Title: It Author: Stephen King
Read copy: Paperback
Published: August 7, 1987
Publisher: Signet
ISBN: 0451169514
ISBN-13: 9780451169518
The story follows the exploits of seven children as they are terrorized by an eponymous being, which exploits the fears and phobias of its victims in order to disguise itself while hunting its prey. "It" primarily appears in the form of a clown in order to attract its preferred prey of young children. The novel is told through narratives alternating between two time periods, and is largely told in the third-person omniscient mode. It deals with themes which would eventually become King staples: the power of memory, childhood trauma, and the ugliness lurking behind a façade of traditional small-town values.
My rating:
I was among those who watched this when it came out as a miniseries. I was definitely too young to watch the miniseries, which proved itself when I kept inspecting out bathroom sink for any signs of blood for months afterwards.
Anyway, with the movie coming out (which I probably won’t go see), I became interested again, and after reading about the books having a much more developed Pennywise storyline, I decided to give it a go. After more than a week, I must say, the book proved to be quite a disappointment.
It started off great and the creepy factor was high, but then it sort of fizzled out and should’ve become a DNF, but somehow my stubborn streak kicked in. It was too long with too many things crammed into it going from creepy and gory into rather disgusting territory (with the animal torture and the “orgy” in the sewers) to downright bizarre with the whole alien and the Ritual of Chüd thing.
Somehow it all felt overblown, bloated and overburdened with all these different elements while most of it could’ve been cut creating a leaner, meatier tome.
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment