• Needful Things

  • By: Stephen King
  • Narrated by: Stephen King
  • Length: 25 hrs and 10 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (108 ratings)

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Needful Things  By  cover art

Needful Things

By: Stephen King
Narrated by: Stephen King
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Publisher's summary

There was a new shop in town. Run by a stranger. Needful Things, the sign said. The oddest name. A name that caused some gossip and speculation among the good folks of Castle Rock, Maine, while they waited for opening day. Eleven-year-old Brian Rusk was the first customer and he got just what he wanted, a very rare 1956 Sandy Koufax baseball card. Signed. Cyndi Rose Martin was next. A Lalique vase. A perfect match for her living room decor. Something for everyone. Something you really had to have. And always at a price you could just about afford. The cash price that is. Because there was another price. There always is when your heart's most secret, true desire is for sale.

©1991 Stephen King (P)2008 Penguin Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"A sophisticated literary craftsman . . . his work anatomises . . . the social fabric of small-town American life." ( Observer)

What listeners say about Needful Things

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Why ?

What did you like best about Needful Things? What did you like least?

What is WITH the random music ? I'm really not liking it !

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

No loud unexpected music !

What aspect of Stephen King’s performance would you have changed?

The music

Was Needful Things worth the listening time?

I'm sure the story is worthy of the master wordsmith that is Stephen King but I just can't concentrate on it.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Book and narration

Great story and wonderful narration from the author. The only thing out of place is the music. Totally unnecessary. Still worth a listen though!

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Hang in there.

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Not bad, at first it took some time for me to get used to Stephen King's raspy voice, I am not always a fan of Authors reading their own work, just because you can write dosn't mean you should read it. However, once through that it was ok.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The characters, I always like Kings mix of busy characters coming and going and their individual lives within the story. As usual I am finding all this effort goes into the story and characters yet the ends don't seem to hold or produce the impact I expected.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

The use of Raul Esparza [Narrator for Under the Dome] may have been a better choice than the Author himself.

Could you see Needful Things being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

This book was made into a movie in the 80's I believe.

Any additional comments?

All in all an ok book to listen to, just allow yourself to get beyond Mr King's rough voice.
Enjoy.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

One of my favourites

I love hearing an author read their own work and Stephen does a fantastic job in this one. A story which has you wanting more at the end of each chapter.

Several times it had me gasping out loud and wondering how on earth this was going to end.

Highly recommend.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Absolute Enjoyment of an old favorite

What a journey. And Stephen King's narration was superb! I absolutely loved it! Five Stars.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Just as good as I remembered

It’s been a while since I read this, it’s still my favourite. Read so well and makes you go cold with menace and drama.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Another spell binder from mr king

I read lots of reviews before listening to this book and was a bit worried about the comments on the music. Have no fear. The music is appropriate and fits in wonderfully. As for Mr King narrating the book. I love it. He does it best of all. The story was very clever and I enjoyed every bit of this book.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Rivetting!!

This is a " can't put it down" kind of book. Fast moving plot with believable characters. Great read.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Superb

Superb book. No one knows a book like it’s author, Stephen Kings delivery is excellent.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Simply great

While Mr King might arguably not have the best voice for audiobook narration, there’s something very special (to me any way) hearing the author read his own tale. More so, Mr King’s voice, particularly when narrating Leland Gaunt, took on a slight Vincent Price tone, which I loved.

I devoured this book, finding reasons to keep my headphones in for longer each day.

Some reviews also lambasted the music, though I found it helped the story - each key character had his own theme - which helped me keep track as to who was being featured, particularly when the story jumped from character to character.

After giving this a listen, my next step is to look up the movie version, with Ed Harris.

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