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It

Stephen King (Goodreads Author)

4.24 · Rating details · 830,869 ratings · 26,370 reviews

Welcome to Derry, Maine ...

It’s a small city, a place as hauntingly familiar as your own hometown. Only in Derry the haunting is real ...

They were seven teenagers when they first stumbled upon the horror. Now they are grown-up men and women who have gone out into the big world to gain success and happiness. But none of them can withstand the force that has drawn them back ...more

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Paperback, 1116 pages

Published October 1st 1987 by New English Library (first published September 15th 1986)

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· 830,869 ratings · 26,370 reviews

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Nov 22, 2009 Maciek rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, own-in-paperback, coming-of-age, favorites, classic-horror, big-tomes, reviewed, owned-books, own-in-hardcover

The most important things are the hardest things to say, because words diminish them...

Some time ago the wise bald (or white) heads stationed at various universities came to an agreement that a literary form, commonly known as the novel, is dead - fewer and fewer works of any significance are written each year. Of course, one must understand the requirements the wise gentlemen expect of a novel of worth: it would be good if the writer would include some "aesthetic dignity" by including as much a ...more

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Oct 27, 2012 Jennifer rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: own

Some parts were truly creepy at first and initially, as often happens with King, I couldn't put it down. But then, as often happens with King, it hits a brick wall and becomes so over-long and has so many unnecessary elements that get in the way of the main story that it becomes a bloated, endless chore to finish. People often say they hate the ending of this book...I did not hate it or love it. I had checked out at that point and simply wanted it to be over no matter who lived or died or whethe Some parts were truly creepy at first and initially, as often happens with King, I couldn't put it down. But then, as often happens with King, it hits a brick wall and becomes so over-long and has so many unnecessary elements that get in the way of the main story that it becomes a bloated, endless chore to finish. People often say they hate the ending of this book...I did not hate it or love it. I had checked out at that point and simply wanted it to be over no matter who lived or died or whether they defeated It or not.

This book is at least 300 pages too long and that is the least that could have been completely cut out without hurting the story in the slightest. Included in those 300+ pages are some particularly disturbing sequences and elements which were just sickening, unnecessary and, to me, actually took away from the main story.

The events and elements that killed "It" for me:

1. A bizarre, out-of-nowhere scene portraying sex play between two male pre-teen, would-be murderous bullies--which had nothing to do with the story and led nowhere.

2. An extended description of animal torture/killing--which stemmed from the bully in the sex-play, which had nothing to do with the story and ultimately, again, was pointless and unnecessary.

3. A detailed description of a kid murdering a baby sibling. No point, nothing to do with the story. Again.

4. The use of the "N" word more in one place than I have ever read or heard in my life combined. Not necessary, nothing to do with the main part of the story.

5. And, the scene which blew me away and pretty much made me feel I had wasted time getting that far in: a gang-bang consisting of nothing but 11 and 12-year-olds. What the F***? And when I say "gang bang" I mean it--six boys banging the girl back-to-back. Only abnormal people do not raise an eyebrow at this scene and try to defend it as being "natural" and "normal." It's neither and most decent people would be bothered by this segment.

So, aside from those main awful things the other annoying elements: the character of Richie. I skipped a lot of his dialogue. I wanted to punch him in the face just for being annoying. And every time he did his "Mexican" voice I just cringed and skipped the next couple lines. Never has a character in a BOOK annoyed me so, so much. I was hoping he would die. Their stupid inside joke of "Beep-beep, Richie." By the twelve thousandth time one of them said this I wanted to just throw the book across the room. Painful to read.

In the end King took a super creepy story and concept which he could have effectively told in probably 500 pages and blew it up to over 1,000 with too much detail in certain parts, too much back story in others and too many subplots which didn't matter. All of which pretty much wiped out any fear or creepiness for me. By the time I got 700 or so pages in I simply was not scared, not creeped out, no longer interested and didn't care how it ended as long as it ended soon.

I am aware that some people will feel that I "just don't get it" with my review and complaints. I am totally fine with that. I am totally fine not "getting it" when it comes to this type of thing. :)

Too bad. Started off as five stars for me and crumbled onto itself into two stars.

...more

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Oct 10, 2019 NReads rated it really liked it

the only clown here is me reading thick books in the exam session

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Apr 07, 2013 Khanh, first of her name, mother of bunnies rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I'm not easily scared these days. As a grown woman, the only thing that brings the feeling of dread into my heart is the constant pinging of new work emails requiring my attention when I'm at home, but there was a time when I was a shy, delicate, sweet little girl who was scared of my own shadow.

Proof: not exactly the terror you see haunting the hallowed halls of Goodreads handing out 1 stars like they're candy these days.

It wasn't until I was around 20 that I outgrew my fear of scary creatures ...more

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Oct 09, 2017 Jeffrey Keeten rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: horror

”It wasn’t make-up the clown was wearing. Nor was the clown simply swaddled in a bunch of bandages. There were bandages, most of them around its neck and wrists, blowing back in the wind, but Ben could see the clown’s face clearly. It was deeply lined, the skin a parchment map of wrinkles, tattered cheeks, arid flesh. The skin of its forehead was split but bloodless. Dead lips grinned back from a maw in which teeth leaned like tombstones. Its gums were pitted and black. Ben could see no eyes, bu ...more

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Apr 24, 2019 Teodora rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: owned, favorites, fantasy, horror-thriller

5/5 ⭐

Full review on my Blog: The Dacian She-Wolf 🐺

It took me SO long to finish this monster book that I’ve been carrying around in my backpack for the past six months in every single underground or train ride, but I finally DID IT! I FINISHED IT, YAY ME.

Stephen King never stops to amaze me with his brilliant mind and fabulous stories. I feel like his mind is always restless, always in a good mood to find the worst ways possible to scare the soul out of me.

The King of Horror Stephen King is. No ...more

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Jun 29, 2015 Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: horror-etc, favorites, own

Listened to the audio this time and it was awesome The narrator is Steven Weber and he did a great job!

Hello, welcome to Derry.. I'm Pennywise the Clown and at some point, especially if your a kid, I will eat your face off! Have a nice day!

The first time I read this book was in the 6th grade and I had forgotten how good it was! I loved the movie as well, but the book is so much better!

I love how Mr. King goes back and forth from when the friends were kids and to them as adults and what they do ...more

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Feb 25, 2018 Chelsea Humphrey rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: bookstagram-made-me-do-it, favorites

Headed to see Ch. 2 tonight! Anyone else seen it yet?

***************

It is finished.

Why yes, I did just complete my longest read to date. I simultaneously feel relieved and accomplished, drained and fulfilled. There are few authors who can successfully deliver such conflicting feelings, which is why he's one of the most well known names in the fiction world. I feel as if I could write an entire book about this tender and terrifying "coming of age" tale, but I also feel as if all the umph has left ...more

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Apr 05, 2017 Colleen Hoover rated it it was amazing

Fuck you, Stephen King. WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO US?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnCdO... ...more

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Aug 22, 2017 Emily (Books with Emily Fox) rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-thriller-horror

Throughout the book, I was going to give it 4 stars. It was suspenseful, there was a sense of dread with some truly scary scenes. King is very good at describing how children would think and make us feel their fears. It was really long with A LOT of descriptions but it was still very enjoyable.

The ending totally ruined it for me...

Review: https://youtu.be/TkxckLFcKYE

(view spoiler) ...more

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Nov 29, 2018 Tucker (TuckerTheReader) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Every living being (Bacteria, humans, etc. We don't discriminate here.)

Recommended to Tucker by: Shannara

Shelves: adult, fantasy, horror, science-fiction, 5-stars

”For 27 years, I dreamt of you. I missed you. I craved you.”
-Pennywise, IT

Last night, I watched IT: Chapter 2. And holy sh*t, you guys. I did not expect the horror, sadness and raw emotion this movie gave me. I have so many thoughts and feelings to share so this review ~~might~~ will definitely be an unorganized blob of thoughts. It will still be fun, though.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE REVIEW HEAD WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR IT: CHAPTER 2! PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK!

[Art by 800LBProductions]

I’d ...more

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Sep 08, 2019 Justin Tate rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I got my first copy of IT when I was 10 years old. The checkout counter loomed above me and the cashier said "You don't want to read this." I assured her I did and she reluctantly let me purchase it. I'd already seen the mini series with Tim Curry and was fully prepared for scares after devouring dozens of Goosebumps and Fear Streets. When I got home, I marveled at possessing a book of such girth.

Mom was not happy with my reading selection in the same way she wans't happy with me reading Goosebu I got my first copy of IT when I was 10 years old. The checkout counter loomed above me and the cashier said "You don't want to read this." I assured her I did and she reluctantly let me purchase it. I'd already seen the mini series with Tim Curry and was fully prepared for scares after devouring dozens of Goosebumps and Fear Streets. When I got home, I marveled at possessing a book of such girth.

Mom was not happy with my reading selection in the same way she wans't happy with me reading Goosebumps. The cover art was "ugly" and, furthermore, anything but the Bible or Little House on the Prairie was trash. Nevertheless, she still awarded me a penny a page for every book I read. I don't think she connected the dots that a book with a clown on the cover was any different than other scary kid titles like Beware of the Purple Peanut Butter.

With the fantasy of receiving ten bucks after reading this 1000+ pager, I got started. It wasn't easy. Adult minds were still foreign to me and experiencing this blend of childhood and adulthood through King's insurmountable character development was startling. Significantly more startling than when Georgie gets gobbled up. I couldn't believe all the crap adults had to deal with. How would I end up in 27 years?

I stopped reading around page 250 after Beverly Marsh was introduced. The scene was familiar from the movie, but I realized even then that movies can never fully depict domestic abuse. Of all the scary scenes from IT, Beverly's escape from her husband remains the most horrifying. At this point I basically assumed that married couples were eternally happy. Yet here was King describing this very real scenario of a woman trapped in her past, simultaneously turned on and terrified by her spouse. Reading it at 10 didn't scar me, it just made me feel older and wiser. I put the book down then only because it was draining to learn so much. Like reading a textbook.

Fast forward 11 years to when I'm 21, about to graduate college and about to move 1,000 miles away from my family. On a subconscious level, I think, I realized it was time to revisit IT. Now, at this point in my life, I needed a textbook. I needed to know how to fight demons and escape the past, but not forget about it either. I needed to learn how to survive. That summer I didn't stop at page 250. I read it to the end, and it was exactly what I needed.

Funny - now, nearly 11 years after that - I feel IT's calling again. The new movies are okay, but they aren't a substitute. They provide a good gist of what's in the book, but I feel like King's text actually holds the secrets of the universe. Reading it every 11 years might just be the tradition I need. Because let's face it, I need IT in my thirties just like I needed IT in my twenties, just like I needed IT at ten. Our minds change, our bodies change, but so much remains the same. ...more

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Jan 08, 2013 Matthew rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: own, library, supernatural, monsters, coming-of-age, audio, read-more-than-once, 2017, horror, stephen-king

Re-read update - April 2017:

"He thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghosts"

I find it appropriate that I first read this between the ages of 12 and 15 and now I re-read at 39. This is pretty close to the ages of the characters past and present in this book. That was not intentional, but pretty cool!

I didn't remember much more than the basics after all these years, but even with that, my original review below stands.

What I will add is that this book is much more dark, ...more

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Jan 01, 2016 Johann (jobis89) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

"Your hair is winter fire,
January embers
My heart burns there, too."

Evil resides in Derry, Maine. Whether that is in the form of Pennywise the Dancing Clown, a werewolf or a leper, it pulses through the heart of Derry and has done for many years. IT focuses on a group of children, the Loser's Club, as they try to overcome evil and face their biggest fears in order to do so.

Excuse me while I curl up into a ball and bawl my eyes out... IT was my first King and it really was what got me hooked onto "Your hair is winter fire,
January embers
My heart burns there, too."

Evil resides in Derry, Maine. Whether that is in the form of Pennywise the Dancing Clown, a werewolf or a leper, it pulses through the heart of Derry and has done for many years. IT focuses on a group of children, the Loser's Club, as they try to overcome evil and face their biggest fears in order to do so.

Excuse me while I curl up into a ball and bawl my eyes out... IT was my first King and it really was what got me hooked onto King's writing. I was almost apprehensive at rereading this masterpiece - not just because of its size - but I was afraid that it would tarnish my memories from my first read, I was afraid it wouldn't be as good as I remembered it. However, I can confidently say that it was even better. The Stand is not King's masterpiece, in my opinion, this is.

This book, alongside 11/22/63, the Dark Tower series and Duma Key, is where King's writing abilities truly shine through. IT is simply chockfull of paragraphs and sentences where you need to just stop and pause, and let the awesomeness sink in. You will feel ALL the emotions when reading this book - heartache, fear, joy, sadness... you will laugh, you will cry, you will feel like you ARE a member of the Loser's Club.

Speaking of the Loser's Club, they have to be one of the most well-developed group of characters I've ever encountered, and I think a lot of that lends to the length of this book. We get to spend so much time with each of them individually as well as within the group. People sometimes complain about the length of IT, and perhaps I'm slightly biased, but I love the size and it's probably why you feel kinda lost when you finish - you're so deeply entrenched in this world that leaving again is heartbreaking.

In terms of the themes explored within this book - friendship, childhood, growing up, overcoming your fears - King handles each with such ease. There's a number of similarities between IT and The Body from Different Seasons, it's almost as if The Body was King's practice session for this epic coming-of-age tale. Other themes are also explored within these pages: racism, prejudice, domestic abuse. To anyone who says IT is simply a horror book - you could not be any more wrong (said in the style of Chandler Bing). Yes, horror plays a big part in this book, but as is the case with all of King's books, it's about so much more than that. King's depiction of childhood friendships is something special, it really brings you back to your youth, when everything seemed to be heightened - your first love/crush, the connections and bonds you felt with your friends.

Gahhh, I could talk about this book forever and ever! So I'll finish up by mentioning my favourite aspect of IT. Out of EVERYTHING that happens in this book and all the characters, I have such a soft spot for Ben Hanscom. On my first read, I recall Bill being my favourite, but on my reread, from the very first encounter, I have developed a crazy love for Ben. A reader, who is relentlessly bullied, someone who lived quite a lonely life until he met the Loser's Club... Ben is special to me. Then to see his love for Bev and the haiku he writes for her...MY HEART.

"Ben Hanscom had no sense of being lonely because he had never been anything but."

He's caring and sensitive...a truly good friend. Ben, you the real MVP.

And now I'll shut up. I could probably write a book on my thoughts about IT. One of my favourite books of all time and one of the best books I've ever read... firmly cemented in my top 3 Kings list. 5 stars out of me from me!! ...more

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Jul 04, 2017 Always Pouting rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Derry, Maine seems like any other small town in the US except for its dark history. Death and disappearances are the norm and every 27 years they peak as more and more children are killed. When Bill's brother Georgie is killed by It, the mysterious thing behind Derry's darkness, Bill sets out to find it. Bill becomes part of a group of other children, all who have had run ins with It and together they get rid of It. They swear an oath to return to Derry if It ever comes back and starts killing a Derry, Maine seems like any other small town in the US except for its dark history. Death and disappearances are the norm and every 27 years they peak as more and more children are killed. When Bill's brother Georgie is killed by It, the mysterious thing behind Derry's darkness, Bill sets out to find it. Bill becomes part of a group of other children, all who have had run ins with It and together they get rid of It. They swear an oath to return to Derry if It ever comes back and starts killing and 27 years later they all return to face down It and try to get rid of It once and for all. Don't read past this point because I can't promise anything about no spoilers.

I finally finished this god damn tome of a book, and I really wish I weren't so compulsive and obsessive about finishing every book I start because wow that was 1400 pages and I couldn't get into the story at all. Also I have a few questions and I feel like I may have missed something so if someone could answer these questions I would appreciate it and maybe then I might feel better about the book. First off it's mentioned that none of gang have children and it's alluded to as being part of what happened the first time with It but I didn't understand what that had to do with anything? Was there an actual explanation to this or was it just supposed to be there to be ~creepy~. Second why did they have to go out of their way to find It and get rid of it that first time, if It has cycles of 27 years wouldn't It eventually just have stopped on its own anyways because there's no way someone banished it every time it appeared because they're supposedly the only ones to have done so. Lastly what was the point of them having sex in the sewer, I'm not a prude but having 12 year olds do it in the sewer should have a better explanation than to bring them all together and bond them. I don't see how they had to do at all did he just put that in there to be outrageous because good job it worked.

At times I did enjoy the book but it was just really long with so many characters and details and a lot of the time I felt myself getting bored like I didn't need such exact descriptions of the boat flowing down the sewer and the way it kept cutting back and forth especially towards the end between past and present just felt choppy and maybe that was the point but it just made me not get really into the book. When I read horror I have to lose some self awareness and get pulled in so I can be creeped out but the whole time I was too aware that I was reading a book and I just kept feeling like it wasn't scary at all. Especially with It morphing constantly like werewolves don't freak me out so I was just like wow a werewolf thats cool I guess.

I do like Stephen King and he writes very well but this one just did not work for me and I guess I just missed something because everyone else seems to have really enjoyed this book. ...more

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Nov 15, 2008 Anne rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommended to Anne by: Jill

Shelves: horror

God. This book.
I can't believe I've never reviewed IT.

description

Ok, I read this back in high school with my best friend, and it scared the shit out of both of us. I still have a small scar on my leg from when we thought we saw Pennywise's likeness burned into the side of her dad's old farmhouse, and we both took off running through what was in all likelihood, a condemned building.
She was faster, I was clumsier.

description

I plowed into an old nail that was sticking out of the wall and ripped a hole in my leg in a ...more

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Aug 04, 2014 Alejandro rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: novel, horror, religion, romance, science-fiction, paranormal

You can't be clowning about IT!!!

THOSE TERRIFYING CLOWNS

It was easier to be brave when you were someone else.

It's kinda..."funny" how such characters, the clowns, that they are supposed to make us laugh, and not matter that, you can find just too much examples of "evil clowns", many from fantasy but even at least one from horrific reality, that you wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley...or any place at all!!!

The Joker, Stitches, Homie from The Simpsons, Punchinello from Dean Koontz's Li ...more

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Jul 13, 2019 ALet rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2019, favorites

★★★★★ /5

This was a ride!

This is a huge book, but if you consider to read it, it is definitely worth your time.
Of course, it is very well written with a lot of description, which was sometimes hard to go through, but it didn’t ruin the experience. The story itself is layered and complex and everything happens for a reason and that is very important for a book like this to have that. It is definitely an interesting and captivating story.

Two stories (timelines) compliment each other and it isn’t ha ...more

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Mar 13, 2016 Luca Ambrosino rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

English (It) / Italiano

«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»

It is an horror novel. The bowels of Derry, Maine, cyclically regurgitate every 27 years a dark and abject entity, infecting the city with hate, feeding on the fear of people (or directly some people flesh-and-blood).

It is an adventure novel. Seven clumsy kids band tog

English (It) / Italiano

«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»

It is an adventure novel. Seven clumsy kids band together after a tragedy. They have in common a pretty unhappy life. "The Losers Club" borns that way, and this is their story. Stephen King already did a practice run with The Body, but this time he tops himself.

It is a drama novel. The lost youth of a handful of a bunch of 12- year-olds, forced to give up their innocence to make room to a still-green sense of right and duty. The renewed fears of grownups not completely grow up, plunging down once again to the depths of despair.

And yet: It is a novel about friendship and solidarity, It is a novel about violence with violent stories of bullying and alcoholism, It is novel about redemption. It is a fantasy novel, a gothic novel, a coming-of-age story. It is a novel with a first-class style of writing, never boring. It is a novel that should be read two times, once as a kid and again as an adult, wearing the protagonist's skin as role-playing, and luckily I did. And after two readings, surely followed by a third one in the future, I can only express my thanks, as a reader, for the opportunity to read this wonder.

Evil just keeps on coming, it always does. The important thing is Good is ready each time to greet it properly. Kicking its arse.

Vote: 10

«Il terrore che sarebbe durato per ventotto anni, ma forse anche di più, ebbe inizio, per quel che mi è dato sapere e narrare, con una barchetta di carta di giornale che scendeva lungo un marciapiede in un rivolo gonfio di pioggia»

Romanzo dell'orrore, questo It. Le viscere di Derry, nel Maine, rigurgitano ciclicamente ogni 27 anni un'entità nera e abietta che infetta d'odio il luogo che ha scelto a propria dimora, cibandosi delle paure degli abitanti (oltre che di qualche abitante stesso in carne ed ossa).

Romanzo d'avventura, questo It. Sette ragazzini un po' imbranati fanno gruppo in seguito ad una tragedia. Hanno in comune una vita piuttosto infelice. Nasce così il "Club dei Perdenti", e questa è la loro storia. Le prove generali Stephen King le aveva fatte con "Il Corpo" (The Body), ma qui si supera.

Romanzo drammatico questo It. La perduta giovinezza di un pugno di dodicenni, costretti ad abbandonare la spensieratezza per far posto ad un ancora acerbo senso del dovere e del giusto. Le paure rinnovate di adulti mai cresciuti fino in fondo, che si trovano di nuovo a sprofondare nell'abisso della disperazione.

E ancora: romanzo dell'amicizia e della solidarietà, romanzo violento con storie violente di bullismo e alcolismo, romanzo del riscatto. Romanzo fantasy, romanzo gotico, romanzo di formazione. Romanzo dalla scrittura sopraffina, che non ti annoia mai. Romanzo che andrebbe letto due volte, sia da ragazzi che da adulti, per calarsi nei panni dei personaggi come un gioco di ruolo ed apprezzarlo all'inverosimile, ed io per fortuna l'ho fatto. E dopo due letture, alle quali farà sicuramente seguito una terza, posso solo ringraziare, in qualità di lettore, di avere avuto la possibilità di leggere questo prodigio.

Prima o poi il male ritorna, lo fa sempre. L'importante è che ci sia il bene ad accoglierlo come si conviene. A calci in culo.

Voto: 10

...more

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Dec 01, 2011 Stepheny rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, books-everyone-should-read, scare-the-pants-off-ya, most-excellent-audio, hands-down-favorites, coming-of-age, like-a-meth-addiction, all-hail-the-crimson-king

Let me take you all on a tour, kids. We’re going to everyone’s favorite place- Derry, Maine! We’re going to do some sight-seeing while I talk about the book that is my absolute hands-down #1 book of ALL TIME. And no, it is NOT Harry Potter! Shocking, I know! (That always surprises people.) Anyway, my name is ~~Annie Wilkes~~ Stepheny and I’ll be your tour guide!

We’re going to go where it all begins- the most infamous storm drain in all the lands. This is the storm drain where Pennywise offers little ...more

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Jul 26, 2015 Lisa rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Thirty some odd years after my first reading of this book and "It" is still one of the best stories ever told. I've read this book 15 to 20 times, and every time I think it's probably going to be so out dated that I'll never read it again. Not true. If you can read this wondrous tale and not be reminded of the best times of your childhood and the best friends ever, then you've got a heart of stone. It is scary, of that there's no doubt, but mostly it's just magical. With every new reading I disc ...more

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Jun 28, 2017 Hannah Greendale rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: adult, fiction, horror, mystery, literary-fiction

Click here to watch a video review of this book on my channel, From Beginning to Bookend.

It is 1958 in the small town of Derry, Maine and several children have been found murdered. Bill Denbrough and his six best friends believe the murders are linked to something that lurks beneath their home town – something that crawled from their nightmares and has taken form in the shadowed recesses of the sewers. Driven by forces unseen, Bill and his friends sense they have what it takes to stop the monste Click here to watch a video review of this book on my channel, From Beginning to Bookend.

It is 1958 in the small town of Derry, Maine and several children have been found murdered. Bill Denbrough and his six best friends believe the murders are linked to something that lurks beneath their home town – something that crawled from their nightmares and has taken form in the shadowed recesses of the sewers. Driven by forces unseen, Bill and his friends sense they have what it takes to stop the monster. They vow – with a piece of broken glass sliced across their palms – to come back to Derry if evil ever returns. Twenty-seven years later, the murders have started again. It’s time for Bill and his friends to honor their vow . . .

Here in Derry children disappear unexplained and unfound at the rate of forty to sixty a year. Most are teenagers. They are assumed to be runaways. I suppose some of them even are.

At over eleven hundred pages in length, It is a prolific book that provides significant backstory for each character and gives an abundant history of Derry, Maine. Because King provides so many specifics – almost to the point of excess – the book reads like a vast compilation of research collected on true events.

Though the story is sometimes bogged down by the excessive specifics, quite often a slogging passage (that recounts a historical event) eventually arrives at such a disturbing conclusion that forging through a long, slow chapter becomes, with startling suddenness, a worthwhile read.

What makes this book notorious, however, is the dreadful monster at the heart of the story: Pennywise the Dancing Clown. Pennywise – or It – is not as prevalent in the book as one might presume, given its classification as a horror novel, but any time It makes an appearance, the narrative drops readers into a dark scene where terrifying events unfold.

Smells of dirt and wet and long-gone vegetables would merge into one unmistakable ineluctable smell, the smell of the monster, the apotheosis of all monsters. It was the smell of something for which he had no name: the smell of It, crouched and lurking and ready to spring. A creature which would eat anything but which was especially hungry for boymeat.

Though it contains elements of horror, It is a literary coming of age story that just happens to take place in a small town were horrific events transpire. Instead of dividing the book into two parts, with the events of 1958 recounted first and the events of 1985 recounted second, King opts to tell both stories simultaneously with the use of clever plot pacing and an unorthodox chapter structure. This sometimes results in the narrative feeling redundant, but the story is so skillfully woven together that one cannot help but appreciate King’s masterful stylistic approach to conveying two stories at once.

With characters that feel like old friends and enough scares to keep readers up at night, It strikes a satisfying balance between literary writing and telling grim stories of violence and gore. ...more

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May 03, 2017 Kai rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: owned, 2017

“Maybe there aren't any such things as good friends or bad friends - maybe there are just friends, people who stand by you when you're hurt and who help you feel not so lonely.”

1200 pages are long. Or more like: looooong. So long that I expected more from it. Especially because Stephen King wrote it. I believe that this book would have been a lot better if you had cut out 200 pages or more. Let me tell you why:
The story set up is what basically makes this novel so long. The real deal only happen “Maybe there aren't any such things as good friends or bad friends - maybe there are just friends, people who stand by you when you're hurt and who help you feel not so lonely.”

1200 pages are long. Or more like: looooong. So long that I expected more from it. Especially because Stephen King wrote it. I believe that this book would have been a lot better if you had cut out 200 pages or more. Let me tell you why:
The story set up is what basically makes this novel so long. The real deal only happens on the last 200 pages. So you are basically sitting, reading, waiting for it to start and it won't happen until you've read 1000 pages. After a while, you'll have figured out the scheme of this book. 7 kids fighting It, seven main characters of greater and lesser importance and a few side characters with a story of their own. Nearly every part of this book - there are five - follows the same pattern. Someone experienced some horror event related to It and tells their story. Bill goes first, followed by Richie, followed by Ben, Eddie, Bev, Mark, Stan and whoever else is part of this big story. This applies to almost every part of the book and I caught myself thinking "Please, not another one. I got it."
It also doesn't do any good for the suspense. Try to build it up over 1000 pages so it reaches its peak in the big finale. It won't work, because the plot is torn apart again and again. The only time it got me hooked, the only time I got goosebumps and had to put on some music so I wouldn't get too caught up in the book was during the first 200 pages. I repeat: The first 200 pages - in a horror book that lasts 1000 pages more. After a while, the events kept repeating themselves and couldn't surprise or captivate me any longer.

The characters were great and I loved these kids. Henry, however, really got on my nerves. He is the typical bully, the mean big guy. I thought he would be a minor side character but gosh, we couldn't get rid of him and this tired me out, too.
I also really liked Audra and adding her to the events in Derry made sense, but adding Tom did not. He was a loose end, and I felt like his story didn't go anywhere. What was the point? (view spoiler)

What really weirded me out was what Beverly and her boys did after they fought It for the first time. On one hand, I get what Stephen King was trying to do, on the other I don't think it was essential to the story, or at least not in that way. It was gross, it was inappropriate and it didn't tie into it all. There was no earlier reference to what was going to happen. Additionally, it's unrealistic and doesn't even prove a point. That is where, in my opinion, King really got something wrong.

Now I'm not saying this book was boring. I don't think it was. It was intriguing and I especially enjoyed the Interludes, but even the last Interlude was simply less captivating than the others. Again: the same old pattern.
I'm glad I read this and proud of myself that I finished it. I'm really looking forward to the movie adaption and I feel like - unpopular opinion alert - it could be better than the book. I'll probably be more emotional and involved when I see it on screen. That is if they stay close to the book and don't fuck it up.

Find more of my books on Instagram ...more

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Nov 13, 2018 jessica rated it liked it · review of another edition

with a deep sigh, she closes the book and steals a glance at the clock. its barely 10pm and she knows its already beginning.

she can feel it in the way her body tenses at every noise that threatens the peaceful quiet. its in the way her heart skips a beat at every floating movement she swears she sees, just beyond her periphery. its the onset of fear.

how silly she is for reading a horror book at such an hour! ‘you knew this would happen, with your overactive imagination,’ she scolds herself.  

her ...more

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Mar 01, 2018 JV (semi-hiatus) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favourites, there-was-a-crooked-man, audiobooks, 2018, best-audiobook-narrators, supernatural, home-for-my-heart, fantasy, mystery-thriller, 5-star-reads

From the tenebrous depths of the abyss, comes an unimaginable tale of perennial terror that is feverish, jarring, and insidious. With meandering prose and vivid descriptions, King dazzles, stupefies, and petrifies readers down to their core by invoking their atavistic fears, transmogrifying it, and assuming the shape of the thing that one is most afraid of.

"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 ma

"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."

Derry, Maine (1957-1958 and 1984-1985)- Seven misfits (Bill Denbrough, Beverly Marsh, Richie Tozier, Ben Hanscom, Eddie Kaspbrak, Mike Hanlon, and Stanley Uris) form an unlikely fellowship in 1957/1958 to obliterate a fiendish entity that lurks in the shadows slaughtering and feasting on juveniles. In an effort to end its malevolent influence in Derry, The Loser's Club ventures forth into the drains, canals, and sewers — "down there where the sun never shines and the night never stops". What they find there is an irrepressible being, something beyond their comprehension — IT. It seeks. It reeks. It feasts. It devours. Things grow awry as their darkest fears are realised and turned against them. With the circle of seven, they are able to banish It. Did they, really? Twenty-seven years later (1984/1985), mysterious disappearances reoccur and mutilated bodies are found. The Loser's Club, now as adults, receives a call from Derry. They swore to end It twenty-seven years ago. And now, the time has come again to finally face the thing in the dark... back home... back to Derry...

It was a lengthy, yet remarkable novel. The King of Horror never shies away from inflicting pain, rending flesh, depicting debauchery and mental aberrations, and showing gratuitous gore and violence. King also uses the Cthulhu Mythos to create a creature that appears amicable to children — Pennywise the Dancing Clown. Well, at least, that was It's preferred form, but in its truest essence, a Lovecraftian-inspired creature. A comprehensive history, stellar world building, and distinctive characters further immerse us into this peculiar town — investigating the numerous deaths of children, deciphering the town's mysteries, rooting for the characters that we love, and of course, kicking the monster's arsehole, if you find that pleasurable. For this hefty tome alone, patience is a virtue, dear reader. Do heed my warning: this book is not for the faint-hearted.

When you're ready to get out of the blue and into the black, into the deadlights, where they all float down here (and soon, you'll be too) — be strong, be true, stand up for your loved ones and friends, believe in things that you have previously believed in, now, as an adult, have faith in your inner child (the one who was once imaginative and spiritual), for the apotheosis of all monsters have come to face you in Derry where "some things were better not seen or heard... until they were over."

Audiobook rating (narrated by Steven Weber):
Narrative voice & style - ★★★★★
Vocal characterisation - ★★★★★
Inflexion & intonation - ★★★★★
Voice quality - ★★★★★
Final verdict - ★★★★★

CW/TW: racism, animal cruelty, graphic sexual content, fratricide, domestic violence, infanticide, suicide, homophobia, bullying, physical abuse, strong language, gore, violence, dismemberment, mutilation, patricide, fat shaming ...more

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Apr 21, 2015 Paul O'Neill rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I’ve just finished reading this for the second time and man, what a bloomin’ excellent book. I go into more detail in my original review two years ago below but here are a few additional thoughts from my reading this time around:

This book will always hold a special place in my heart, it was what I was reading when my son was born two years ago. Probably not the best book for such an occasion but, hey-ho, the memories are fond and this book was part of it.

Is this King’s best work? I’m not sure. P ...more

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Jan 17, 2013 David - proud Gleeman in Branwen's adventuring party rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013-reads, whoa-thats-messed-up, king-of-horror, read-by-kindlelight, horror

Much like the titular monster that lurks within its pages, this book is many things. It's terrifying, it's sweet, it's disturbing, it's sad. But most of all, It is amazing!

The town of Derry is haunted by an evil with thousands of faces. With the entire town caught in the horrible creature's grasp, some of the residents are forced to confront their greatest nightmares, while others are forced to become the nightmares! Many years ago, a group of seven outcast children believed they had discovered ...more

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Sep 22, 2007 Kemper rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, monsters, 2013-reread, uncle-stevie

Only Stephen King could write an eleven hundred page book about the innocence and wonder of childhood, and then kick it off with a six-year-old boy getting his arm ripped off by a clown.

Derry, Maine, in 1958 is a bad place to be if you’re a kid. Child disappearances and murders are occurring with astonishing regularity, and while the adults set curfews and hunt for maniacs a group of eleven-year-old outcasts know the truth - a supernatural entity has been terrorizing and killing the children of Only Stephen King could write an eleven hundred page book about the innocence and wonder of childhood, and then kick it off with a six-year-old boy getting his arm ripped off by a clown.

Derry, Maine, in 1958 is a bad place to be if you’re a kid. Child disappearances and murders are occurring with astonishing regularity, and while the adults set curfews and hunt for maniacs a group of eleven-year-old outcasts know the truth - a supernatural entity has been terrorizing and killing the children of Derry. These seven kids eventually band together into a self-proclaimed Loser’s Club dedicated to destroy the evil they call It.

In 1985 the members of the Losers are called together again in order to fulfill a childhood promise to return to Derry if It ever returned. However, now they’re adults who have only foggy memories of exactly what they did to stop It the first time.

With this one King threw a kitchen sink full of monsters into this with the villain able to take the form of whatever will scare its latest victim the most. So the kids alternately face everything from werewolves, mummies, lepers, crawling eyes, giant birds and Frankenstein’s monster with It using the form of a demonic clown called Pennywise as the baseline. The concept that it’s the belief system of the kids that they use as their main weapon against It was a clever idea. So if it’s a werewolf and the kids believe it’s a werewolf then they also believe that silver can be used against the creature, and It has to abide by those rules.

Another of the more successful aspects of this book is how King creates seven likeable kid characters and then writes them as adults so that they really seem like the same people. Another part of this that is particularly sharp is just how well he portrays the sheer terror that each character seems to feel at one time or another. While he presents all as being brave and stepping up when it’s Big-Damn-Hero time they all also have moments where they’re pushed almost to their limits or beyond.

However, I’ve never been as high on this one as a lot of King fans are. I originally read it when I was five years older than the age of the Losers in their 1958 story so I had just left the age of childhood fantasy behind and wasn’t particularly enthralled with revisiting the concept. On the flip side of that, this was adult King engaging in a bit of nostalgia porn, and I was far too young to understand the fleeting nature of youth. Now I’m five years older than the Loser’s were in the 1985 portion of the story so it’s like I’m traveling back to the time I should be nostalgic about to listen to an older person’s nostalgia of yet an earlier time. Even though I've reread it several times over the years I've never been in sync with King’s rhythm when it comes to this one.

It’s some of King’s best work at tapping into the minds of kids as well as the bittersweet nature of looking back at that time as an adult, but it’s also one where he gave in to his worst impulses in letting the book bloat far beyond what was needed to tell the story

There’s a couple of other factors that keep this from being top shelf King for me, but they are filled with spoilers so don’t read any further if you don’t want to know.

(view spoiler)[ * I hated this the first time I read It, and my opinion has never improved. The idea that there’s an underage gang bang on poor Bev to reestablish the connection between the Losers when they’re lost in the sewers after facing It the first time is completely unnecessary and puts a layer of 'Ewww!' all over the childhood relationships.

* Poor Bev really gets the worst of it in a lot of ways in this book. Not only does she have sex with six guys to save them all, she’s the only one of the Losers to have an absolutely terrible life with her abusive husband as an adult. Granted, Eddie has a miserable marriage and Mike got stuck in Derry, but she’s the only one who gets used as a punching bag which seems odd considering that King indicates that they’re all under the spell/protection of the Turtle or whatever force of good made most of them rich but childless. ( Yeah, I know it relates back to her father, but it still seems grossly unfair.)

* By the end two of the Losers are dead, and the survivors won’t even get to remember each other or what they did. (I always wondered how Ben and Bev going off together as a couple at the end would work. Did they forget each other if one of them went to the store or something?) But they managed to kill It once and for all, right? That’s what we spent all that effort to find out, isn’t it? That the Losers suffered and don’t even get to celebrate their victory for long, but at least It is dead so the whole thing had to be worth it. Unless…….

You read Dreamcatcher which features a brief scene where a character goes to Derry and sees a memorial placed there by the Loser’s Club for all the kids who died, but which has the ominous graffiti message of ‘Pennywise Lives!’ on it.

First off, if the Losers can’t remember what happened or even each other, how did they put up a memorial? Secondly, the idea that I read this mammoth story only to have King retroactively throw a shadow over the ending by putting a line into another book severely pisses me off. After the unambiguous statement that It was dead at the end, an author shouldn’t play it cute and toss a line off for cheap thrills in something else that undermines the entire book. That is complete and utter bullshit of the highest order. (hide spoiler)] ...more

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Mar 10, 2016 Elizabeth Sagan rated it really liked it

Since all the hype with the new movie, I thought of writing my review to this book.
*
This is one of my favourite books by Stephen King. The thing with King’s horror books is that... I never thought they were scary. Actually, I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times a book gave me this feeling. But maybe it's just me. I see people talking about how scary his books are. I only think they are insanely well written. IT especially.
This is one of those books that make me think I would ...more

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Mar 27, 2018 Ginger rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2018, audio

Full review up!
I FINISHED IT!!

So, this will be the 16,534 review for It? Now what can I give you in this review that the other 16,533 reviews might not have mentioned?
Yeah right, they've mentioned this stuff! Who am I kidding...
*ahem* Here we go!

1. Yes, it’s looooooong. But you knew this before starting It. It’s Stephen King for fucks sake.
2. Buckle up for lots of character development and developing a love for Bill, Ben and the gang. I loved some kids more then others but each one was vital to ...more

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About Stephen King

Stephen King

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Stephen Edwin King was born the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. After his father left them when Stephen was two, he and his older brother, David, were raised by his mother. Parts of his childhood were spent in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where his father's family was at the time, and in Stratford, Connecticut. When Stephen was eleven, his mother brought her children back to Durham, M Stephen Edwin King was born the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. After his father left them when Stephen was two, he and his older brother, David, were raised by his mother. Parts of his childhood were spent in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where his father's family was at the time, and in Stratford, Connecticut. When Stephen was eleven, his mother brought her children back to Durham, Maine, for good. Her parents, Guy and Nellie Pillsbury, had become incapacitated with old age, and Ruth King was persuaded by her sisters to take over the physical care of them. Other family members provided a small house in Durham and financial support. After Stephen's grandparents passed away, Mrs. King found work in the kitchens of Pineland, a nearby residential facility for the mentally challenged.

Stephen attended the grammar school in Durham and Lisbon Falls High School, graduating in 1966. From his sophomore year at the University of Maine at Orono, he wrote a weekly column for the school newspaper, THE MAINE CAMPUS. He was also active in student politics, serving as a member of the Student Senate. He came to support the anti-war movement on the Orono campus, arriving at his stance from a conservative view that the war in Vietnam was unconstitutional. He graduated in 1970, with a B.A. in English and qualified to teach on the high school level. A draft board examination immediately post-graduation found him 4-F on grounds of high blood pressure, limited vision, flat feet, and punctured eardrums.

He met Tabitha Spruce in the stacks of the Fogler Library at the University, where they both worked as students; they married in January of 1971. As Stephen was unable to find placement as a teacher immediately, the Kings lived on his earnings as a laborer at an industrial laundry, and her student loan and savings, with an occasional boost from a short story sale to men's magazines.

Stephen made his first professional short story sale ("The Glass Floor") to Startling Mystery Stories in 1967. Throughout the early years of his marriage, he continued to sell stories to men's magazines. Many were gathered into the Night Shift collection or appeared in other anthologies.

In the fall of 1971, Stephen began teaching English at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels. ...more