2 Bloggers 1 Book - It by Stephen King

 

So, I take total responsibility for this one as it was my idea for Stormi and I to buddy read it.  I remember reading the book when I was a teen and loving it. I figured it was time for a reread so I could see if I still felt the same way - spoiler, I do not.  So read on for all my snarky thoughts and then hop over to Stormi's @ StormReads and see what she thought. 

 

TITLE: It

AUTHOR: Stephen King

PUBLISHER: Viking

PUBLISHING DATE: September 15, 1986

PAGES: 1142 (too many)   

SOURCE: Own

FROM GOODREADS: It began for the Losers on a day in June of 1958, the day school let out for the summer. That was the day Henry Bowers carved the first letter of his name on Ben Hanscom's belly and chased him into the Barrens, the day Henry and his Neanderthal friends beat up on Stuttering Bill Denbrough and Eddie Kaspbrak, the day Stuttering Bill had to save Eddie from his worst asthma attack ever by riding his bike to beat the devil. It ended in August, with seven desperate children in search of a creature of unspeakable evil in the drains beneath Derry. In search of It. And somehow it ended. 

Or so they thought. Then. 

On a spring night in 1985 Mike Hanlon, once one of those children, makes six calls. Stan Uris, accountant. Richie "Records" Tozier, L.A. disc jockey. Ben Hanscom, renowned architect. Beverly Rogan, dress designer. Eddie Kaspbrak, owner of a successful New York limousine company. And Bill Denbrough, bestselling writer of horror novels, Bill Denbrough who now only stutters in his dreams. 

These six men and one woman have forgotten their childhoods,have forgotten the time when they were Losers...but an unremembered promise draws them back, the present begins to rhyme dreadfully with the past, and when the Losers reunite, the wheels of fate lock together and roll them towards the ultimate terror. 

MY THOUGHTS: So let me provide you with a little backstory which will explain why I might have such fond memories of this book.  Because after reading it this time around, and suffering through it for three months, it is no longer a fave.

This book was published when I was a sophomore in high school.  I remember my Mom and Dad going out of town one weekend, and I desperately wanted to go.  However, it was a parent's trip and I later learned they were trying to save their marriage (which worked for a while I guess).  I was a "Daddy's Girl" so while he was out of town, he went and purchased a new book by my favorite author which had just been released - It.  I also wish I still had that copy because it was a first edition but unfortunately, boxer #3 ate it one day while I was at work.  Hope he liked it more than I did this time around.

So, I won't rehash the story of It.  I figure anyone who is interested has either read the tome or else have seen the old/new movies.  A group of kids battling the evil lurking in their hometown when they were kids, and again, 27 years later as adults.  I feel like I know more about these kids than I do some of my family members and about 600 pages in, Pennywise the Clown couldn't die soon enough.  I had a few favorite characters but by the end, I didn't care what happened to any of them.  And the ending, SPOILER ALERT: Aliens?  I know a lot of people criticize King for his endings but I'm starting to think whenever he had no idea how to wrap things up, he pulls an alien out of his hat.  

So needless to say, this book did not stand up for me.  My rating is heavily bolstered by my sentimental feelings and reminders of my father, who is the basis for my love of horror.  If you are interested in the book and haven't read it yet, go watch the movie.  The remake was done really well and even the original stands the test of time in my opinion.  Basically, I'm just relieved I finished this time around.

MY RATING: 3 GENEROUS PAWS