IT

[Bob]

I've heard it is a very scary and creepy novel and it is for sure up there on my Stephen King books that I haven't read yet.

[Jacob]

I love this book. I find it amazing how this book is something like 1100 pages long but doesn't drag even for a second.

[Janie]

Jacob wrote: "I love this book. I find it amazing how this book is something like 1100 pages long but doesn't drag even for a second."

I agree Jacob. IT is my all time favorite King book. Getting ready to read it again for my buddy in my group. This will be my third time reading it. We have some new readers of the book, so it should be fun.

[Jacob]

I've read some three hundred page books that have taken me longer than IT. It's an absolute masterpiece. Every time I see it I'm tempted to read it again!

[Tony]

Does anyone know what the latin means on the birdbath near The Standpipe? Stanley reads it, but can't decipher it.

Is it something like, "Apparebat eidolon senex"?

Don't have my copy nearby, sorry.

[Wendy]

I remember being a kid (around 12 or so) and seeing a copy of It in the local bookstore. The cover had a little boy in a yellow raincoat with his back turned to the viewer, looking down a sewer. In the sewer you could see two yellow eyes.

I know that I kept coming back to the book, reading the blurb on the inside of the cover, not daring to buy it because it seemed so scary. In the end I bought it anyway. I read it cover to cover, and finished it on a dark night when my parents weren't at home.

It was such a delicious, scary tale but such a familiar one too. King hit the nail on the head while describing these kids' childhoods. It was the first full book I read, the first book by Stephen King that I read and it has made me hooked on both his books and the horror genre alike. Aside from The Stand, I think for me, this is still the number one SK book of all times. And how I wish he would write a sequel :) It contains everything - (view spoiler)[from the cozy atmosphere of childhood friendships to the horror of nightmares, to the profound knowledge that there is something out there bigger than you, something that is infinately good. It still leaves me chills thinking about Gan (and the fact that he had died when they returned as adults ... a god that died, how awful is that?) (hide spoiler)]

[Tony]

Lyanna wrote: "I remember being a kid (around 12 or so) and seeing a copy of It in the local bookstore. The cover had a little boy in a yellow raincoat with his back turned to the viewer, looking down a sewer. In..."

My aunt - into horror books of all sorts - had a copy on her bookcase, and I looked at it when I was about the same age with similar feelings of terror, too afraid to even START reading!

[[deleted user]]

The first time I read IT was 25 years ago. Reading it now as an adult I still found myself swept up in the story but for different reasons. Being able to identify with the kids then and the adults now has really given me a unique experience and I'm glad I got into King at an early age.

(view spoiler)[

That being said, I did find the middle to drag a lot. I could have done without the Mike Hanlon interludes and I get the feeling they were mostly put in there to flesh him out a bit so that at the end his actions have more impact.

I felt the ending was hokey this time around--Bill and Richie charging into the abdomen of the final form with their fists and surrounded by ethereal energy. It just conjured up a very Dragonball Z image that I couldn't shake from my mind. Did not like.


(hide spoiler)]

But the tension and description of this book, and the way that King really gets you inside the heads of the characters is unmatched. King is one of my favorite writers and part of the reason I got into writing in the first place. IT is one of his best works, I think.

[Christopher]

Martin wrote: "The first time I read IT was 25 years ago. Reading it now as an adult I still found myself swept up in the story but for different reasons. Being able to identify with the kids then and the adults ..."

Certainly my favorite book (not just by King either). Even better than the Stand if you ask me. It's extremely personal, hard hitting and just brilliant in my opinion. But like I said, it's been my favorite book for a long time, so maybe I'm biased in a sense.

[Wendy]

Christopher wrote: "Martin wrote: "The first time I read IT was 25 years ago. Reading it now as an adult I still found myself swept up in the story but for different reasons. Being able to identify with the kids then ..."

You know, when you mentioned how personal it was you really hit a chord there I think. I wondered why, and then realised that it probably is because as a kid, I was bullied a lot. The kids in IT were as well and it was so satisfactory to have them come out as the heroes in the end. It's what also made me like Dreamcatcher (to an extent, I didn't much care for the plot in itself) but Duddits and the way the other kids protected him - I loved that part of the book.

IT just made me realise that being bullied was not MY fault, and not the end of the world either. That made getting through it so much easier.

[Drew]

Martin wrote: "The first time I read IT was 25 years ago. Reading it now as an adult I still found myself swept up in the story but for different reasons. Being able to identify with the kids then and the adults ..."

The interludes were some of my favorite parts man, the fire at the Black Spot, the Bradley Gang massacre, Claude Heroux and the murders at The Sleepy Silver Dollar, the explosion of the Kitchener Ironworks, these interludes gave life to Derry and made Derry a character rather than just a setting IMO.

[Casey]

Controversial opinion alert: I think this is one of King's worst books. A strange opinion even for myself, as I believe the first 200-pages or so are some of the finest around, period. But then it just keeps going and going and going when it should have ended well before 1,000+ pages were ever passed. (Nevermind the ending itself, which is a trainwreck of epic proportions.) King admitted in "On Writing" that he spent a lot of the late 80s steeped in alcohol and drugs -- and I think the last half of IT more or less reflects that. Thoughts?

[Drew]

Casey wrote: "Controversial opinion alert: I think this is one of King's worst books. A strange opinion even for myself, as I believe the first 200-pages or so are some of the finest around, period. But then it ..."

Many of his greatest novels were written under the influence, truth is some of his weirdest material comes after he sobers up. (From A Buick 8, Insomnia, Lisey's Story, Rose Madder)

So what makes the ending of IT a train wreck? Couldn't disagree more by the way, lol. I didn't feel like there was one wasted page, all of it was needed IMO.

[Jennifer]

Reading It at 29 as opposed to 13 I have related more to the book and like it so much better.

[Angie, Constant Reader]

It's interesting how many people read IT as a kid (young adult).

[Christopher]

Casey wrote: "Controversial opinion alert: I think this is one of King's worst books. A strange opinion even for myself, as I believe the first 200-pages or so are some of the finest around, period. But then it ..."

well you are likely on to something here, as King also states that he barely remembers the writing of IT. And I also agree that this book could be bloated at times and unnecessary.

HOWEVER, where we disagree is that I love this book. The 'unnecessary' parts could be trimmed and the plot wouldn't suffer, but (imo) the story itself would. A story shouldn't be all business, just trying to get the material down in the most succinct manner. That's what business reports and summaries are for. Stories (again imo) are allowed to be rambling if they add one iota of entertainment to the story itself.

But if it wasn't entertaining for you, I can certainly respect that opinion. What is and isn't entertaining is quite subjective. :-)

[[deleted user]]

Drew wrote: "Casey wrote: "Controversial opinion alert: I think this is one of King's worst books. A strange opinion even for myself, as I believe the first 200-pages or so are some of the finest around, period..."

I'll go out on a limb here and talk about what bothers me about IT, especially the ending.

(view spoiler)[
The final form fight where both boys charge into the spider's abdomen puts the image of DragonBall Z into my head and it won't leave. I think it's one of the cheesier endings to a King novel.

Bev's husband just sort of goes there and dies. We don't really get to experience anything going on in his repulsive little brain, which I always found disappointing.

And lastly... it's a giant multidimensional spider. King has a phobia about spiders and uses this imagery a lot (that and killing dogs). I liked that he explained that it wasn't REALLY a spider, but that is just the shape their brains are able to relate to the best. But still... giant multidimensional spider.

I was never a fan of the Mike Hanlon interludes either.

(hide spoiler)]

But that isn't to say I don't absolutely love this book anyway. As anticlimactic as it is towards the end, IT is still one of my favorite King novels.

[Tony]

The Hanlon Interludes: I think the fire at the Black Spot and the murder of the Bradley Gang are two parts that could have been trimmed and we would have still got a feeling for Derry as a sick place.

Although, I always wanted more detail about the Kitchener Ironworks!

I'd say IT was very much a YA book; It ticks all the boxes: First love, facing a monster as a metaphor for becoming an adult, teens as heroes, adults are useless.

Probably the language would need trimming before it passed the bar though. (I'm only thinking of c**t, there)

[Carla]

I'm about a quarter through 'IT' and it's really cool. Sadly, the e-book version I'm using has a lot of mistakes (damn those converters!) but, it doesn't detract from the King . . . :-)

[Carla]

Martin wrote: "Drew wrote: "Casey wrote: "Controversial opinion alert: I think this is one of King's worst books. A strange opinion even for myself, as I believe the first 200-pages or so are some of the finest a..."

I've heard similar about the ending! Hope it doesn't spoil it too much . . . .

[[deleted user]]

Amaya wrote: I've heard similar about the ending! Hope it doesn't spoil it too much . . . .

It just comes with the territory of exploratory writing. King seldom outlines his work and this method sometimes leaves the author painting themselves into a corner. King manages to pull this off better than most, though.

[Drew]

Martin wrote: "Drew wrote: "Casey wrote: "Controversial opinion alert: I think this is one of King's worst books. A strange opinion even for myself, as I believe the first 200-pages or so are some of the finest a..."

I don't know, call me crazy, but if I saw IT's physical form and it looked like that, I'd shit me britches, lol. I could have cared less about Bev's husband, in fact, I wouldn't have been bothered if King had ended his story arc when Bev leaves for Derry. Mike's interludes were some of my favorite parts, it just wouldn't have been as good of a novel without them.

[Summer]

I really like Mike's interludes, too. I think they speak to the amount of time he spent doing research and how closely connected he remained to Derry while the others went off and had wonderful lives. To me, Mike being left behind is one of the most moving aspects of the story and the interludes helped drive that home.

[Autumn]

I am reading It for the first time right now. I read Carrie and The Shining and did not really find either to be scary. Grady was creepy, but that is about it. I can already tell this one is going to get to me! I have never seen the movie either, so I have no idea what I am getting into!

[Alan]

David wrote: "I just thought this would be a good book to discuss. I am reading it and it is so very good so far."
I loved the book, but was rather disappointed with the ending (would have preferred a demonic entity rather than a giant spider, but hey ho).

[Matthew]

Loved the book, though I agree that parts of it could use some epic trimming. I enjoyed the interludes that are supposed to add to the overall evil setting of Derry (especially throwing Halloran in there), but felt like King got carried away with the details which left parts of the book bloated. My favorite parts, though, are during the ritual of Chüd. The whole outer universe with the Turtle and the metaphysical border between safety and the deadlights always read like a crazy acid trip to me. The fact that he was able to take the story completely "out there" while making it fully understandable in my own imagination is why I enjoyed the book so much. Too bad the tv movie's a piece of s***. Lol.

[Alan]

Gatorman wrote: ""IT" is definitely one of my favorite King books. The scope is so grand and the characters so involved you really hate when it ends. Pennywise is an all-time great villian."

I agree with you about Pennywise. Pity he turned out to be nothing more that a giant spider (lol) at the end, though. I had been expecting some huge, demonic entity. Bit of an anti-climax, really, which let down was, for the most part, a real gripping horror story.

[Drew]

Alan wrote: "Gatorman wrote: ""IT" is definitely one of my favorite King books. The scope is so grand and the characters so involved you really hate when it ends. Pennywise is an all-time great villian."

I a..."

***MAJOR SPOILER ALERT***
You do realize that the spider was only a physical form it took to eat right? It's true self, the "dead-lights" was too far beyond our comprehension. Many might disagree but I don't think IT actually died, maybe the physical form did but the "dead-lights" were infinite. Somewhere in the space between time and space, IT still lives.

[Kathryn]

Drew wrote: "Alan wrote: "Gatorman wrote: ""IT" is definitely one of my favorite King books. The scope is so grand and the characters so involved you really hate when it ends. Pennywise is an all-time great v..."

I actually kind of agree with you. I found it a little hard to believe IT died after all of that time, just because some kids finally tracked it down and 'killed' it.

[Tony]

Kathryn wrote: "Drew wrote: "Alan wrote: "Gatorman wrote: ""IT" is definitely one of my favorite King books. The scope is so grand and the characters so involved you really hate when it ends. Pennywise is an all..."

If you look in the books after IT and set in Derry, you can pretty much tell it didn't die.

In Insomnia, I believe, there's a statue of The Losers with "Pennywise lives" scrawled on it.

And in 11/22/63, the main character still thinks there's something wrotten about the state of Derry (and comes pretty close to meeting...something...in the Kitchener Ironworks)

[Kathryn]

Tony wrote: "Kathryn wrote: "Drew wrote: "Alan wrote: "Gatorman wrote: ""IT" is definitely one of my favorite King books. The scope is so grand and the characters so involved you really hate when it ends. Pen..."

I haven't read Insomnia yet, but, I have read 11/22/63, and I remember that part CLEARLY. It kind of freaked me out. Now that I've read it, I think the thing he was talking about was IT, or a form of IT. *shivers* Just thinking about that part is creepy.

[Drew]

Kathryn wrote: "Tony wrote: "Kathryn wrote: "Drew wrote: "Alan wrote: "Gatorman wrote: ""IT" is definitely one of my favorite King books. The scope is so grand and the characters so involved you really hate when ..."

Haven't read 11/22/63 yet, not until paperback but I can't wait now! I love little clues like that.

[Drew]

Kathryn wrote: "Drew wrote: "Alan wrote: "Gatorman wrote: ""IT" is definitely one of my favorite King books. The scope is so grand and the characters so involved you really hate when it ends. Pennywise is an all..."

***MAJOR SPOILER ALERT***
Well, you also got to remember that it wasn't just little kids, they had the force of Gan behind them, guiding them, helping them. Even considering that, I don't think they killed it completely, just it's physical form.

On a side note, did anyone get the idea that Maturin's (the turtle) death could be a connection to The Dark Tower, that the breakers may have destroyed him? He would have been one of the guardians of a beam if I'm not mistaken.

[Kathryn]

Drew wrote: "Kathryn wrote: "Drew wrote: "Alan wrote: "Gatorman wrote: ""IT" is definitely one of my favorite King books. The scope is so grand and the characters so involved you really hate when it ends. Pen..."

I definitely did. As soon as Maturin (The Turtle) was mentioned, I immediately thought, "DT reference!" I could be wrong though, but it definitely did make me think of the Dark Tower series.

[Drew]

Kathryn wrote: "Drew wrote: "Kathryn wrote: "Drew wrote: "Alan wrote: "Gatorman wrote: ""IT" is definitely one of my favorite King books. The scope is so grand and the characters so involved you really hate when ..."

***MAJOR SPOILER ALERT***
I looked it up, Maturin was one of the guardians of the beam which just happened to be the opposite side of the beam that Shardik (whom the ka-tet encountered) was guarding.

Speaking of Shardik, have you ever read that? It is one of the great fantasy stories.

[Kathryn]

Drew wrote: "Kathryn wrote: "Drew wrote: "Kathryn wrote: "Drew wrote: "Alan wrote: "Gatorman wrote: ""IT" is definitely one of my favorite King books. The scope is so grand and the characters so involved you r..."

No, I haven't! But, I remember either someone telling me about it, or looking it up myself. Who wrote it?

[Drew]

Kathryn wrote: "Drew wrote: "Kathryn wrote: "Drew wrote: "Kathryn wrote: "Drew wrote: "Alan wrote: "Gatorman wrote: ""IT" is definitely one of my favorite King books. The scope is so grand and the characters so i..."

Richard Adams, the same guy who wrote Watership Down.

[Kathryn]

Drew wrote: "Kathryn wrote: "Drew wrote: "Kathryn wrote: "Drew wrote: "Kathryn wrote: "Drew wrote: "Alan wrote: "Gatorman wrote: ""IT" is definitely one of my favorite King books. The scope is so grand and the..."

I will have to check it out. Thank you! :)

[Drew]

Kathryn wrote: "Drew wrote: "Kathryn wrote: "Drew wrote: "Kathryn wrote: "Drew wrote: "Kathryn wrote: "Drew wrote: "Alan wrote: "Gatorman wrote: ""IT" is definitely one of my favorite King books. The scope is so ..."

Sure, not a problem.

[Alan]

Drew wrote: "Alan wrote: "Gatorman wrote: ""IT" is definitely one of my favorite King books. The scope is so grand and the characters so involved you really hate when it ends. Pennywise is an all-time great v..."

Well, he could do a sequel then, couldn't he, which would be fantastic! He's done it with The Shining, in the form of Dr Sleep (which I can't wait to be released), so why not IT?

[Drew]

Alan wrote: "Drew wrote: "Alan wrote: "Gatorman wrote: ""IT" is definitely one of my favorite King books. The scope is so grand and the characters so involved you really hate when it ends. Pennywise is an all..."

Technically, yeah, he probably could but he has already said that he is done with Pennywise. Truth is, I don't want to see Pennywise again anyway. Somehow, I feel a sequel that involved the clown would make IT less special. Now, he could do a sequel in the same way he is with Dr. Sleep in that the Overlook is not involved obviously but we meet up with Danny years later. Take one or two of the Losers, say Ben and Bev, who I get the feeling eventually got married, and revolve a new story around them. I don't feel that would take away from IT.

[Kit★]

It's definitely not dead. In Insomnia, when Ralph was seeing the auras, there was a part where he (view spoiler)[walked by a sewer and saw a nasty looking aura coming from down in there that scared him (hide spoiler)]. If I remember right, it has been a couple of years since I read that one.

Kathryn wrote: "Drew wrote: "Kathryn wrote: "Drew wrote: "Kathryn wrote: "Drew wrote: "Kathryn wrote: "Drew wrote: "Alan wrote: "Gatorman wrote: ""IT" is definitely one of my favorite King books. The scope is so ..."

I have it on my TBR, maybe if you find a copy we could set up a buddy read :)

[Drew]

Kit★ wrote: "It's definitely not dead. In Insomnia, when Ralph was seeing the auras, there was a part where he [spoilers removed]. If I remember right, it has been a couple of years since I read that one.

Kat..."

I'm not sure whether you were talking to me or not but I had just recently read IT but I would love to discuss it with you.

[Kit★]

It's been a couple of years since I read IT, I was talking about Richard Adams' Shardik, it didn't quote the part I wanted it to, but IT is one of my favorites :)

[Drew]

Kit★ wrote: "It's been a couple of years since I read IT, I was talking about Richard Adams' Shardik, it didn't quote the part I wanted it to, but IT is one of my favorites :)"

Give me some time, I am only a third of the way through my current book and hate to leave it half-finished, it is very good. Once I'm done I would love to buddy up on Shardik.

[[deleted user]]

This book is scary on so many levels it also contains my favorite Characters. There are no words to describe how much I love this book.

[Jenn]

I loved it when i first read it. Ive re-read it a few times, i also love the movie even tho the effects are cheesy. Tim Curry was phenomenal as pennywise

[[deleted user]]

David wrote: "I just thought this would be a good book to discuss. I am reading it and it is so very good so far."

Should there be a sequel to IT?

[Drew]

Angela wrote: "David wrote: "I just thought this would be a good book to discuss. I am reading it and it is so very good so far."

Should there be a suquel to IT?"

No

[Summer]

Part of thinks a sequel would be interesting because I really dislike the way the book ended, but the ending had a wonderful impact. (view spoiler)[When I think of IT, one of the first emotions I feel is sadness because The Losers inevitably forget each other, but that really captures what the book was about: the magic of childhood and moving on. On the other hand, though, I'm a bit disappointed that after all that effort, IT doesn't seem to be dead for good. (hide spoiler)]