Needful Things by Stephen King
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Needful Things is set in the town of Castle Rock (a fictitious town that has been the setting for a number of Stephen King's previous novels) where a new shop - Needful Things, has just opened. At first glance, the shop seems like any other trinket shop but as the citizens of Castle Rock enter the shop out of curiosity, they soon realize that the shop holds an item that they want more than anything else.
The sign hanging at the shop window - "Caveat emptor" ("Let the buyer beware"), gives a subtle hint about the events that are about to unfold as each buyer purchases an item that the old shopkeeper has in stock, most of the time paying surprisingly low prices in addition to performing small 'favors' at the shopkeeper's request. As the plot develops, the number of townspeople that fall prey to the shopkeeper's influence increases and it becomes clear that these 'favors' worsen existing grudges between the townspeople, causing them to turn against each other. The story has somewhat of a happy ending - that is if you like at least 80% of the main and supporting characters wiped out.
The narrative constantly shifts between one character's point of view to another, allowing the reader to understand multiple character's actions, background and paranoia. And as always, Stephen King's details regarding the numerous acts of violence in the book are all too grisly. Truly a Stephen classic, the book shows the selfish side of people as well as the things that one will do when driven to desperation. It might be a bit too exaggerated but the book still leaves an uncomfortable notion that such things are possible. Really, if you've never read a Stephen King novel (where have you been), Needful Things would be a great starter. x)
Yihao
The sign hanging at the shop window - "Caveat emptor" ("Let the buyer beware"), gives a subtle hint about the events that are about to unfold as each buyer purchases an item that the old shopkeeper has in stock, most of the time paying surprisingly low prices in addition to performing small 'favors' at the shopkeeper's request. As the plot develops, the number of townspeople that fall prey to the shopkeeper's influence increases and it becomes clear that these 'favors' worsen existing grudges between the townspeople, causing them to turn against each other. The story has somewhat of a happy ending - that is if you like at least 80% of the main and supporting characters wiped out.
The narrative constantly shifts between one character's point of view to another, allowing the reader to understand multiple character's actions, background and paranoia. And as always, Stephen King's details regarding the numerous acts of violence in the book are all too grisly. Truly a Stephen classic, the book shows the selfish side of people as well as the things that one will do when driven to desperation. It might be a bit too exaggerated but the book still leaves an uncomfortable notion that such things are possible. Really, if you've never read a Stephen King novel (where have you been), Needful Things would be a great starter. x)
Yihao