Needful Things: A Novel
Master storyteller Stephen King presents the classic #1 New York Times bestseller about a mysterious store than can sell you whatever you desire—but not without exacting a terrible price in return.
The town of Castle Rock, Maine has seen its fair share of oddities over the years, but nothing is as peculiar as the little curio shop that’s just opened for business here. Its mysterious proprietor, Leland Gaunt, seems to have something for everyone out on display at Needful Things…interesting items that run the gamut from worthless to priceless. Nothing has a price tag in this place, but everything is certainly for sale. The heart’s desire for any resident of Castle Rock can easily be found among the curiosities…in exchange for a little money and—at the specific request of Leland Gaunt—a whole lot of menace against their fellow neighbors. Everyone in town seems willing to make a deal at Needful Things, but the devil is in the details. And no one takes heed of the little sign hanging on the wall: Caveat emptor. In other words, let the buyer beware…
The town of Castle Rock, Maine has seen its fair share of oddities over the years, but nothing is as peculiar as the little curio shop that’s just opened for business here. Its mysterious proprietor, Leland Gaunt, seems to have something for everyone out on display at Needful Things…interesting items that run the gamut from worthless to priceless. Nothing has a price tag in this place, but everything is certainly for sale. The heart’s desire for any resident of Castle Rock can easily be found among the curiosities…in exchange for a little money and—at the specific request of Leland Gaunt—a whole lot of menace against their fellow neighbors. Everyone in town seems willing to make a deal at Needful Things, but the devil is in the details. And no one takes heed of the little sign hanging on the wall: Caveat emptor. In other words, let the buyer beware…
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Community Reviews
This is my ultimate favorite King book EVER! Every character, every story, how they all intertwine.. The ending.. It’s the most action packed, and mind bending novel I think he’s ever written. They even made a movie, I wasn’t really a fan of the movie but like I said this is my number 1 favorite book by Stephen King!
Needful Things by Stephen King
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4/5 stars)
Wow. This book was a monster—both in size and sheer intensity!
At first, I struggled with the massive town setup
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4/5 stars)
Wow. This book was a monster—both in size and sheer intensity!
At first, I struggled with the massive town setup
I love Stephen King, but my least favorites of his books are always the ones with a happy (or semi-happy) ending. Almost all of King's works are critiqued about the ending to begin with, but for me, the happy endings are the worst. This book had an unfortunately corny ending, which was tied up much too quickly and easily after all the build-up to this monster being a serious adversary.
Ending aside, this book has the amazing world-building that makes me love Stephen King as an author. Being able to write an entire town's worth of characters and make their names all memorable is a talent I find rare among authors.
Ending aside, this book has the amazing world-building that makes me love Stephen King as an author. Being able to write an entire town's worth of characters and make their names all memorable is a talent I find rare among authors.
Absolutely fantastic. This was my 1st S.King read and was a book-club pick. I listened to this on Audible.com where the author narrates his own story. I loved the little "easter eggs" that the author leaves about his other Castle Rock, MI stories.
This was a somewhat daunting read at 800+ pages and 23 chapters. But once you're in....its completely enveloping. The storyline is phenominal, the descriptions are....incredible.
I did make the mistake of renting the movie once I was done and I would like to request a refund of my $2.99 LOL. No movie could ever do this book justice unless it was a mini-series or something. I found myself gasping and muttering "no no no" as I made my way through the book.
I am completely sold on Stephen King and hope my next pick is as good as this one.
This was a somewhat daunting read at 800+ pages and 23 chapters. But once you're in....its completely enveloping. The storyline is phenominal, the descriptions are....incredible.
I did make the mistake of renting the movie once I was done and I would like to request a refund of my $2.99 LOL. No movie could ever do this book justice unless it was a mini-series or something. I found myself gasping and muttering "no no no" as I made my way through the book.
I am completely sold on Stephen King and hope my next pick is as good as this one.
One of his best books. I can't stress enough how expertly the author dives into psychological and behavioral issues of people once put under stress.
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