Needful Things is a story about the time the Dark Man took a holiday from bugging Roland and decided to open a little curio shop in Castle Rock. Shenanigans ensue, in the forms of pranks played as payment for one's hearts desire. There's an interesting commentary on the advertising industry, something King has said was intentional - he tried to distil the worst elements of the 80s into the plot. I particularly like the way each person talks themselves into the sale, not on the merits of the item itself but based on the life they believe they will have once in possession of the item. In at least one case this is heartbreaking; a man believes that once in possession of a fine fox tail to tie to his car's aerial he will drive that car over to a regular AA meeting every week.
The pranks people are asked to play seem innocent at first; they're on people whom the pranker is ambivalent about and don't seem too harmful. But, in the mind of the prankee they increase paranoia and existing rivalries, until the town reaches a glorious implosion.
The trailer for the movie makes the whole thing seem comedic, and, on reflection, there is a line of dark comedy in there. Very dark.
I enjoyed the book both when I first read it and now. It's something of a sequel to The Dark Half and The Sun Dog and also includes characters from The Dead Zone and The Body. The latter is Ace Merrill, the main bully, who is said to have spent some time in Shawshank between books. I particularly liked Alan Pangborn and his relationship with Polly, who ends up spending some time thinking about Cujo when she's up on the old farm where that book took place. At the end of the book, Gaunt moves on to the town where The Library Policeman took place.
A number of these characters also show up in Gerald's Game, or at least at the end. Most of the book involves one woman, in a room, for three-hundred pages. These restrictions really allow King's talent as a story-teller to shine. There's nothing to hide behind; no distractions. Just one woman and her story, and King handles it masterfully. The flashbacks are used to great effect; in this article, Gladstone points out whatever the chronology is doing the narrative is always moving forwards. Flashbacks are part of that, no matter when they actually take place, and King handles that like a boss.
The novel also explores the limit of the human body and mind; what can we cope with? What can we live through? It really is a masterpiece; I don't think I ever read it in less than two days.
Jessie Burlingame is excellently written, as a fully realised female character. King even manages some commentary on uniquely female experiences which rings true; possibly due to the women the novel is dedicated to, his wife and her sisters.
Jessie's also an expert at splitting her psyche, assigning different experiences to different segments. This allows us to have some conversation during the three hundred pages in which she is alone, as she is forced to deal with these issues. It's a similar technique to that used by Mark Vorkosigan in Mirror Dance, when dealing with being tortured, and it can also be a useful mental trick for making decisions about more mundane issues.
James Smythe's post on Needful Things points out that a huge theme of the novel is about how destructive needs can be if not overcome. His post on Gerald's Game covers his own experience of first reading the novel at thirteen. I think I was a little older; closer to seventeen or eighteen.
Stephen King's next published novel is Dolores Claiborne another book that I've read before and enjoyed. I actually read it before Gerald's Game; the two are linked by an eclipse.
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