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4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
I liked learning about all of the characters and their personal history. About halfway through though, I was tired of the taunting, chaos and killing by "IT" and just wanted that part of the story to be over.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
Absolutes Jahreshighlight.
Bisher mein bestes Buch von Stephen King.
Hervorragender Schreibstil, toll gezeichnete Charaktere, sehr durchdachte Handlung.
Das ganze Buch ist eine einzige Metapher, es stecken so viele Gedanken darin.
Die einzelnen Charaktere sind wahnsinnig sympathisch und handeln alle nachvollziehbar.
Stephen King greift nicht nur die Horroraspekte und das Coming-of-Age auf, sondern geht auch auf gesellschaftliche wichtige Themen wie Rassismus ein.
Absolutes Must-Read!
Bisher mein bestes Buch von Stephen King.
Hervorragender Schreibstil, toll gezeichnete Charaktere, sehr durchdachte Handlung.
Das ganze Buch ist eine einzige Metapher, es stecken so viele Gedanken darin.
Die einzelnen Charaktere sind wahnsinnig sympathisch und handeln alle nachvollziehbar.
Stephen King greift nicht nur die Horroraspekte und das Coming-of-Age auf, sondern geht auch auf gesellschaftliche wichtige Themen wie Rassismus ein.
Absolutes Must-Read!
I listened to this book, which was a serious commitment at 44 hours long. But it was worth it. The only bothersome part is the racist and anti-semitic language in the book. Some of it was appropriate in context, such as the bullies saying racist things to Mike, who was black. Some of it was not, such as the frequent mention of Richie's pickaninny voice.
So, this should be between 2.5 and 3.5. It's a very long book and I'm on the fence whether that's justified or not. Some of the interludes that break between 1958 and 1985 are interesting but not absolutely necessary. On the other hand, the book is about "It" but what "It" is changes as the book progresses. Some of King's literary quirks got on my nerves after a while, which I didn't notice or didn't dislike in other books of his I've read. King likes repetition and rhythm and when it's working for him, it's really good and other times...less so. If you're not sure you like Stephen King, I would definitely recommend steering clear of this book--the things that I like about him as a writer are the same things that drive other readers crazy. It's also the most violent book of his I've read and one that has some really uncomfortable sections on racism. How much of that is supposed to be a reflection of how Stephen King thinks, his characters, what was acceptable in the late 50s or early 80s and how much of that is a reflection of how I think about racism is hard to say. But it's definitely something to be aware of.
I checked the "hide entire review because of spoilers" box but if you're still here, I have to address the weird orgy scene at the end. I'm not sure if I would have been more or less bothered and weirded out by this if I hadn't known about it--albeit vaguely--going into the book. But it's still weird and a bit creepy. But more than that, I don't understand why it's in the book. Is Bev's purpose to be some sort of vestal virgin/sex magic conduit? Is Bill the only one who remembers this happening when he's cheating on his wife with Beverly? There's really nothing else that the Losers could think of to do--or King could think of--so that they could find their way out of the sewers? It's a decidedly unsexy scene, thanks Gods, and while it doesn't ruin the book, coming so near the end it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
That this book has been adapted to a miniseries and a film is both unsurprising and mystifying to me. Much of what makes Stephen King's books so gripping is the writing itself, which to my mind does not lend itself to the big or small screen. There's too much narration you'd need to do, too much inner monologue. But, it has some great visual potential--obviously Pennywise, but some of the other iterations of It are equally scary. I'm interested to see how the recent film has adapted this monstrous Moby Dick-esque tome.
I checked the "hide entire review because of spoilers" box but if you're still here, I have to address the weird orgy scene at the end. I'm not sure if I would have been more or less bothered and weirded out by this if I hadn't known about it--albeit vaguely--going into the book. But it's still weird and a bit creepy. But more than that, I don't understand why it's in the book. Is Bev's purpose to be some sort of vestal virgin/sex magic conduit? Is Bill the only one who remembers this happening when he's cheating on his wife with Beverly? There's really nothing else that the Losers could think of to do--or King could think of--so that they could find their way out of the sewers? It's a decidedly unsexy scene, thanks Gods, and while it doesn't ruin the book, coming so near the end it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
That this book has been adapted to a miniseries and a film is both unsurprising and mystifying to me. Much of what makes Stephen King's books so gripping is the writing itself, which to my mind does not lend itself to the big or small screen. There's too much narration you'd need to do, too much inner monologue. But, it has some great visual potential--obviously Pennywise, but some of the other iterations of It are equally scary. I'm interested to see how the recent film has adapted this monstrous Moby Dick-esque tome.
Magnificent read. I feel bereft after finishing this one; the ending is good, but also so sad. The amount of detail and time spent with these characters was such a treat. I miss them so much now that our time is over.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
There were a few scenes in this book that I just didn't feel were necessary, and which spoiled the rest of the book for me. A few that were unjustifiable and ultimately detracted from the overall character development and theme of the novel. Other than these few scenes, I did enjoy this book. But I found myself, at moments of resolution feeling conflicted. I would think, "Oh, great! Here's why this book was so dang long. This is why! It's an epic!" And then remember those scenes, which soured my overall experience. I found myself thinking, "Ugh, this could've been so great-- if that stupid scene wasn't in here."
I have mixed feelings about this book. It has its merits, but it also makes a pretty compelling argument for editors.
I have mixed feelings about this book. It has its merits, but it also makes a pretty compelling argument for editors.
Whoever the editor of this book was...did not do their job.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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:
Yes
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-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
Loved the story of Derry and the backgrounds of different characters, it really made me feel so immersed and connected to the world.
To be honest though this book wasn’t scary and every scene related to IT made me cringe a bit. It just wasn’t scary.The scariest parts were to do with the real people and real life situations.
IT created scenarios that were creepy such as the photo album, but every scene with IT in person ruined the horror element for me and could have been written better.
Although it’s annoying how long this book was for scenes that seemed insignificant to the story, I can see why that is. It makes even the smallest decisions and outcomes of other charters and storylines feel much more intense and personal seeing as I’ve just just spent 200 pages reading what seemed like irrelevant information but unknowingly becoming more connected to the book because of the extra background information.
This is definitely an audiobook recommendation over the physical book.
This is a book you can listen to casually rather than a book that you need to intentionally read every single word and study it. It would have been so hard to read the physical book without getting bored.
To be honest though this book wasn’t scary and every scene related to IT made me cringe a bit. It just wasn’t scary.The scariest parts were to do with the real people and real life situations.
IT created scenarios that were creepy such as the photo album, but every scene with IT in person ruined the horror element for me and could have been written better.
Although it’s annoying how long this book was for scenes that seemed insignificant to the story, I can see why that is. It makes even the smallest decisions and outcomes of other charters and storylines feel much more intense and personal seeing as I’ve just just spent 200 pages reading what seemed like irrelevant information but unknowingly becoming more connected to the book because of the extra background information.
This is definitely an audiobook recommendation over the physical book.
This is a book you can listen to casually rather than a book that you need to intentionally read every single word and study it. It would have been so hard to read the physical book without getting bored.