So, I finished IT today and boy was it something. I don't mean that in a bad way or in a good way, it was just something. I felt like I had to write something about the book before it faded away. For the most part, I really enjoyed the book. It's an epic story of good versus evil with the typical Kingsian trappings that prevent it from being a true masterpiece. The parts are there, but King gets in his own way most of the time.
King frustrates me. He's really an amazing writer, I can't deny that, but there are so many frustrating aspects of his writing that prevent me from completely enjoying the story. IT was a prime example of this. It was everything I love and hate about King in one book. So let me break it down by what I loved and what I hated.
WHAT I LOVED:
- Worldbuilding: King knows how to build a world and it's on full display here. Derry and the world around it is brilliant.
- Mythology/Canon: King integrates this world into his "Kingverse" flawlessly while existing all on its own. He builds the mythology of It with some well done but info-dumpy sections cunningly designed as Mike's journals.
- Characters: This might have been the strongest aspect of the novel. We spend a fair amount of time with each character, getting a feeling for them as individuals. He moves between the young and the old versions of the main characters with a deftness that's just impressive while touching on the point of views of lesser characters.
- Pennywise: What a great villain. He's the monster that we all fear as children and as parents. His control over Derry is terrifying and that adults don't seem to notice anything adds to the tension of the story.
- Messing With Structure And Genre: King does a lot of weird but cool stuff with structure in this book. Maybe it's like other King novels, but I haven't read them all. And he messes with genre by adding Mike's journals and straight up reports of what's happening like they are from a nonfiction book about what happened. It's really kind of neat.
- Mood/Tone: This is a King specialty and it really works in spades in this book.
- Hints: King sprinkles in bits where we see It's weaknesses throughout the book and they are rare bits of subtlety from King. If you are reading fast, you'll miss them.
WHAT I HATED:
- Fat People: King rivals Rowling on his distaste of fat people. Besides Ben, we never meet a kind or helpful fat person.
- Ickiness: I'm not talking about gore but King writes some things that make you squirm as you read them. He's not particularly good about writing female adolescent characters. There are some predilections there that are borderline creepy.
- Characters: The kids are a little too hypercompetent for my taste. Sure they are scared of It, but keep it together to execute all of their plans that summer, including an underground hideout and smelting silver. My daughter is 13 and I don't see her being as efficient as the Losers' Club.
- Make Bad Decisions For The Sake Of Plot: I dislike this trope immensely and know that it's a staple of the horror genre, but some of the decisions side characters make frustrated me. The entire Audra subplot fell flat for me as did the Tom subplot. They easily could've been cut out and the book wouldn't have been diminished. Bill didn't need additional motivation to kill It.
- Eggs: It felt like this entire thing was just tacked on at the end because King thought of it last minute.
THINGS I'M NOT SURE ABOUT
- Henry Bowers: I thought his arc was incomplete. King invested so much time on him that his ending felt, I don't know...off. I'm glad it was Eddie that did it though.
IT is an amazing book. It's a huge book with a lot going on in it but it's worth the read. It can be a slog in some spots but it's worth the read. There are parts that are difficult to read because they are cringe-worthy (and I don't mean in a horror way) but if you can get past those, it's really an amazing book.
I've got THE STAND sitting on my shelf. I listened to about half of it a while back before I quit on it (I don't remember why I did) but I may give it a try again.
