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fkshg8465's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
The only scary thing about this book was the cover. (I’m going to have to find a longer book to read before the end of the year so that I don’t have to look at this cover anytime I revisit my 2024 year in books!).
Book was difficult to read and weird. There were a lot of characters, and time was too fluid. It wasn’t like many books where chapters vacillate between past and present or future. Time actually would switch within the same chapter (at times, even the same paragraph or scene). It made it hard to follow the events.
Also, I failed to see how Beverly’s act of love did anything at all for any of them, especially given how the book ends. And what was up with the Yoda turtle????, especially its explanation of its stomach ache???? Definite two most WtF moments for me.
I kept thinking I was reading an early version of Stranger Things, but Google assured me this book had no contribution to the show, despite a number of similarities.
I’m glad I didn’t DNF it, but neither am I glad I read it.
Book was difficult to read and weird. There were a lot of characters, and time was too fluid. It wasn’t like many books where chapters vacillate between past and present or future. Time actually would switch within the same chapter (at times, even the same paragraph or scene). It made it hard to follow the events.
Also, I failed to see how Beverly’s act of love did anything at all for any of them, especially given how the book ends. And what was up with the Yoda turtle????, especially its explanation of its stomach ache???? Definite two most WtF moments for me.
I kept thinking I was reading an early version of Stranger Things, but Google assured me this book had no contribution to the show, despite a number of similarities.
I’m glad I didn’t DNF it, but neither am I glad I read it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Antisemitism, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
tayrod4594's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I completely understand all the reasons people object to this book, in particular with regard to THAT scene. But this book is ultimately a meditation on childhood, specifically that twilight time between childhood and adulthood. It's told in a fantastical way, of course, but it both mourns and celebrates the ability to believe in anything and everything as only kids can do. And it makes it very clear that there is a power in that belief, a great power that can, in this case, quite literally save lives and destroy monsters. Even with that scene, this is King at his best, melding the paranormal horrors of the monsters beneath our beds and the everyday horrors of the world with a masterful touch.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Antisemitism, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
scheierndevin's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
librarianboy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Antisemitism, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
aech's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Murder
jocie_roller's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Whew.
This book was a lot. Of a lot of things. A lot of pages, for one. At over 1150 pages, I believe this is the longest book I have ever read by a margin of 100s of pages. *Most* of these pages were well worth reading. I'm guessing that my review of this massive tome will also be quite long because I have a lot to say on this one.
Where to start? This book was good. Very good actually. Stephen King is a master of suspense and horror as well as crafting a large cast of believable characters and imagining a whole town with such impeccable detail, I could probably draw you a map. Most of the hundreds of pages that make up this book are a testament to how intimately King knew the people, history, and geographic makeup of Derry which were clearly conveyed to the reader in a way that built tension and intrigue rather than inundate the reader with wordy details (although it did that at times, too).
I really enjoyed the narration provided by the members of The Losers. At age 11-12 and set in the late 1950's, Stephen King really captured the experience and language of his characters on the cusp of their teenage years. They are so endearingly fascinated by sex, drugs, swear words, and independence while maintaining an awareness - sometimes resentfully, sometimes gratefully - of their innocence and childness. Each of the Losers are unique and expertly well rendered, which is a challenge considering there are seven of them. With each experiencing being an outcast for a variety of reasons, this book adeptly explores inclusion, acceptance, and platonic love in a surprisingly lovely way.
King navigated a lot of complex themes in this book, some more deftly than others. It - the interdimensional, shapeshifting, child-eating monster that often takes the appearance of Pennywise the Dancing Clown, is a representation of Fear itself and preys on children because their fears are least logical and therefore easier to take advantage of. But I also felt that It represented the sociopolitical funk of a poor, post-industrial-boom, small American town manifested as racism, bigotry, xenophobia, toxic environmental degradation, paranoia, poverty, domestic violence, and multi-generational childhood trauma. I suppose some of these can be grouped in with fear (i.e. xenophobia, paranoia), but I prefer to think of It as a representation of Evil in all forms. The reason It appears to children as more literal monsters is because their understanding of real human evil is less developed. I like the image of evil possessing the very structure of American culture and it's interesting to think about children being both the primary victim of hate and evil but also the only ones who possess the imagination and clarity to destroy it.
BUT it's not like the themes of bigotry and violence aren't explicitly stated by King. They are actually a bit too explicit to downright fucked up in some parts. Some are additive to the plot, some are not. And thus, I will provide my List of Spoilers/Content Warnings/Worst Scenes From This Book That Almost Made Me Stop Reading:
CW: Homophobia, anti-gay murder
In 1984, a gay couple are targeted by a gang of men who verbally assault them, violently beat them up, and eventually throw one of the gay men over a bridge with the intention of killing him. He survives the fall but is killed by It. The f-slur and other homophobic language is used a lot. The police investigating the crime are also homophobic in a way that feels like Stephen King himself doesn't condemn using a gay-panic defense.
CW: Racism, KKK, lynching, death by burning
In the 1920's, Derry's Black community starts a Black speakeasy night club after being excluded from other businesses. It becomes more successful than other speakeasies and gradually becomes patronized by young white people. This angers the local members of the KKK who burn down the speakeasy on a busy weekend killing nearly 100 people. A survivor remembers seeing a gigantic bird - one of It's forms, flying away from the scene as people burn. There are gruesome details of people burning alive and the N-word and other racists slurs are used a lot.
CW: Child murder, Sexual assault between children, psychopathic animal/pet killing with sexual arousal
One of the 11-13 year old bully characters is revealed to be a psychopath. In a scene between him and his friend, another male bully, he sexually assaults his friend while masturbating. Later, in the same scene, readers learn that, at age 5, he killed his infant brother by smothering him with a pillow. The official cause of death is SIDS. Readers then learn that he has been catching local pets and suffocating them in a junk yard refrigerator which arouses him. He is eventually killed by It.
So most of these scenes are included to show how messed up this town is and always has been (It has existed since the creation of the universe). Point taken.
I include these spoilers in my review, not to tell you NOT to read this book, just to prepare you that the killer clown scenes are not the only horrors to be encountered in this book. All these scenes happen beyond the core plot of the book and are just extra bits that King included for the sake of capital-H Horror. Don't get me wrong, I know that this book is a horror book. There's an implicit CW by the nature of the genre. I think it's worth having a discussion over whether or not these truly horrific scenes are actually worth including and I'm not sure exactly where I land. Some of them feel like they set the tone of horror and evil which is at the root of this story, some just feel like Stephen King wanted to shock and disturb his audience under the guise of effective story-telling. I watched the 2017 and 2019 film adaptations which (unsurprisingly) left out most of the non-essential and controversial side-plots and I thought there was plenty of horror content - both monster related and non-monster related, without them. But the reason I enjoy horror as a genre is because it can really explore the true evils of the human condition and intentionally make you be horrified by them. Child-eating clowns are terrifying, but so is bigoted hate so powerful it can lead someone to murder.
Relatedly, Stephen King's use of racial and bigoted slurs, including the N-word, is excessive. Yes, this book was written in the 1980s; yes, violent anti-Black racism was an explicit part of the story and it makes contextual sense that racist characters in 1958 would use this language. I don't actually condemn the use of slurs by a white author in general. I think it can be an effective way to evoke disgust because readers should be disgusted by racism. But the egregiousness with which King uses this language is telling. Like Quentin Tarantino, you won't convince me that these old, white men don't get off just a little bit on using these words to "advance their art." Plus, making contextually racist characters use slurs is one thing, but making marginalized characters use slurs to describe themselves is completely inappropriate for a white author who cannot fully understand the power that slurs have. Having a Black character call themselves the N-word or a Jewish character call themselves the K-slur does condone that language in a context which King, who is not Black or Jewish, has absolutely no right to do.
Ok. Whew. Now on to The Scene. I knew about The Scene before reading this book and I'm glad I did. I was even prepared to accept it as essential to the plot as I know many die-hard fans do. I don't. If you don't know what The Scene is and are considering reading this book, I do recommend you find out because you will be totally unprepared by it in a way that might even ruin the book for you.
CW: child sex
In The Scene,the seven Losers, who are, I'll remind you, ELEVEN years old, engage in a coercive orgy in the sewage where It lives. The explanation is that they need to strengthen their bond as friends and make a metaphorical transition between childhood and adulthood to defeat It and escape the tunnels. The Scene is graphic and not contextualized to be horrific - rather as a necessary character arc that ties many of the themes together.
I've read so many takes on this Scene by other critics and I hear the arguments, but don't accept them. The Scene is abhorrent, unnecessary, and sick. If King still stands by this ending today (he does), he should be flamed for it.
2019 It Part 2 Movie Spoiler:I did LOVE that the 2019 movie (which casted King himself as a cameo) made a running joke that Bill, the Loser who grew up to be a famous horror author, had a widely hated ending to his most popular book. King's cameo character himself turned down an offer for Bill to sign his copy of Bill's book because "the ending sucked." Touché, Mr. King. Touché.
And that's all I have to say on The Scene.
Ok, so all and all, how do I rate this book. I have half a mind to just leave it unrated. It can't be a five-star book. It's too disturbing and far too long. The whole thing feels like Stephen King had gotten too popular for an editor to effectively trim some of the fat where needed. But there's a sick brilliance here too that I can't deny. This man can write. This book is at times revolting, wordy, and confusing (The ritual to defeat It is basically one giant acid trip). But other times it's hilarious, endearing, and effectively scary which is what I wanted when I picked this book up.
I don't know if I would recommend anyone read this book, and yet, four stars.
This book was a lot. Of a lot of things. A lot of pages, for one. At over 1150 pages, I believe this is the longest book I have ever read by a margin of 100s of pages. *Most* of these pages were well worth reading. I'm guessing that my review of this massive tome will also be quite long because I have a lot to say on this one.
Where to start? This book was good. Very good actually. Stephen King is a master of suspense and horror as well as crafting a large cast of believable characters and imagining a whole town with such impeccable detail, I could probably draw you a map. Most of the hundreds of pages that make up this book are a testament to how intimately King knew the people, history, and geographic makeup of Derry which were clearly conveyed to the reader in a way that built tension and intrigue rather than inundate the reader with wordy details (although it did that at times, too).
I really enjoyed the narration provided by the members of The Losers. At age 11-12 and set in the late 1950's, Stephen King really captured the experience and language of his characters on the cusp of their teenage years. They are so endearingly fascinated by sex, drugs, swear words, and independence while maintaining an awareness - sometimes resentfully, sometimes gratefully - of their innocence and childness. Each of the Losers are unique and expertly well rendered, which is a challenge considering there are seven of them. With each experiencing being an outcast for a variety of reasons, this book adeptly explores inclusion, acceptance, and platonic love in a surprisingly lovely way.
King navigated a lot of complex themes in this book, some more deftly than others. It - the interdimensional, shapeshifting, child-eating monster that often takes the appearance of Pennywise the Dancing Clown, is a representation of Fear itself and preys on children because their fears are least logical and therefore easier to take advantage of. But I also felt that It represented the sociopolitical funk of a poor, post-industrial-boom, small American town manifested as racism, bigotry, xenophobia, toxic environmental degradation, paranoia, poverty, domestic violence, and multi-generational childhood trauma. I suppose some of these can be grouped in with fear (i.e. xenophobia, paranoia), but I prefer to think of It as a representation of Evil in all forms. The reason It appears to children as more literal monsters is because their understanding of real human evil is less developed. I like the image of evil possessing the very structure of American culture and it's interesting to think about children being both the primary victim of hate and evil but also the only ones who possess the imagination and clarity to destroy it.
BUT it's not like the themes of bigotry and violence aren't explicitly stated by King. They are actually a bit too explicit to downright fucked up in some parts. Some are additive to the plot, some are not. And thus, I will provide my List of Spoilers/Content Warnings/Worst Scenes From This Book That Almost Made Me Stop Reading:
CW: Homophobia, anti-gay murder
CW: Racism, KKK, lynching, death by burning
CW: Child murder, Sexual assault between children, psychopathic animal/pet killing with sexual arousal
So most of these scenes are included to show how messed up this town is and always has been (It has existed since the creation of the universe). Point taken.
I include these spoilers in my review, not to tell you NOT to read this book, just to prepare you that the killer clown scenes are not the only horrors to be encountered in this book. All these scenes happen beyond the core plot of the book and are just extra bits that King included for the sake of capital-H Horror. Don't get me wrong, I know that this book is a horror book. There's an implicit CW by the nature of the genre. I think it's worth having a discussion over whether or not these truly horrific scenes are actually worth including and I'm not sure exactly where I land. Some of them feel like they set the tone of horror and evil which is at the root of this story, some just feel like Stephen King wanted to shock and disturb his audience under the guise of effective story-telling. I watched the 2017 and 2019 film adaptations which (unsurprisingly) left out most of the non-essential and controversial side-plots and I thought there was plenty of horror content - both monster related and non-monster related, without them. But the reason I enjoy horror as a genre is because it can really explore the true evils of the human condition and intentionally make you be horrified by them. Child-eating clowns are terrifying, but so is bigoted hate so powerful it can lead someone to murder.
Relatedly, Stephen King's use of racial and bigoted slurs, including the N-word, is excessive. Yes, this book was written in the 1980s; yes, violent anti-Black racism was an explicit part of the story and it makes contextual sense that racist characters in 1958 would use this language. I don't actually condemn the use of slurs by a white author in general. I think it can be an effective way to evoke disgust because readers should be disgusted by racism. But the egregiousness with which King uses this language is telling. Like Quentin Tarantino, you won't convince me that these old, white men don't get off just a little bit on using these words to "advance their art." Plus, making contextually racist characters use slurs is one thing, but making marginalized characters use slurs to describe themselves is completely inappropriate for a white author who cannot fully understand the power that slurs have. Having a Black character call themselves the N-word or a Jewish character call themselves the K-slur does condone that language in a context which King, who is not Black or Jewish, has absolutely no right to do.
Ok. Whew. Now on to The Scene. I knew about The Scene before reading this book and I'm glad I did. I was even prepared to accept it as essential to the plot as I know many die-hard fans do. I don't. If you don't know what The Scene is and are considering reading this book, I do recommend you find out because you will be totally unprepared by it in a way that might even ruin the book for you.
CW: child sex
In The Scene,
I've read so many takes on this Scene by other critics and I hear the arguments, but don't accept them. The Scene is abhorrent, unnecessary, and sick. If King still stands by this ending today (he does), he should be flamed for it.
2019 It Part 2 Movie Spoiler:
And that's all I have to say on The Scene.
Ok, so all and all, how do I rate this book. I have half a mind to just leave it unrated. It can't be a five-star book. It's too disturbing and far too long. The whole thing feels like Stephen King had gotten too popular for an editor to effectively trim some of the fat where needed. But there's a sick brilliance here too that I can't deny. This man can write. This book is at times revolting, wordy, and confusing (The ritual to defeat It is basically one giant acid trip). But other times it's hilarious, endearing, and effectively scary which is what I wanted when I picked this book up.
I don't know if I would recommend anyone read this book, and yet, four stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
az13's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Homophobia, Racism, Suicide, Blood, and Murder
emmadawynner's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I don't think I can fathom this book into words. So much wrong with it, yet incredibly moving and well written.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Blood, and Murder
jhutch1324's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I am having a hard time rating this book. I read it multiple times as a teenager and enjoyed it. This time I decided to listen to it and I'm not sure if that affected my perception but I am no longer a fan of this novel. I am a King fan and so enjoy his writing but this one is a little too much for me. Lots of racial slurs, which when reading I guess I skimmed, but when listening it made me cringe every time. Now this is normal for King and it's always terrible characters that we hate using them but it doesn't change the fact that listening to them repeatedly was rough (and I'm white). Also, I didn't remember the amount of sex talked about by children which as an adult felt weird to listen to. Especially one scene, and if you've read it you know exactly which part, that I must have blocked out because wtf, why was that part necessary, it didn't add anything to the plot that couldn't have been added another way.
I will continue to be a King fan and even a fan of this movie but I think I may have accidentally ruined the book for myself.
I will continue to be a King fan and even a fan of this movie but I think I may have accidentally ruined the book for myself.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse
harry_ballantyne7's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Racism, and Antisemitism
Moderate: Gore