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saram's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
So, people didn't lie when they said Stephen King is a great writer; this book is definitely very well-written. The way it slips between the two timelines is really interesting, and the descriptions are vivid and detailed. Did this book need to be over 1000 pages long? Probably not, but the details are also interesting, so I won't criticize it for that too much.
There is definitely a lot of disturbing content in this, and obviously that's what you sign up for with intense adult horror; however, my actual problem is that there's also some stuff that's just weird and unnecessary. The infamous scene, for one, but also weird sexualized descriptions (especially of women), and a frankly excessive use of racial and homophobic slurs.
All in all, I'm pretty ambivalent. It's good writing, but it also made me deeply uncomfortable sometimes, and not in the way that I would look for in horror. *please note that I have named a number of content warnings but the list may not be exhaustive. this book is A LOT.*
There is definitely a lot of disturbing content in this, and obviously that's what you sign up for with intense adult horror; however, my actual problem is that there's also some stuff that's just weird and unnecessary. The infamous scene, for one, but also weird sexualized descriptions (especially of women), and a frankly excessive use of racial and homophobic slurs.
All in all, I'm pretty ambivalent. It's good writing, but it also made me deeply uncomfortable sometimes, and not in the way that I would look for in horror. *please note that I have named a number of content warnings but the list may not be exhaustive. this book is A LOT.*
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, and Grief
rachelunabridged's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
tense
slow-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? No
4.0
When I read this as a teenager, I did not like it. At. All. I thought it was slow and boring. I thought it wasn't scary, and I had issues with some of the content. To be fair, even after my reread, I still have issues with some of the content, but... I have no idea what I was even talking about with it being boring and not scary! I really enjoyed it this time around, and there were so many chapters that gave me actual chills! My best guess is that as an adult I have a context for the whole story that I didn't have before. I could only relate to the childhood portion as a young teen, so the rest of the story struck me as boring and slow at the time.
Ultimately, I enjoyed about 98% of the read this time around. The set up in parts 1 and 2 were just so amazing, and chapter 1 really did a fantastic job instilling a sense of dread in the reader. It was absolutely chilling!
Additionally, all of the members of the Loser's Club are just so lovable and relatable. Of course, King is known for writing great characters, but he really outdid himself with the protagonists of this book. I really liked that each character was so unique. They all lived in different circumstances and faced different problems. I think pretty much anyone who reads this book will be able to relate to at least one character. I felt especially connected to Ben this time around because I relate so hard with his childhood experience of not having many friends and the loneliness that comes with that.
When it comes to the negative aspects of this book, the first thing that comes to mind is that it's soooo long. On one hand, I was so captured by the story this time around that I didn't even notice the lengthiness, but I would say that there are sections that could've been shortened for sure.
Second, I did start to have issues with some of the content around the 800 - 900 page mark for sure. I'm going to put my thoughts on this in spoiler tags for those of you who might not want a heads up on the latter events of the book.
Around page 844, there was a long, drawn out rant where Derry's logging industry was compared to rape using what felt to me like really tactless descriptors. (". . . spread the legs of the forests . . .", ". . . tore the hymen of those great forests . . .", etc.) I felt like the comparison itself wasn't bad, as it's an effective way to get the point across, but it started to feel like a bit much and rather tasteless.
It felt like these passages kind of marked the beginning of what I consider to be the worst of the story: Bev's demotion and Bill's character assassination. I just couldn't help finding Bill's actions in the latter part of the book to be kind of despicable. Specifically, the way he cheats on Audra with Bev, and the way he acts toward Ben about it. From what we see in the book, he and Audra are supposed to have a good relationship, but he acts as if it's not really a big deal to cheat on her. Additionally, he knows about Ben's feelings, but still openly flaunts his affair with Bev? Might be a hot take, but Bill is a bad friend, just sayin.
The last thing I wanted to mention is the infamous scene. I have less issues with the fact that it happened, and more with the way it was written. Please. Stop. Sexualizing. Children.
Also, I just felt like it was such a demotion for Bev. For her to go from being on equal terms with the boys in the friend group to suddenly just being The Vagina(TM). The vibe I got from it was that you can't be female and just have male friends, especially when taken with the context of earlier events in the book where she's given a hard time for spending so much time with boys. Just thought it was a weird direction to take a story that has such strong friendship themes.
Overall, I would highly recommend this read. I bumped it up from 2-stars to 4-stars with this reread. What I think I learned from reading this again is that it hits different depending on what stage of life you're in. I could really see reading this again in another 10 years and still finding new things that I didn't notice or relate to before.
Ultimately, I enjoyed about 98% of the read this time around. The set up in parts 1 and 2 were just so amazing, and chapter 1 really did a fantastic job instilling a sense of dread in the reader. It was absolutely chilling!
Additionally, all of the members of the Loser's Club are just so lovable and relatable. Of course, King is known for writing great characters, but he really outdid himself with the protagonists of this book. I really liked that each character was so unique. They all lived in different circumstances and faced different problems. I think pretty much anyone who reads this book will be able to relate to at least one character. I felt especially connected to Ben this time around because I relate so hard with his childhood experience of not having many friends and the loneliness that comes with that.
When it comes to the negative aspects of this book, the first thing that comes to mind is that it's soooo long. On one hand, I was so captured by the story this time around that I didn't even notice the lengthiness, but I would say that there are sections that could've been shortened for sure.
Second, I did start to have issues with some of the content around the 800 - 900 page mark for sure. I'm going to put my thoughts on this in spoiler tags for those of you who might not want a heads up on the latter events of the book.
It felt like these passages kind of marked the beginning of what I consider to be the worst of the story: Bev's demotion and Bill's character assassination. I just couldn't help finding Bill's actions in the latter part of the book to be kind of despicable. Specifically, the way he cheats on Audra with Bev, and the way he acts toward Ben about it. From what we see in the book, he and Audra are supposed to have a good relationship, but he acts as if it's not really a big deal to cheat on her. Additionally, he knows about Ben's feelings, but still openly flaunts his affair with Bev? Might be a hot take, but Bill is a bad friend, just sayin.
The last thing I wanted to mention is the infamous scene. I have less issues with the fact that it happened, and more with the way it was written. Please. Stop. Sexualizing. Children.
Also, I just felt like it was such a demotion for Bev. For her to go from being on equal terms with the boys in the friend group to suddenly just being The Vagina(TM). The vibe I got from it was that you can't be female and just have male friends, especially when taken with the context of earlier events in the book where she's given a hard time for spending so much time with boys. Just thought it was a weird direction to take a story that has such strong friendship themes.
Overall, I would highly recommend this read. I bumped it up from 2-stars to 4-stars with this reread. What I think I learned from reading this again is that it hits different depending on what stage of life you're in. I could really see reading this again in another 10 years and still finding new things that I didn't notice or relate to before.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Blood, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Fatphobia, Infertility, Infidelity, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis