It [Perfect Paperback]

Product Details

• Perfect Paperback: 1120 pages
• Publisher: Hodder Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0340951648
• ISBN-13: 978-0340951644
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (995 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Stephen King is the author of more than fifty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. Among his most recent are the Dark Tower novels, Cell, From a Buick 8, Everything's Eventual, Hearts in Atlantis, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, and Bag of Bones. His acclaimed nonfiction book, On Writing, was also a bestseller. He is the recipient of the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He lives in Bangor, Maine, with his wife, novelist Tabitha King.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

241 of 254 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is It, September 13, 2003

By 

Esc - See all my reviews

This review is from: It (Mass Market Paperback)

"The terror, which would not end for another twenty-eight years--if it ever did end--began, so far as I can tell, with a boat made from a sheet of newspaper floating down a gutter swollen with rain."

This is the first line of "It," the beginning to one of Stephen King's masterpieces, and probably the most incredible story I've ever read. Those who complain about it's length... they need patience. Those who complain about its characters... they need to look around at themselves and others. Those who complain about it being vulgar, vile, or horrific... that's part of the story, and not to embrace it means you miss out on something extraordinary.

In the summer of 1958, seven friends encountered something horrible in their town of Derry, Maine. This something fed on children, hunting them, preying on them, and devouring them. It could shape itself in any way It liked, whatever their nightmares suited, but always with one trademark: the semblance of a clown. The seven friends all had something in common: They had all escaped It at some point. And in that summer, they learned about It, confronted It, and killed It... or so they thought.

28 years later... A boy named Adrian Mellon is apparently thrown off a bridge by two other boys for his sexuality. It seems like an open-and-shut case, but the boys claim that there was something down below... a clown and a cloud of balloons.

Soon the friends are being called back to Derry, told that It is back. They made a vow, sealed in blood, to return if It wasn't dead. Each of them is now very successful, and the thought of returning to Derry, of going back to the horror that they'd all forgotten, is more than they can bear, but they had made a promise.

"It" is two stories being told at once. One is the story of their childhood, of their first encounter with Pennywise the Clown, their troubles with the local bullies, the impact of It upon their lives, their own personal struggles, and the eventual defeat of It. This is told from the beginning of the book to the near end of it. At the same time, the story of the return to Derry, of the research done to see what It was, the memories that were now urging to return, and subsequent events that followed which I won't spoil here. Both timelines alternate in their tellings to fit one another perfectly, even if not in perfect chronological order, and they're even further juiced with quick points of time long before their own, dipping into what else It has been up to. This construction is utterly beautiful in how it's placed, and completely builds the story up for all its plot points and climax. "It" also easily avoids a problem with many long Stephen King books: Plot threads that go nowhere.

The characters are completely immersive and none are the all-too-well-known cliches. Bill Denbrough is the leader of the group, with a bone to pick with It, and his own problem of stuttering. Richie Tozier has a smart mouth and a big ego, one that hides things from the others that he's ashamed of, even in denial of. Eddie Kaspbrak is asmathic and weak, but he has courage within him to help his friends. Stan Uris is a sensible and supportive friend, who helps bring understanding of things. Ben Hanscom is an overweight and loving boy who brings his own ingenuity to the group. Beverly Marsh is a tough, yet sweet girl, whose own problems at home help prepare her for what she must face with the others. And Mike Hanlon, a boy chased by the bullies for the color of his skin, who comes across the group with a desire to help, and also leading to one of the more emotional parts of the story, the Great Rock Fight. These are the seven friends whose unity and circumstances held them together against It, and who vowed to return. It isn't long before they feel familiar, as if you've known them all your life, as well as the troubles they've faced, especially those of punk and bully Henry Bowers, whose endless torment drives them into the very heart of It's lair.

"It" is a story that does take some patience to get into after the initial hook, but afterward, you'll have trouble putting it down. The night I finished it for the first time, I was 200 pages from the end and it was already midnight, but I just had to keep going. I couldn't wait until morning. I had to read, see, feel... I had to know. Everything builds and builds, as well as giving off the love, excitement, and horror that abounds, and it doesn't let down. Every single event, be it touching, scary, or vulgar, is necessary to form the complete picture of what may be one of the greatest books you will ever read.

-Escushion

43 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Without doubt the best novel ever written by Stephen King, June 14, 2000

By 

Gabor Lake (Berlin) - See all my reviews

This review is from: It (Mass Market Paperback)

I was 12 years old when I was reading this book and, having a vivid imagination, it scared the hell out of me. I slept for weeks with lights on in my room and I always had a slightly bad feeling while going to the toilet (read the book to know why)...

I guess why this book captivated me so much is that the heroes are children, young and not among the most popular, smartest or strongest. Young boys and a girl you could yourself identify with. They arent the most popular, strongest or smartest kids... All are haunted because of their bad family situation, rough pupils, health problems... And its those loners, finding together and finally confronting a century-old evil force living in the Derry canalisation... An evil force, IT, that the adults of Derry dont want to realize it exists...

The books is cleverly made, offering insight in the life of the main charcters both as youngsters and adults, confronted again 20 years later by the evil they thought they had destroyed in a memorable fight a long time ago...

This is the best Stephen King ever achieved.

39 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Incredible Journey, March 26, 2000

By 

Will McCammon (Pleasant Hill, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: It (Mass Market Paperback)

After finishing IT for only the second time, I feel I must add my comments to those listed below. I found this book to be one of the greatest fiction books I have ever had the pleasure of curling up with for several weeks and reading (any book that can have me go through the full range of emotions over and over again and then get me to spend weeks reflecting on thoughts from the last two paragraphs has to rank up there). SK has managed to write the scariest novel I have ever read but also weave in multiple underlying themes (Good vs Evil, racial discrimination, the reality of childhood as seen through the eyes of a child - who can forget the schoolyard bullies?) that kept me thinking the whole way through the book. Rather than bore you with a long review - just read the book you'll be glad you did (although due to the mature and sometimes inappropriate content of a number of scenes, I don't recommend this book for anyone under 13/14). As a parting comment, the book is best summed up by my dilema - Which is scarier: Pennywise or the reality of what happens to us as we grow up and leave childhood behind?