Now available for the first time in a mass-market premium paperback edition—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. “There are two prices for this. Half…and half. One half is cash. The other is a deed. Do you understand?” The town of … understand?”
The town of Castle Rock, Maine has seen its fair share of oddities over the years, but nothing is a peculiar as the little curio shop that’s just opened for business. Its mysterious proprietor, Leland Gaunt, seems to have something for everyone out on display at Needful Things…interesting things 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 handing on the wall: Caveat emptor. In other words, let the buyer beware…
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Great story
This book is thought provoking, a little scary and keeps you reading until the wee hours.
Excellent story, so well-woven. So many characters yet you feel like you get to know them as if the reader is living in that imaginary town. You practically get to feel the pain of The heroine with the Rheumatoid arthitis.Would read it again any time.
I’ll start by saying right away that Needful Things isn’t Stephen King’s best work. To me it seemed too long, and it dragged itself along a bit too much. But if you push through it and give it a chance, it pays out in the end.
You realize who the old man in the store represents quite quickly, but King weaves an intricate story, building it up piece by piece, until the final climatic events.
It’s entertaining and I enjoyed it greatly, but you need some effort to push through the middle of the story.
One of the best books by Stephen King. Highly recommended.
This is a great Stephen King book. The way he manipulates the characters is amazing. They get what they want but there is always a price.
One of my favorite Stephen King books!
So entertaining, the way a town’s characters each get a section of the story with what happens to them. I did not want it to end. Actually, I didn’t really like the ending until it ended.
I love this book. I have read it twice.
This one of my three favorite King books, because, like the Screwtape Letters, it deals with the pettiness of evil which c an become monstrous if encouraged. A new shop opens, and its owner always seems to have precisely what someone wants most, and the price is a mere favor. The sheriff suspects something is very wrong as one favor leads to anger and distrust, and things begin to snowball as the townspeople begin to.turn on each other. The devil is truly in the details.
It hits a feeling deep inside- when you feel like you want something so bad you would do just about anything for it not knowing the events it sets off- keeps you guessing!
Great story about greed, selfishness, and hatefulness. How far would someone go to get something they’ve always wanted? One by one, the characters in the town find out. Another brilliant story that could only come from the imagination of King.
Possibly King’s best story.
Needful things is a well developed Stephen King novel. This book is a critique on the human condition of wanting what we think we can’t do without with a very insidious supernatural twist.
And back to my Stephen King review list. Needful Things is one of King’s lesser known books, but it’s a hidden gem. Set in a small town, which is what King is best at, this books manages to draw so many characters in a way that an inferior writer would be incapable of. Each is fully drawn, with their own arc, unique and present. Those who love King will like the side references to Salem’s Lot. There’s a moment when the male lead bends down to catch a dropped plate, and in doing so – that single, fluid movement – induces such love and lust from his partner, that you just marvel at the observation. King may be a horror writer, but it’s the brushwork in interaction between his characters that marks him out as spectacular. Read this book carefully – look at how King paints in your imagination. This is him at his best.
One of my favorite King books, and I’ve read a lot of them.
Stephen King always manages to catch me and pull me into the story, so great!!!
classic Steven King!
One of my favorite SK books.
Needful things, in my opinion is one of Stephen King’s best books. It leaves one wary of curio shops and it’s very much a case of “Be careful what you wish for……… etc.”