1991 1st edition, Viking publishers, New York; "First published in 1991 by Viking Penguin..."; larger hardbound in black boards with orange foil decor and lettering on cover and spine; very good condition with unmarked pages; dust jacket very good.
Description -
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. 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, Alan'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 Deputy John LaPointe and is shot in self-defense, Priest and bar owner Henry Beaufort kill each other in a shootout, Brian commits suicide out of guilt for his role in Wilma and Nettie’s deaths, and town selectman Danforth “Buster” Keeton (who has been embezzling thousands of dollars from public funds) attacks Deputy Norris Ridgewick, before escaping to his home and killing his wife Myrtle with a hammer.
With the violence in Castle Rock rapidly escalating, Ace and Keeton 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. Ridgewick attempts suicide, realizing that his prank on Priest led to the fatal shootout, but decides against it and goes to the police station to help. As the dynamite bombs explode, Keeton is wounded by Ridgewick 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. Ridgewick 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.