The story follows the exploits of seven children as they are terrorized by an eponymous being, which exploits the fears and phobias of its victims in order to disguise itself while hunting its prey. "It" primarily appears in the form of a clown in order to attract its preferred prey of young children. The novel is told through narratives alternating between two time periods, and is largely told in the third-person omniscient mode. It deals with themes which would eventually become King staples: the power of memory, childhood trauma, and the ugliness lurking behind a façade of traditional small-town values.
This was my first experience reading a King novel, and it
was an interesting experience for sure.
I have never seen the movie, and I didn’t even really know
what the book was about aside from the clown that wreaks all sorts of havoc.
The first thing I really noticed was how long the chapters
are. I don’t know if this is just King’s style, or if it is just this book, but
it made it really difficult to read large chunks of the book at a time. It took
me almost a full year to finish it.
The story was obviously super intriguing. The parts where
Pennywise shows up were the most entertaining by far, he was so creepy and
annoying. I really wish that the story
revolved more around him and his antics, and I wish that the whole thing was
just about a creepy/annoying clown terrorizing these children.
That is why I wasn’t a huge fan of the ending. It starts
getting a little to weird when it starts revealing what is really going on
below Derry. Even then, it is never really resolved for me. It is sort of along
the lines of fear is only in your head, and when you enable it, it becomes
real.
I did enjoy reading the book, but I enjoyed finishing it
even more. The main gang of kids were great characters, and of course Mr.
Pennywise. The supporting cast didn’t really do anything for me.
Final thoughts:
I wish the sections/chapters would have been shorter. That
is my biggest complaint.
It is more enjoyable to read this when it is raining.
My favorite character was Ben.
3/5 stars. Good book, just such a chore to finish!
Memorable Quotes: “TV monsters and movie monsters and comic
book monsters were not real. Not until you went to bed and couldn’t sleep; not
until the last four pieces of candy, wrapped in tissues and kept under your
pillow against the evils of the night, were gobbled up; not until the bed
itself turned into a lake of rancid dreams and the wind screamed outside and you
were afraid to look at the window because there might be a face there, an
ancient grinning face that had not rotted but simply dried like an old leaf,
its eyes sunken diamonds pushed deep into dark sockets; not until you saw one
ripped and clawlike hand holding out a bunch of balloons”
“Scars can’t come back. They either are or they aren’t”
“”Whatever it was, It’s here again, in Derry. IT.”
