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4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
I liked the novel, a lot. But I have some pretty harsh grievances. Because they’re harsh enough to make it seem like I hated the novel, I’m going to start with what It does wrong, and hopefully excuse, if not reconcile, some of these problems in the last couple paragraphs.
First, is his depiction of sexuality and gender. I would mention that this is the usual case with him, but I find some of the events and characters of It particularly offensive representations. For example, Beverly, the all (and I mean ALL) -purpose female member of the group. I…have no words for what happens with her. I guess to sum it up, I’d call her very simply The Vessel of Magic Heterosexuality.
Second, the characters seem a little too aware of their cursory Freudian constructions, and what’s presented as their ironic self-awareness loses its irony when the selves the characters are aware of turn out to be exactly what they are.
Third, I think at times Bill’s character being a writer is a convenient excuse for King to wax poetic at will. This would be almost endearing if he didn’t exhibit his usual sloppy handle of free-indirect discourse, by which he practices lazy narrative technique in the guise of intricate and subtle characterization. Simply put, often his narrator just doesn’t make sense.
Last, I wish he’d just calm down with the sci-fi crap. The more he over-explains, the more he turns a genuinely scary story with characters that we care about into a silly H.P. Lovecraft short story.
Now for what I like about It.
I think this novel is about memories: the complex process of recovering them and the terror that can result from integrating them back into your life. The character Stan calls this terror “offensive,” which I think is a really interesting way to put it. In some ways, being associated with things that you’ve forgotten about as an adult is offensive to the self you’ve understood yourself to have become. Personally, perhaps coincidentally but possibly as a result of reading It, I experienced a few of these memories in the course of reading, and I really appreciate the level of consideration King puts into this in some ways traumatizing process.
It is a vast catalogue of stories. The way that these stories are so effortlessly associated with one another is pretty impressive. A lot of it is awkwardly written like a movie script, sure. A lot of the narration is sloppy, as stated before. But the actual positioning of the stories functions in several ways. 1) The most important parts of the novel are the stories the adult characters tell to one another in the second half of the novel. The characters describe their experiences to one another, as valuable information that they all need to share. 2) But these stories are also interesting to us separately from its function to the novel’s greater plot. While the adult characters telling the stories are concerned with their problems in the present, we as readers are searching for our own answers to things that have piqued our interest (such as obscure vocabulary like “deadlights” or references to events like the “smoke-hole”). 3) Further, they are sometimes complex enough to be read as independent short stories that provide background information to characters in other King novels (such as Dick Halloran in The Shining). It is full of excerpts that could possibly comprise a Stephen King anthology in years to come.
I think my favorite part of the novel is its anticipation and acceptance of forgetting. The force by which people forget and the force by which people turn a new leaf are two sides of the same coin, as the chapters entitled “Bill Edinborough beats the devil,” which bookend the novel, suggest. The momentum of that forgetting, expressed in this novel literally, as the physical momentum of a bike going downhill, also pushes people into the next era of their lives. Whether we forget the awful and terrific experiences that have brought us to where we are is, only somewhat sadly, arbitrary.
First, is his depiction of sexuality and gender. I would mention that this is the usual case with him, but I find some of the events and characters of It particularly offensive representations. For example, Beverly, the all (and I mean ALL) -purpose female member of the group. I…have no words for what happens with her. I guess to sum it up, I’d call her very simply The Vessel of Magic Heterosexuality.
Second, the characters seem a little too aware of their cursory Freudian constructions, and what’s presented as their ironic self-awareness loses its irony when the selves the characters are aware of turn out to be exactly what they are.
Third, I think at times Bill’s character being a writer is a convenient excuse for King to wax poetic at will. This would be almost endearing if he didn’t exhibit his usual sloppy handle of free-indirect discourse, by which he practices lazy narrative technique in the guise of intricate and subtle characterization. Simply put, often his narrator just doesn’t make sense.
Last, I wish he’d just calm down with the sci-fi crap. The more he over-explains, the more he turns a genuinely scary story with characters that we care about into a silly H.P. Lovecraft short story.
Now for what I like about It.
I think this novel is about memories: the complex process of recovering them and the terror that can result from integrating them back into your life. The character Stan calls this terror “offensive,” which I think is a really interesting way to put it. In some ways, being associated with things that you’ve forgotten about as an adult is offensive to the self you’ve understood yourself to have become. Personally, perhaps coincidentally but possibly as a result of reading It, I experienced a few of these memories in the course of reading, and I really appreciate the level of consideration King puts into this in some ways traumatizing process.
It is a vast catalogue of stories. The way that these stories are so effortlessly associated with one another is pretty impressive. A lot of it is awkwardly written like a movie script, sure. A lot of the narration is sloppy, as stated before. But the actual positioning of the stories functions in several ways. 1) The most important parts of the novel are the stories the adult characters tell to one another in the second half of the novel. The characters describe their experiences to one another, as valuable information that they all need to share. 2) But these stories are also interesting to us separately from its function to the novel’s greater plot. While the adult characters telling the stories are concerned with their problems in the present, we as readers are searching for our own answers to things that have piqued our interest (such as obscure vocabulary like “deadlights” or references to events like the “smoke-hole”). 3) Further, they are sometimes complex enough to be read as independent short stories that provide background information to characters in other King novels (such as Dick Halloran in The Shining). It is full of excerpts that could possibly comprise a Stephen King anthology in years to come.
I think my favorite part of the novel is its anticipation and acceptance of forgetting. The force by which people forget and the force by which people turn a new leaf are two sides of the same coin, as the chapters entitled “Bill Edinborough beats the devil,” which bookend the novel, suggest. The momentum of that forgetting, expressed in this novel literally, as the physical momentum of a bike going downhill, also pushes people into the next era of their lives. Whether we forget the awful and terrific experiences that have brought us to where we are is, only somewhat sadly, arbitrary.
Hands down my favourite horror novel of all time. The characters were written so well its hard to believe they're not real people. The vivid world building made it feel as if I were walking through the scenes myself. This will remain a staple on my bookshelf and I see a few re-reads in my future.
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Some hints of transition to adult hood. Super weird adolescent sex. HP Lovecraft was definitely channeled.
Harder to get into than a lot of King's stuff, but starts rolling after awhile.
It was OK.
Harder to get into than a lot of King's stuff, but starts rolling after awhile.
It was OK.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
funny
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes