I can't believe I haven't done my review yet for Stephen King's It.
I know I've written about it in recommended lists, especially around Halloween, but I've yet to compose a full review.
Until now.
This is not the first Stephen King book I've read, but it is the first of his horror books. In fact, I didn't read King for years because I scare so easily, and I naturally associated the king of horror with, well, horror.
But then my husband gave me a copy of "Different Seasons" to read. And then he chose "The Stand" as one of the books for us to read together. (You can see my review for that here). And then I got into reading the "Dark Tower" books. (See my review for the first one here.) And then I finally read his book "On Writing". (Guess what? Review again! Here.)
And then...
And then I figured it was time to try out a version of King in his most famous genre. And with the movie last fall, I was spurred on to choose this one.
And all I can say is what took me so long?
I loved this book.
Sometimes jumps in time can seem jointed. Not this time, though; not this book.
The childhood chapters and adult chapters fit together seamlessly, each one a puzzle piece revealing more of the whole picture.
The story itself is creepy and intense. How can it not be, with a shapeshifting cannibalistic clown? I poured through this book, finishing half of it in a day, which is saying something when you look at the size of it.
King is a masterful storyteller, so this is not surprising.
But what King does so freaking well is the bigger picture.
Anyone can write a story about a murderous clown. But to use that as a backdrop to address the bigger questions about evil, about all the faces that evil wears, well, that takes an exciting book and makes it something special.
To fully appreciate this book, I think it is worth noting that when King first wrote this book he was in a dark, dark place mentally, struggling with addiction.
The drug-induced imaginings are even more terrifying when you consider the questions of evil and fear, keeping in mind the context of his writing it.
I don't know if it's appropriate to say that the background made me appreciate the writing more, but it certainly gave it another dimension.
Of course, I also had minor freak outs about the tie-ins with the other King books I've read.
And (mostly) minor freak outs about how absolutely scary some of the parts were.
And can we just talk about the fact that King dedicated this book to his children?
To. His. Children.
*Shudder*
Have you seen the new movie? It was the only time I've ever specifically asked to go to a scary movie. Most of the time I get dragged kicking and screaming and have to be bribed with popcorn or frozen yogurt...
Heck, I was scared after seeing the first trailer.
But the movie did not disappoint. I'm looking forward to seeing what they do with the second one.
The bottom line: If you like Stephen King, read this book. If you like horror, read this book. If you like stories about children in decidedly not-childhood scenarios, read this book. If you like questions of evil, of the nature of fear, read this book. If you just like engaging, uncomfortable story-telling, read this book.
If you get offended easily, don't.
Also, if you are not already "creeped out" by clowns, you likely will be after this one.
Have you read this book before? Perhaps around Halloween? How about the new movie; have you seen it? What did you think?
Comment below! What's the scariest book you've ever read?
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