IT

title: IT
author: Stephen King
genre: classic horror
published: 1981
source: personal copy that I've had sitting on my bookshelves for years
pages: 1090
first line: The terror, which would not end for another twenty-eight years-if it ever did end-began, so far as I know or can tell, with a boat made from a sheet of newspaper floating down a gutter swollen with rain.
rated:
FANTASTIC

A promise made twenty-eight years ago calls seven adults to reunite in Derry, Maine, where as teenagers they battled an evil creature that preyed on the city's children. Unsure that their Losers Club had vanquished the creature all those years ago, the seven had vowed to return to Derry if IT should ever reappear. Now, children are being murdered again and their repressed memories of that summer return as they prepare to do battle with the monster lurking in Derry's sewers once more.

Oh my goodness, how should I begin my review of Stephen King's IT?
This is a difficult book to review, at 1090 pages, it's a long and involved novel with multiple characters and several layers in the plot. I feel like I lived inside this book for a few months, I actually dreamt about it a few times.

At the risk of sounding cheesy, in a way, this is not just a novel, it's an experience. Do you know what I mean?

The basic storyline is that there is a group of seven misfit kids who in the 1950's discover something evil in their hometown. This group of seven kids form the Losers club and band together to fight this evil. As adults they are called back to Derry to make a stand once more.
The story goes back and forth from the summer of 1958 to 1985, from when the Losers club were kids to present day as adults.

The town of Derry and this gang of seven misfit kids really jumped off the pages for me. Kids have a way of tugging at your heartstrings and the gang in this novel was no different.
IT appears in the form of a clown mainly, since kids are 'supposed' to like clowns. But this evil also appears in the form of whatever the children fear most. IT lives in the canals in Derry and travels through the towns underbelly, through it's drainpipes and its sewers. But IT also lives in another dimension, IT resides someplace else.

When I was finished reading IT, I didn't read anything else for a few days. I think my brain needed a break, but also missed these characters a little. I missed going along with the Losers Club as they hung out in their clubhouse and as they stood up to local bullies. These kids found one another and became best of friends. That's a major theme in IT, power in the bonds of friendship.

These characters really grew on me and I was sad to see this 1090 page story come to an end. When does that ever happen? Rarely. I think that's the true mark of a great book, when the reader is sad to see the story end and misses the characters within its pages.

Could King have cut down a couple hundred pages? Probably, but for the most part I like the details he provides in his writing, it gives it all a more realistic feel. There were times however, when I wished he would shorten some of the scenes. Some of the details in there, I felt like I didn't need to know.
However, King's talent for characterization is amazing. He really has knack for giving his characters depth and for making them multidimensional. These seem like real people, the town of Derry, Maine seems like a real place. He sets up the story so well and gives these characters such detail throughout the book, then he brings it all together for an amazing ending.

This was a memorable read, and I am happy to say, classic King. Some of the story was hard to stomach, this read is not for the faint of heart.
The horror and ick factor were pretty high but this novel also has heart. As I got to know this misfit bunch, I cheered for them and hoped they would win the fight against IT. Some of the story is very emotional and I found myself completely immersed within these pages. This was all part of the experience of reading IT. The last 200 pages or so were unputdownable. King had me on the edge of my seat with his genius for storytelling and for creating suspense.

As far as what IT really is, I found this aspect of the story to be fantastic. I was glad to see him take the reader inside IT's mind.
Towards the end of the book, something unexpected happens that really took me by surprise. But then again, King wrapped the story up nicely and had me hooked until the final page.

Highly recommended for fans of this genre, and a must read for King fans. I'm glad I finally made time to read this one.

There was an echo here in Derry, a deadly echo, and all they could hope for was that the echo could be changed enough in their favor to allow them to escape with their lives.
p.515, IT

This has been part of The Stephen King Project.


and Serena and Anna's Stephen King’s IT Read-a-Long.


Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author, screenwriter, musician, columnist, actor, film producer and director. Having sold over 350 million copies of his books, King is best known for his work in horror fiction, in which he demonstrates a thorough knowledge of the genre's history. He has also written science fiction, fantasy, short-fiction, non-fiction, screenplays, teleplays and stageplays. Many of his stories have been adapted for other media, including movies, television series and comic books. King has written a number of books using the pen name Richard Bachman and one short story where he was credited as John Swithen. In 2003 he received The National Book Foundation's Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters.
quoted from wikipedia