After my last post received a surprisingly warm reception, I decided to use the “Book Review & Top Quotes” format to go back and dissect some of my favorite novels. And since the clown-fearing hysteria is just now beginning to subside after the movie release, I thought I’d drum the terror back up a few pegs by reviewing everyone’s favorite bladder-control-testing horror…It.
As it was featured in the #3 slot of my Top 10 Must-Read Books List, I am not shocking anyone when I say I fell in crazy, deep, clown-obsessed love with It (think Harley Quinn meets the Joker levels of love, for all of you glorious Batman fans). Stephen King has always been, and always will be, a serious favorite of mine. Now, while I can see the rolling eyes of you high and mighty cynics out there, rest assured, I also used to think “Uh huh, you like Stephen King…wow, you are truly cultured!” However, that sarcasm only prevailed until I read The Stand, Under the Dome, The Green Mile, The Dark Tower...you get the point...
The beauty of It (like other King novels) is that you pick the book up interested by the scares promised by the back cover, but then halfway through you realize this ride is inclusive of far more literary diversity than just “horror”. Pennywise the Clown did scare the hell out of us, but amidst the terror there was also an incredible, wonderfully executed coming-of-age story.
In It, King masterfully intertwines the timelines of our characters as children and as adults. Both age groups struggle with not only the overt problem of an evil force seizing their town, but with their internal demons that are oh-so-relatable to our own tribulations. This is trademark King as he articulates exactly what so many of us feel, endure, contemplate and agonize over in our own internal dialogues. Don’t believe me? Check out this passage that almost had my Kindle slipping out of my awestruck hands and clattering to the bathroom floor (I do a lot of toilet reading)...
This feeling was purer, more of a mainline high. He thought he recognized the feeling from his childhood, when he had felt it every day and had come to take it merely as a matter of course. He supposed that, if he had ever thought about that deep-running aquifer of energy as a kid (he could not recall that he ever had), he would have simply dismissed it as a fact of life, something that would always be there, like the color of his eyes or his disgusting hammertoes. Well, that hadn’t turned out to be true. The energy you drew on so extravagantly when you were a kid, the energy you thought would never exhaust itself—that slipped away somewhere between eighteen and twenty-four, to be replaced by something much duller, something as bogus as a coke high: purpose, maybe, or goals, or whatever rah-rah Junior Chamber of Commerce word you wanted to use. It was no big deal; it didn’t go all at once, with a bang. And maybe, Richie thought, that’s the scary part. How you don’t stop being a kid all at once, with a big explosive bang, like one of that clown’s trick balloons with the Burma-Shave slogans on the sides. The kid in you just leaked out, like the air out of a tire. And one day you looked in the mirror and there was a grownup looking back at you. You could go on wearing bluejeans, you could keep going to Springsteen and Seger concerts, you could dye your hair, but that was a grownup’s face in the mirror just the same.
Hits you like an old musician’s strum across the guitar strings doesn’t it? Who doesn’t yearn for those days of excitement? Those moments of “feeling it”? And now that King mentions it, weren’t those feelings far more frequent years ago, if not ever-present? Damn, Steve you’re good...but you’re bumming me out!
Additionally, at the end of this 1100 page (perfect) monster, I noted the following passage because I remember being truly captivated. On the verge of tears, I could practically hear the narrator’s voice filled with emotion, talking about nothing more than life itself…
Disquiet and desire. What you want and what you’re scared to try for. Where you’ve been and where you want to go. Something in a rock-and-roll song about wanting the girl, the car, the place to stand and be. Oh please God can you dig it.
Perhaps that passage may strike you as a bit out of context, but I’d rather stick to the no-spoilers-ever principle and just encourage you to experience the ending for yourself. I assure you the literary journey, particularly at that moment... is so worth it.
Overall and unsurprisingly, this book scored the highest marks for me with its relatable characters, spine-tingling scares and shockingly palpable emotional themes. #3 on my list for good reason and worth a read whether you have seen the movies or not. Thus, I grant It 5 floating red balloons out of 5, and thank Mr. King with another slow clap of appreciation!
Until next time, keep on steem'n folks!