I seem to differ quite a bit from a lot of y'all with regards to this book.
I loved it...my eyes are an issue, so I consume audio books the way I used to consume physical ones. THIS one...omigod, my ears were sore by the end of each day because I couldn't stop listening to it. It got to the point my husband would take my iPhone from me so he could talk to me when I was at home because I was off in King Kountry. Don't get me wrong, I ADORE the physical books...I love the weight of them, the sensation of the pages, the smell of them..the way the spine cracks when you open for the first time. But out of my senses, my sight is the weakest, and genetics isn't on my side as I get older. So I try to spare my eyes when I can...plus it's easier to multitask with an audio book.
I love Stephen King's narrations. Because he created these people, he KNOWS them, he brings a passion and gives life to his characters not even my favorite narrators can...(Bill Patton is close, and Lorelei King has nailed Patricia Briggs' Mercy Thompson to the point that when I do read Mercy's books all I hear is Lorelei's voice in my head) ...but SK's narration of BoB, Needful Things, and omigod, as Normy in Rose Madder...no one could have done it better. (Change my mind..)
The story itself is awesome. The age diff between Mike & Mattie doesn't bother me the way it does a lot of y'all...but then that type of stuff doesn't no matter the couple. (Older man/young woman, Older woman/young man...Older man/younger man, or Older woman/younger woman like Holland Taylor and Sarah Paulson..hey, not my circus, not my monkeys.) The characters are real, the issues are real, and if you do believe in certain aspects of the "supernatural", that seems real to you too. I especially "like" (??for lack of a better word, maybe appreciate would be more accurate) how they show that racism was an issue in the north, and not just a southern thing. And the travesty of child protective services is very accurately portrayed here, especially when it comes to sexism and single dads.
It's not one of my top five..that would be The Stand, It, Rose Madder, Dr Sleep, Mr.Mercedes...but it's definitely one of my top 10.