Needful Things

Needful Things
First edition cover
Author Stephen King
Cover artist Rob Wood
Country United States
Language English
Genre Horror
Publisher Viking
Publication date
 October 1991
Media type Print (hardcover)
Pages 690
ISBN 978-0-670-83953-7

Needful Things is a 1991 horror novel by American author Stephen King. It is the first novel King wrote after his rehabilitation from drug and alcohol addiction.[1] The story is about a shopkeeper who runs his business by exchanging goods for money and mysterious deeds performed by the customer. According to the cover, it is "The Last Castle Rock Story". However, the town later serves as the setting for the short story "It Grows on You", published in King's 1993 collection Nightmares & Dreamscapes which, according to King, serves as an epilogue to Needful Things. It was made into a film of the same name in 1993 which was directed by Fraser C. Heston.

Plot

A new shop named "Needful Things" opens in the town of Castle Rock, Maine, sparking the curiosity of its citizens. The proprietor, Leland Gaunt, is a charming elderly gentleman who always seems to have an item in stock that is perfectly suited to any customer who comes through his door. The prices are surprisingly low, considering the merchandise – such as a rare Sandy Koufax baseball card, a carnival glass lampshade, and a fragment of wood believed to be from Noah's Ark – but he expects each customer also to play a little prank on someone else in Castle Rock. Gaunt knows about the long-standing private grudges, arguments, and feuds between the various townspeople, and the pranks are his means of forcing them to escalate until the whole town is eventually caught up in madness and violence.

Sheriff Alan Pangborn becomes wary of Gaunt as soon as the shop opens. However, the sheriff's lover, Polly Chalmers, dismisses his suspicions and buys an ancient charm that relieves the arthritis pain in her hands. Tensions rapidly grow after Nettie Cobb, Polly's housekeeper, and her enemy Wilma Jerzyck kill each other in a confrontation sparked by pranks played on them by local boy Brian Rusk and alcoholic Hugh Priest. Many other rivalries begin to fester, spurred by the personal motives of the people involved (drugs, secret pedophilia, bad business dealings, religious disagreements, etc.).

Gaunt eventually hires petty criminal John "Ace" Merrill as his assistant, providing him with high-quality cocaine and hinting at buried treasure that could relieve the debt he owes to a pair of drug dealers. Ace's first assignment is to retrieve crates of pistols, ammunition, and blasting caps from a garage in Boston; Gaunt soon begins to sell the pistols to his customers so they can protect their property. For centuries, he has tricked unsuspecting people into buying worthless junk that appears to be whatever they treasure most. They become so paranoid about keeping their items safe that they eagerly buy up the weapons that he inevitably offers and trade away their souls. Ace begins to suspect the supernatural background of his new employer, but Gaunt keeps him in line through intimidation and promises of revenge against Alan and the town. Soon, several cases of violence happen simultaneously: gym coach Lester Pratt attacks a deputy and is shot in self-defense, Priest engages in a shootout with bar owner Henry Beaufort which leads to the deaths of both parties, Brian commits suicide out of guilt for his role in Wilma and Nettie’s deaths, and town selectman Danforth “Buster” Keeton attacks Deputy Norris Ridgewick, before escaping in his car, injuring a pedestrian, and beats his wife Myrtle to death with a hammer.

With the violence in Castle Rock rapidly escalating, Ace and the town's head selectman Danforth "Buster" Keeton (who has embezzled thousands of dollars from public funds) plant dynamite all over town, using the caps Ace brought back. Alan sets out to kill Ace, wrongly believing him to be responsible for a car accident that killed his wife and son, and Polly realizes the evil of the charm she bought and destroys it. As the dynamite bombs explode, Keeton is wounded by one of Alan's deputies and is put out of his misery by Ace. Taking Polly hostage, Ace demands that Alan hand over a hoard of cash he allegedly stole from one of the sites Ace dug up. The deputy kills Ace, leaving Alan to face off against Gaunt.

Using sleight of hand and magic novelties that suddenly come to life, Alan forces Gaunt back and grabs his valise, which contains the souls of his customers. Gaunt flees the scene, his car turning into a horse-drawn wagon, and the survivors are left to ponder an uncertain future.

The novel ends as it begins, with a second-person narrative indicating that a new and mysterious shop called "Answered Prayers" is about to open in a small Iowa town – an implication that Gaunt is ready to begin his business cycle all over again.

Characters

  • Brian Rusk: An 11-year-old boy who becomes the first customer of Needful Things.
  • Leland Gaunt: Presumably a demon (or Satan himself) in human form, who has spent centuries traveling about the world and tricking people into selling their souls to him, usually in exchange for useless objects disguised as the things they want most.
  • Alan Pangborn: the Sheriff of Castle Rock and the main protagonist.
  • Patricia "Polly" Chalmers: known as the town's most eccentric woman, Polly was originally a Castle Rock native who became an "out-of-towner" after living in San Francisco for years before returning.
  • Norris Ridgewick: one of the town's deputies and Sheriff Pangborn's closest ally.
  • John "Ace" Merrill: the town's resident "bad boy" and petty criminal.
  • Danforth "Buster" Keeton: the town's head selectman, who often uses the authority of his office to intimidate others. He is also a gambling addict who has embezzled funds from the town. Keeton suffers from paranoid delusions, believing that a group known as “They” are out to get him.
  • Wilma Jerzyck: Town bully and first victim of one of Mr. Gaunt's pranks, performed by Brian Rusk, which starts the cycle.
  • Netitia "Nettie" Cobb: Polly's best friend and housekeeper, and enemy of Wilma Jerzyck.
  • Myrtle Keeton: Lonely wife of Buster Keeton. Buys a porcelain doll from Mr. Gaunt.

Film adaptation

In 1993, a film adaptation of King's book directed by Fraser C. Heston and starring Max von Sydow, Ed Harris, Bonnie Bedelia and J. T. Walsh was released in theaters.[2] It received generally negative reviews from critics, with an overall rating of 26% on Rotten Tomatoes.[3]

The Rick and Morty episode "Something Ricked This Way Comes" parodies Needful Things, featuring the Devil as the proprietor of a store named "Needful Things" which sells cursed items.[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Stephen King, The Art of Fiction No. 189". The Paris Review.
  2. ↑ "Needful Things (1993)". the New York Times. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  3. ↑ "Needful Things(1993)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  4. ↑ Handlen, Zack (24 March 2014). "Review: Rick And Morty: "Something Ricked This Way Comes"". AV Club. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
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