Reviews with content warning for Child death - It

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.

Content Warnings

emmadawynner's review against another edition

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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

thatgirlinblack's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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