Reviews with content warning for Suicide - It

Can an entire city be haunted?” questions Mike Hanlon. What else do you call it when memories of a childhood summer vanish from the minds of a group of friends? What else do you call it when the thought of returning to that town causes a suicide, violent bodily reactions, a possibly fatal drinking binge, a no-holds-barred domestic brawl, and countless tears and dread? What else do you call it when an orange-haired, white-faced clown emerges from storm drains with sharp teeth and murderous intent?

In the midst of the inexplicable Derry, Maine, a group of seven ragtag ‘Losers’ grapple with not just their strangely vicious childhood bullies and clueless or sinister parents, but the purposeful machinations of an ancient cosmic evil that came from the skies and rules the sewers.

It’s most frightening ability is of course to take the shape of its victim’s greatest fear, appearing sometimes simultaneously in different forms to different people. A terrifying side effect is the horrific zombied or bloody appearance that deceased family members take, proof of Pennywise’s corruption of pure human love. But the reveal of how deep the evil goes is sobering. Certainly Derry isn’t alone in its share of racist and bigoted (and violent) townspeople but the violence is somehow both shocking and run-of-the-mill because, well, it’s Derry. Has It corrupted the town or has the town created It?

The 2 timelines in this book, now and 27-years ago, are expertly interwoven and all the more mysteriously horrific because the memory of “then” has been erased from the memories of the adult Losers Club, and only slowly come back to them as they traverse their childhood haunts (and have terrifying encounters showing that It is very much alive and well and malevolent. The events of that fateful summer are slowly revealed with the 2 parallel climaxes building toward an explosive end.

King definitely gets long-winded in parts, continuing on with stories of people only tangentially involved in the main one. But it does flesh out the inhabitants of Derry more.

Still, King makes some weird leaps. Firstly, it’s a coming-of-age book and the 1958 parts are certainly told through the eyes of the children who experienced them, evidenced through indecorous parts like pubescent kids’ blooming sexual thoughts and masturbation. And secondly, for all its naturalness, sex is still sex and sex isn’t childlike. I can understand childhood beliefs enabling the defeat of a fear that adults can’t even see. And I can understand physical closeness mirroring the emotional closeness the Losers feel. The infamous childhood gangbang scene plus a corresponding adulthood infidelity felt like an unnecessary step too far.

Nevertheless, it’s an iconic story that stays with you long after the last page is turned. You get to know these characters, to feel for them, and you’re right there with them fighting for their lives in Its subterranean passageways.

“It was like adults thought that real life only started when a person was five feet tall.” Well this book proves that there is definitely a lot of life to live and monsters to slay before you get five feet tall.

Content Warnings

julells's review against another edition

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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? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Ein fesselndes, geniales und verstörendes Buch, das mir an einigen Stellen doch schon fast ein bisschen zu viel war.

Content Warnings

evaku's review against another edition

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dark funny slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

at last, the beast has been conquered!
i can’t believe that some years ago, i somehow managed to read this within a span of one week. crazy!
there’s a reason why It is hailed as one of Stephen King’s best. his insanely detailed exposition and exploration of each character’s individual lives and their relationships with one another is something unlike anything i’ve seen in other written works. perhaps to a fault, as i think we could’ve done without so much information (sorry King.) as much as it’s praised though, i think there is A LOT of room for valid criticism. whether you chalk it up to the era in which it was written (or in which the story takes place) or his drug-addled mind, the language (aka the slurs, of which there are multiple), incessant sexual innuendos and sexual scenarios (chapter 22 i'm looking at you), and others... take up so much of the story it almost ruins it.
if half of the time dedicated to fleshing out background characters like Patrick Hockstetter was instead used to dive into the clown known as Pennywise, you'd have a terrifyingly better 1000-page (or 45 hour) story on your hands.

Content Warnings