A review by literatureleaf
Needful Things by Stephen King

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Age: 16+
 
Reading time: 4 days
 
Difficulty level: 2/5
 
Rating: 3.75/5
 
 
Needful Things by Stephen King follows an eclectic cast of characters as an undetected evil force threatens to take over their idyllic small town in Maine. When someone new shows up in Castle Rock, it’s always a source of gossip for the locals, but when Leland Gaunt, owner and operator of the curio shop Needful Things moves to town, something is different. The residents are instantly taken with him and his store, which seems to truly have something for everyone. 
 
However, underneath Mr. Gaunt’s charming smile and hypnotizing eyes, evil simmers. Motivated not by money, power, or greed, but by dark forces that no one in town truly understands, Mr. Gaunt will stop at nothing until everyone living in Castle Rock has fallen victim to his spell, and the fate of the town ultimately rests with the few citizens who are able to look past the smoke and mirrors and see him for what he really is.
 
A true slow burn, Needful Things takes it time, both with the plot and the horror. Tension builds slowly but steadily, and as the characters continue about their everyday lives, giving the reader a window into their realities, yet remain oblivious to the wickedness that’s underway in their hometown, the dread mounts. A constant, meandering feeling of unease lingers throughout the pages that’s akin to knowing that something terrible is about to happen but being completely powerless to stop it.
 
King is a master at crafting both an incredibly detailed, immersive world, and a relatable, morally ambiguous cast that work together to pull you in. Each character not only plays an integral role in the main plot but has their own unique and individual storyline. The multiple viewpoints, in combination with the enmeshing of the overarching story and individuality of the cast’s personalities and experiences, serve to incite genuine empathy, anger and pain from the reader.
 
As with most King novels, there are cracks in the foundation of an excellent story. At times the dialogue feels incredibly stilted and unrealistic, and many of the scenes written from children’s points of view come across as an adult projecting what they feel a young child would do or say, and not how they would behave in the given situation. With the multi-faceted characterizations and stark, elegant prose that fill the rest of the novel, it’s hard to not be a bit disappointed by subpar dialogue. 
 
Where the book is truly lacking, however, is in the ending. The pacing ramps up very quickly towards the end of the novel, and without giving anything away, it felt as though there had been no real finish planned, and King had to quickly throw something together. Everything seemed very forced, and many of the main characters acted in ways or did things that completely discounted who they had been set up to be throughout the story. It left the impression of a hastily wrapped holiday gift, bow forgotten, and did not match up with the quality of the rest of the book.
 
Needful Things is, for the most part, a beautifully crafted horror epic that shines as a true classic, even in the face of its flaws. Entangling supernatural evil with the everyday horrors of being human, such as grief, loss, and corruption, the novel expertly explores what would happen if something caused that thin, tenuous string that holds both us and the world together to snap, and humanity no longer felt obligated to listen to that tiny voice in our heads that separates us from animals, acting purely on instinct.
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