their mind. I hat to say that I loved watching the characters getting manipulated, but that's kind of what it was like. On one hand, I hated how the characters that I was growing to love were being used and abused by someone so evil….but on the other hand, I loved watching it all unfold with a morbid fascination. This book also really made me think about the values that we put on possessions. In this story, we watched people do the worst things, even kill each other, for a mere item. I'm not sure if this was meant as any sort of social commentary, but it did really make me consider some things.
The characters in this book were really well developed and interesting. Much like in Salem’s Lot, a lot of time is put into the detailed development of the characters. There was a huge cast of characters, some with minor roles and some with a main role, but they were all so unique, interesting and vivid. People often say that Stephen King is the best horror writer, but I really think that he's the best at writing real people. Their aspirations, motives and character flaws are all so familiar but also unique to each character. Some of the characters in this book were absolutely despicable, but there were also some great characters that I adored. This book didn't necessarily have one protagonist, but I guess you could say that Alan was the main character. I really enjoyed his character; was down to earth, very smart and justice-focused. The perfect opponent to Leland.
”Everyone loves a bargain. Everyone loves something for nothing…even if it costs everything.”
This was an epic book, and not just because it's the longest I've ever read. I don't think I can ever use the term 'things escalated' in a review ever again after reading this. The book started off as slow then turned into a completely crazy, violent and chaotic story. Truly, at least 250 pages towards the end of the novel was just pure craziness, but I loved it. This also has one of the most interesting premises that I've ever read, which is why I had such high expectations going into it. What would you do to get the thing you most desire? Leland Gaunt, the owner of the notorious store in this book is also one of the creepiest characters that I've ever read about and I hated him so much (but in a good way, I think I loved to hate him more).
Castle Rock is a small, quiet town so the folk tend to take notice when a new shop opens, especially if it’s a shop like Needful Thing. Leland Gaunt’s shop has stirred up almost as much gossip and speculation as the man himself. The good folk of Castle Rock aren’t used to Mr Gaunt’s method of sales for one. He doesn’t care about the money, no, that’s not what he wants at all. To Leland, it’s all about the transaction and the favours that people can grant him. Needful Things sells people’s most desired belongings, but for a steep price. How much are people willing to pay and what are people willing to do for the things they think they want most? Once this kind of shop has taken over the town, how will the folk of Castle Rock be able to ever return to normality.
“Why is it that so many people think all the answers are in their wallet?”
I’ve never been a huge fan of large books. I’ve always been scared by them (and I still am), like how could you fill up a 900 page book with good content? The answer is right here. Despite how giant this book was, it was never anywhere near boring. I really fell into the world of this book from the very beginning and only came up to breathe at the end. It was quite slow building full of character development at the start, but soon it became full of action, violence and downright craziness. Trust me, things get absolutely wild. For at least the last 300 pages, things were completely insane and full of on-the-edge-of-my-seat excitement. I could never really predict what was going to happen and the twists were just so shocking and unexpected. It got to this point when I felt like I knew where things were heading (downhill and very fast), but I couldn’t do anything to stop it and instead had to watch as things went from subtle manipulation to absolute chaos. I don’t know if I’m doing this crazy ride of a book any justice with my descriptions, but just know, it was definitely a fantastic time.
I don’t know how to explain my love for the premise of this book other than by first clarifying that I identify as a Slytherin. This book is absolutely perfect for a Slytherin as it is just full of manipulation, ambition and scheming. I absolutely adored the slow progression into violence and craziness that this book took. At the beginning, Leland didn’t seem too bad, maybe just a little odd in an uncomfortable way. Very soon though it became very obvious that Leland’s manipulations of the town folk was dangerous and sinister. He was such an evil but genius character that was so interesting and compelling to read about. I never knew how the favours that he asked would contribute to the conflict, but it became very evident very quickly. I think he was just so well-written and developed, making me just love to hate him.
I think the premise of this book is absolutely phenomenal. As soon as I read the synopsis, I knew that it would be something that I'd completely love. It was just so darn interesting to explore and to think about. It really made me question what I would be willing to do for things that I want above everything. In this book, we get to watch people’s morals be thrown to one side as their obsession and desire takes full power of their mind. I hat to say that I loved watching the characters getting manipulated, but that's kind of what it was like. On one hand, I hated how the characters that I was growing to love were being used and abused by someone so evil….but on the other hand, I loved watching it all unfold with a morbid fascination. This book also really made me think about the values that we put on possessions. In this story, we watched people do the worst things, even kill each other, for a mere item. I'm not sure if this was meant as any sort of social commentary, but it did really make me consider some things.
The characters in this book were really well developed and interesting. Much like in Salem’s Lot, a lot of time is put into the detailed development of the characters. There was a huge cast of characters, some with minor roles and some with a main role, but they were all so unique, interesting and vivid. People often say that Stephen King is the best horror writer, but I really think that he's the best at writing real people. Their aspirations, motives and character flaws are all so familiar but also unique to each character. Some of the characters in this book were absolutely despicable, but there were also some great characters that I adored. This book didn't necessarily have one protagonist, but I guess you could say that Alan was the main character. I really enjoyed his character; was down to earth, very smart and justice-focused. The perfect opponent to Leland.
”At the end, Mr Gaunt always sold them weapons…and they always bought.”