Well, I did it. I did It. (I’m sure this is adding so much to the ongoing pun-based conversation surrounding this book.)
I started this book on January 22nd, and finished it on January 30th. That is a long time to read a book for me, especially at the beginning of the year, when I like to get my momentum up and running with shorter, exciting books. But I’m doing the whole TBR Jar thing this year, and I pulled It out almost immediately. When this happened, a protracted and very dramatic “NOOOOOOO” escaped me upon seeing what was on that little slip of paper. I have been avoiding this book for YEARS. Ever since I decided to read everything Stephen King has ever written, I knew I’d have to get to it eventually, but I wanted “eventually” to be quite a bit further than “my second pick out of this TBR Jar experiment, first thing in the year.” Why? Have you seen this book. It is 1,156 pages long, and not small pages, and not big type. I literally cannot hold it with one hand. Also, I heard it was SCARY. Also, there is a WHAT in it, now? SPOILERS A child orgy! END SPOILERS.
But also, secretly I was excited, because it was a challenge, and the cover was pretty, and I have a very strong record of liking the things that Stephen King writes. And I was curious! This thing has been causing nightmares and controversy since 1986. I wanted in. I wanted to form opinions and have experiences!
If anyone is unfamiliar, this is an epic-length book split into two timelines, following the same set of characters as they battle the mysterious and terrifying monster, It, in their childhoods, and then again as adults. On a basic level, It is a monster who eats children and preys on upon their darkest fears, but beyond that, It is also inseparable from Derry, Maine. Bad things are always happening in Derry, and adults who live there don’t react as they should. At the heart of this book is the question, Why does It prey on children? What is it about childhood that makes for good prey, and why is it that children are the only ones who can effectively combat It?
Many other people have said this before me, but basically this is a book about growing up and forgetting what it felt like to be a child. It is a very deliberate choice Uncle Stevie makes to toggle constantly back and forth between their childhood and adulthoods. That constant juxtaposition brings the differences and things lost instantly to mind in a way it wouldn’t if you read about the childhood section first, and then the adult. It’s also smart because he builds tension effectively in two timelines, comes to a climax in both, and then resolves the story, rather than doing it twice, which would be repetitive and dull. This book was 1,156 pages, and that length was most definitely felt in a physical and time sense, but it didn’t really feel like a long book once I was reading it. I was in from the time little George Denbrough approached that drain and the clown asks him politely, “Hi, Georgie. Want your boat, Georgie?”
With the possible exception of Richie, who irritated me with his constant need to do his voices, I loved all The Losers: Bill, Beverly, Mike, Stan, Eddie, and of course Ben (my favorite). What surprised me most about this book is that I didn’t find it scary at all (save for a few genuinely creepy scenes that hit on a couple of my personal buttons, like the time that SPOILERS Mike falls asleep in the library, and instead of directly confronting him, Pennywise just leaves a balloon there so Mike will know he was there END SPOILERS), and that the majority of the book was not made up of things jumping out at you to make you scream, but instead pretty intense character work on the main seven characters. You are in their heads, living this all with them. It’s intense. One of the things that I love most about long books, or long book series, is the way that simply by spending more time with characters, you develop a different kind of relationship with them. This book is epic, but not so much in breadth as it is in depth. We focus in tightly rather than widening out. It’s a more intimate kind of epic, and I found it really effective.
I debated over and over about my rating, because this was not a perfect read, and I have some things that didn’t work for me, for sure. But, ultimately, I was so engaged with this book over the week that I read it, I don’t feel like four stars would be enough to accurately convey the overall experience reading this book provided me. It was a five star reading experience, with some four star content reservations, is how I’ve settled on describing it. I would take a book that pulled me in like this any day over a completely inoffensive and harmless book that I just sort of like, and immediately forget about afterwards. This book is going to sit with me, warts and all, for a long time. (Discussion of things that didn’t work for me whited out below, yes including That Thing, if you’ve already read the book, or you don’t care about being spoiled.)
First, Richie’s voices. They were okay when he was a kid. The 50s were probably full of terrible language, but they were kids and sometimes kids don’t know any better. It bothered me more when he was an adult. I don’t care who you are or what your intentions are, Richie, talking in black vernacular is not funny, and is actually upsetting. He just irritated me when he did this. I much preferred when he was being genuine, though I did like how the kids were constantly calling him out, even if it didn’t stop him for long. Relatedly, I don’t mind the portrayal of things like racist or sexist language, or even the presence of homophobia or racism in a text, as long as I think it’s clear the author isn’t condoning the behavior. That kind of stuff existed in the 50s, and the 80s, and it exists now. Not super fun to read about, but if King wanted to engage with those issues, I don’t see a problem with it. His books are kind of like little zeitgeist time capsules.
I did NOT like Bill and Beverly having sex, and I wish that would have been cut entirely. I do not care that Beverly had been in love with him since she was a kid, or that her husband was abusive (I mean, I do care, I just don’t think it justifies her actions). I do not care that Bill used to have a thing for her, too. He was a happily married man, and having sex with Beverly was a betrayal of Audra. We know this, because when Audra suspects that he might have cheated on her, rightly, she is devastated. It’s a total cheat that Audra, and Bill, don’t remember any of it by the end. He deserved to be punished for that, although I’m glad Audra never found out, because it would have been terrible for her.
Lastly, THE CHILD ORGY. So, what I will say is that I am not at all offended by it. Sexuality in childhood is not something that any society I am aware of talks about comfortably, if at all, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. I’m not going to go around condoning child orgies or whatever, but I’m not going to get upset about it, either. What I don’t really get about it is how it’s supposed to work in terms of the story. I understand thematically that he was going for an event that irrevocably pushed or led them out of childhood, and thematically that does work very well. But on a superficial, this is what is actually happening in the story level, it doesn’t actually make a lot of sense? Supposedly, Beverly has this idea to unify them all again after the battle with It, and all of them having sex with her one by one is the way to do that. Okay, I suppose I can see that. But, what I really have trouble with is her having the idea in the first place. I mean, sure, We’re lost in the sewers deep under the city, I have an idea that will help with that! All of you will have sex with me! Doesn’t really track. There’s a moment where the narrative tries to justify it; Beverly thinks about the confrontation with her father (which was extremely sexually charged, and It was involved) and states outright that It’s behavior had given her the idea for the orgy. What I took from this was that It was attempting to engender shame and fear into Beverly regarding her sexuality. And if It, and her father, were so afraid of Beverly being a sexual being, then embracing that sexuality and finding no shame or fear in it would not only be right and good, but also a way to fight back. Again, this works thematically, but it’s just so out of left field in the moment. So, lots of complicated, conflicting thoughts from me about this, not executed perfectly. Still loved the book.
