Wednesday 15 February 2012

Devouring Stephen King: It

I can't even describe how difficult it's going to be for me to review It, because, you know that book you read when you were like a teenager that was amazing and made you completely fall in love with an author, that you thought couldn't possibly be as good as you remembered it being, but was actually better on a second reading, and that has somehow miraculously gotten better with each subsequent re-read? That's what It is for me, and yet explaining why I love it and what I love about it seems like an almost impossible task because I just love It, all of It, apart from the scary bits which I am appropriately scared by: only, I do love those bits too, because they are all part of what makes It so indescribably awesome.

I am babbling, I realise, and I'm pretty much starting to sound like I'm introducing some kind of award at some kind of event (not all that inappropriate considering that it is awards season) but let's be honest- If I was giving out awards for the best Stephen King books, this would win all of them. Best characters, best scares, best monster, best setting, best interplay of past and present... there's literally only one aspect of It that I don't like (which I'll come to later) and even that doesn't bother me as much as it should because (and I'll say it again) I just love It so much!

Ok, actual reasons. Firstly, it's DAMN scary. Like, I've been scared by Stephen King books before, but It is the only one that consistently scares me, and I've read it about 5 times now so I really do know what's coming. Regardless, the whole time I was reading It, I found it really difficult to walk through my house at night (the dark is genuinely scary when there might, just might, be a homicidal clown hiding in your bedroom) and I have, shamefully, but honestly, run to my bed after I've turned the bathroom light out so that nothing gets me in the dark (why my bed is safer than anywhere else, I don't know, but there you go.) To date, the things It has given me a phobia (whether mild or severe) of include clowns, drains, the plughole in the sink/bath, really really really big spiders, blood that you can see but no one else can, really big birds, and the whole state of Maine. So, just a few things then!

But the horror's really only a part of it, and honestly, I'd argue not necessarily the biggest part. What this book is really all about, is childhood and the loss of childhood- the reconciliation of what you once were with what you have become, and with trying to make sense of all of this. Of course the children (and adults) in It are extraordinary because of what has happened to them, but they are still people, and they're just trying to make sense of things, even when things can't really be made sense of. It's also about friendship- none of the things that happen in the book could have happened without the team being assembled, and as readers we get to witness the kind of easy and massively strong bonds of friendship under adversity (even if it doesn't stretch much beyond the two summers that are dealt with in detail). I realise I'm being pretty vague here, and that is deliberate- I read this book knowing nothing about it, and it was, honestly, an amazing experience that I wouldn't want to deprive anyone else of by giving too much away.

Having said that, to me It gets better with every read for me, I think simply because it's so complex that there's so much to have forgotten, and so much to remember again with each re-read. I think, actually, the first reading really just puts everything into perspective and you kind of understand what's going on; whereas on a second reading, when you're fully comfortable with all the characters, you can relax into it more and really take in everything that happens. On this most recent reading, I really and truly was within the story, and I didn't need to stop at all and go 'wait, but which one is he again' because I really feel like I know these characters inside out. Each new reading is always a surprise though, because I find my focus, and so a great portion of my love, goes on a different character each time. The first time I read it, it was unquestionably Ben, and while I do still generally adore him, I have shifted between characters and shared my love around equally. In this most recent reading, Richie got slightly more of my attention than the others, so right now I love him a fair bit, but it really does shift all the time. It's wonderful and exciting, and I never do quite know what's going to happen with that aspect of things.

Now. The one thing that bugs me but I let it go because I love It so much. I realise there's a danger in making this the only specific thing in this whole review, and you going 'well damn, that sounds like crap now' and just not reading It. DON'T DO THAT TO YOURSELF! Anyway... So, the thing with It is that there's essentially only one female character, Beverly, and she is pretty awesome (like, she's got the best aim with a slingshot and she's really tough and all) BUT she's also the one character who King makes burst into tears at every opportunity. And it bugged me because she's so strong in other ways, in spite of also being a domestic abuse victim (I would also complain about this, i.e. why does the only female character have to be a victim, but actually that's a pretty important plot point later on so I can kind of let that slide) and yet she seems genuinely unable to cope with any kind of crisis (and there are a lot of crises) without crying. And I just don't get it, because these are really scary and upsetting situations, so  I get Beverly's tears, but WHY IS NO ONE ELSE CRYING? I mean, I know that I more or less can't cry in front of other people, no matter what the situation, so I don't understand where King has gotten this idea from that women can't cope. But it's horrible and I don't like it and I want it to stop!

Anyway, that's a really minor complaint in a book where so much is right (even when everything's wrong) that I can't really dwell on it too much. Even while I was reading it and getting mildly annoyed, I literally thought afterwards 'well... He's done so well on so much else that I can't really complain', so while it bugs me a bit, it doesn't devalue all the rest of the book, which is (insert your favourite positive adjective here). I mean, I think this probably goes without saying, but really- if you're only going to read one Stephen King book in your life, it should be this one, and even if you don't want to, you should absolutely read this book. It's obviously one of those ones where I don't want to know if you don't like it because it would shatter my soul, but still. Please. Read, enjoy, be scared, and then repeat, ad infinitum. Oh, and when you review it, try to be a bit briefer than me, yeah?

17 comments:

  1. I do not understand when people purposely expose themselves to scary things! I get scared so easily that actually scary things TERRIFY me and make me unhappy. But I know these people exist and have a decent time of it, because my best friend's one of them. But I shall do not understand you all. ;) Which is why I haven't read any Stephen King. His X-Files episode was terrifying! With this doll that makes people kill themselves.

    That being said, I am glad you enjoy him so much.

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    1. Well... I can read scary books because they're just my brain images so I can ignore them, but I can't *watch* scary things because there are actual images that will haunt me at like 2am and prevent me from sleeping! But this book is honestly fantastic! And it actually gets less scary as it goes on, which is slightly odd (or maybe I just feel like that now because I know what happens so well). Oh yeah, and my rule is, as long as everything turns out ok, then I'm good with it- if there are still monstery things roaming at the end, then I'm much more uneasy with it!

      So, to sum up: scary tv=too scary (really, sometimes Doctor Who is too scary for me, and that's for kids so... yeah) but scary books=fine/awesome! Oh yeah, and pleeeeease read The Dark Tower series, because it's all fantasy rather than horror and is the awesomest awesome of all awesomes. Plus it'll introduce you to Stephen King, who is my love :).

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  2. You had nothing to worry about - great review of a great book!

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    1. Aw, thanks! I think I managed not to rave too much, I've just apparently saved that for epic responses to comments!

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  3. You're convincing me I should give this another read. Cos I read it when I was like 13 and was very meh on it and didn't plan on picking it up again.

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    1. YOU WERE NOT MEH! Ok, you may have been. But omgggg this is like my favouritest book in the whole wide world (maybe not that, but it's pretty close) and it so surpasses the horrorness and just goes deep into the human humanness of humans!

      I realise this is the most ridiculous comment ever. I'm sorry. ;)

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    2. This is the most awesome comment! Especially cos I sorta jumped when I read "YOU WERE NOT MEH!" hehe

      But if it's your most amazing favoritest book (or up there) I'll give it another try. especially because I'm pretty sure I already have a copy somewhere.

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    3. Hehehehehe, now I feel like a big bossy bossyboots! But also, yay! I don't want to know if you don't like it again though, I just can't... There's no criticism of it allowed! (Or, you know, I'll just avoid that review. Obviously.) :D

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  4. Ok, so I'm reading your review and the monitor next to me turns on. (I'm reading on my laptop at my desk, NEXT to my CPU.) If that's not creepy, I don't know what is!

    I've heard a lot about this book and sort of rolled my eyes, but I keep hearing from people whose reading sensibilities I admire, that they love this book. So, obviously, I'm rethinking.

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    1. That's so scary! I would DIE (and I'm not exaggerating!) if that happened to me while I was discussing/reading It! Also, don't roll your eyes! I mean, I think Stephen King is a genius anyway, but I really think this book surpasses pretty much anything he's done before, and maybe even since. So yeah, it's pretty awesome!

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  5. Also, I'm anxious to know what you think about The Falls.

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    1. Yeah... I kind of started it and read like 50 pages and didn't get any further because I got distracted by other books! But I do like it so far and I shall persevere with it, so expect a review... sometime.

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  6. This is probably one of my most favorite Stephen King books. I read it the first time when I was 8 and I had nightmares for months. I read it again when I was in college and it was a completely different but still fulfilling experience. I've been wanting to read it again - but it's so long and there's so much to read! But I'm glad you think it still holds up!

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    1. It is soooo long (I think I read it over a week and a half) but it's still so worth it! I love that you read it when you were 8 and then when you were pretty much a grown up, because I can see how the different aspects would resonate at different ages! I still think it's his best book (at least of the ones I've read so far)

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  7. I haven't read this, but I saw PART of the movie when I was a kid, and it ruined my life. I still can't go anywhere near a storm drain.

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  8. I am so reading this soon. Awesome review. I am convinced:)

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