Title: Needful Things
Author: Stephen King
Copyright (Original): 1992 (1991)
Pages: 736
More Information: Wikipedia Entry
I read Needful Things for the first time about 15 years ago. It was the second book I had read that was written by Stephen King (The Shining was the first). Although I have enjoyed reading both of these books, I never read many more of his books after this one. Looking through his bibliography, it would appear that the majority of his books that I've read since are those with recent movies based on them, including The Green Mile and Different Seasons (a series of 4 short stories with 3 having spawned movies - The Shawshank Redemption, Stand By Me, and Apt Pupil). I've never read either of his two most popular books (It or The Stand). Perhaps I should do so.
While searching my bookshelf for something to read a month ago, I decided it was time to revisit Needful Things once again.
Needful Things is subtitled "The Last Castle Rock Story," Castle Rock being the fictional town in Maine where many of King's previous books are based. As such, you can imagine that the final outcome of the book is not one that the residents of Castle Rock will welcome. However, knowing what the ultimate outcome of the book will be in advance doesn't detract from the story contained within the covers. The story of Needful Things is like a Rube Goldberg machine of destruction where dozens of elements are delicately put in place that work in concert with one another to achieve the ultimate goal of Castle Rock's demise.
On the surface, Needful Things is a new curio store run by Leland Gaunt. Opening in a small town where changes are measured in terms of decades, it is an event that captures the attention of everyone. However, there is more to the store and its proprietor than meets the eye. Needful Things is a conduit through which people shun reality in favor of believing something their eyes and heart know not to be true. But the mind is a powerful and manipulative device. In the hands of a shrewd, supernaturally gifted "entrepreneur," it is capable of overriding the senses and regular thought processes of a human being.
The items for sale in Needful Things are the innermost desires of people everywhere - whatever they may be. When dealing with items of such esteem, most consumer's are prevented from purchasing them due to their price tag. However, Leland Gaunt is not in business for financial gain. He does not sell items straight up for cash, choosing instead to bargain with patrons by charging them what they can afford and requiring them to perform a deed (just a harmless little trick) on his behalf. While visitors to his store are shopping for something they don't expect to find or be able to acquire, he is searching his customers for something more. To Gaunt, each visitor to his store is a piece on a chessboard. His goal is to identify what chess piece each person is and the moves required to take them off the board.
The story centers around 5 key characters with another dozen or so minor characters of varying importance. Each character is provided with enough background to indicate their importance to the main plot. Care is taken that when a new character is introduced, it is not done with a cursory introduction before moving on, leaving the reader to flip backwards in the book the next time they become the center of attention.
Once events are set in to motion, the book becomes hard to put down. Leland Gaunt is good at what he does and has a blueprint for success. As such, the book is broken up in to 3 parts: Grand Opening Celebration, The Sale of the Century, and Everything Must Go. The first part introduces you to the town, its inhabitants, and the first two pawns meeting in the middle of the chessboard. With Part two's sale of the century, more pieces are brought in to the fray with each passing chapter. By the end of part two, the pieces of the chessboard are all out of their starting places and negotiating their way across the board towards their target. Part three is the smallest of the parts (~20% of the book) and encompasses the climax of the story until its ultimate conclusion.
Most of the stories by Stephen King that I've read or read about seem to deal with supernatural forces of some sort or another. Needful Things is no different. As much as I enjoyed the ride this book took me on, I think it could have been better. Like Cujo, I think King could have done this story without the aid of supernatural devices. Was there embellishment of the effects of rabies on a dog in Cujo? I don't know; I think it's probable. But embellishment still preserves a person's natural fear of an event or action. Upon finishing Needful Things, I had the feeling that I had just finished reading a good story. Had King achieved the same story without the supernatural assistance, I believe I would have been left with an unhealthy fear of antique shops and individuals wishing to bargain on the price of new electronic gadgets and gizmos.