Amazon.com: Customer reviews: It

Top positive review

229 people found this helpful

Even better the second time...a quarter of a century later.

ByAdam John Zimmermanon November 15, 2016

When I was on a school field trip in the seventh grade, I took Stephen King's "IT" with me to read. The trip was going to be two days in Virginia, and was an example of staying overnight on a school trip. It should have been an adventure. The trip was frankly a waste, but the book was sublime.

I'd gotten into reading Stephen King two years before by way of a trip over the previous summer to my uncle's house. He had a collection of Stephen King novels and I'd started reading them with Pet Sematary, which had been adapted to the big screen two years before. In the intervening time, I'd devoured Salem's Lot, Carrie, Firestarter, and Misery, and The Shining. I found a copy of the 1990 TV movie adaptation and watched it. I recognized just how much I figured it had to have been toned down, but it was a decent primer (or so I thought). I felt warmed up and ready for the brick-like tome I'd acquired. I was wrong.

Reading the book was like a marathon, and I was prepared for a sprint. I easily identified with the younger versions of the characters, but had trouble with identifying with their adult incarnations. I appreciated the story and the implications of both eras, but entirely missed out on how well crafted the story was. In the end it took three weeks, but I completed the book, considered myself proud for conquering the nearly 1200 page tome, put it on the shelf, and...proceeded to put it out of my mind for nearly twenty five years. Almost, and entirely unintentionally, like the characters in the book...

Twenty five years later, I was on a kick of re-reading books I'd read as a kid, and then I approached Stephen King again. In the interim I'd devoured his books and probably thousands of other books by many dozens of different writers of differing skill levels, and when I thought "I should re-read some Stephen King" I thought about it, and it came down to either reading "IT" or "The Stand" and to be honest I felt "IT" was the better book. I remember it being a mountain for an adolescent. I wondered how I'd do this time.

It was SO MUCH better than I ever thought it would be!

I felt ACHINGLY nostalgic in the sections with the characters as kids. Whereas as a kid I identified with those elements as mapping directly onto my friends and setting, I did it unconsciously. Now I was (at times painfully) aware of it. I longed for the good times and friends of my youth. I appreciated how well King encapsulated the distance between childhood and adulthood and all the roads we travel in between. I reveled in how little we remember accurately about the past and how mutable it can be. I realized that IT was in fact two predators...both the eponymous monster who will kill and devour you, and the predator that robs us of our memories and the clarity we remember having as a kid.

The prose is wonderful. King doesn't use mere words to tell stories, he uses meanings themselves, woven seemingly seamlessly into shades of context and pigments of innuendo and occasionally bright, obvious splashes of unobfuscated emotion that jar you because...hey...in real life that's how it works. And in getting that right, King manages to make the impossible elements like the supernatural nature of IT and the relationship IT has with the town of Derry and the inhabitants there...normal. This could have happened. It could be happening. And it's that esoteric dread that King wields masterfully. The implications. The possibilities. Even in the fact that both eras are now, as of 2016, dated (the earlier phase was in the 50's, and the later phase was in the 80's...eerily we would be neck deep in the middle of the next cycle were it coming) was delightful. It was an added layer of nostalgia woven over the rest of the tapestry.

If you haven't read this book, read it now. Enjoy it. If you have read it, by all means read it again. It will thrill and delight and horrify and frighten you all over again.

Top critical review

See all 308 critical reviews›

2 people found this helpful

Overall a good read but not as good as all the others ...

ByJan Donovanon May 1, 2017

Too wordy and long for my taste. Overall a good read but not as good as all the others I have read

Sort by:

Filter by:

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Showing 21-30 of 1,385 reviews(Verified Purchases). See all 2,609 reviews

One of the King's most impressive works

ByAmazon Customeron December 27, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

"IT" is quite simply one of the best books I've ever had the good fortune to read. Despite being well over 1000 pages, "IT" seems like only a small fraction of that -- heck, I read it in less time than "Cujo," which is only 300 pages. What I like most about "IT" is that while it contains a number of creepy moments and elements, it is, at its core, a deeply moving coming-of-age story, in which the protagonists grapple not only with a foul and murderous entity, but with something perhaps even more terrifying: the looming prospects of adulthood.

The mere size of this book may seem intimidating to some, but believe me, it's worth every minute that you invest in it. There're really only two complaints that I have with it. (1). Some of the book's scenes haven't nearly aged as well as others. Sure, the infamous opening sequence, with the clown in the storm-drain, is as chilling as ever; but other parts (e.g., the scene with the model of Paul Bunyan) come across as rather corny by today's standards. Yes, I know, it might be a bit anachronistic to judge it 30 years after its release, but let's be honest here. (2). For those who aren't too aware of how this story unfolds, it's rather notorious for containing what might very well be King's most baffling and bizarre conclusion. Either you'll love it or hate it -- but either way, you won't forget it.

If you're looking for a King novel that is more manageable and without glaring flaws, I'd sooner recommend "Salem's Lot" or "Pet Semetary," both of which are fine and fun reads. However, if you're looking for an impressively told story with a grand scope and tons of dramatic heft, and you don't mind spending the time to do so, I'd say that "IT" is a damn fine story to go with.

0Comment 5 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

We all float down here....and so will you!

ByASilentHillFanon January 25, 2017

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

My favorite book of all time. I've read 14 times and who knows how many more times I'll read it again! King creates a world where you feel the eyes of a being of unimaginable horror on you as you follow the lives of a group of childeren who come together to face a creature that has haunted their town and hunted it's children for years upon years. You will not find a better book that creates such a electric tingling atmosphere that you will catch yourself reading way past the hour you said you would put it down at.

0Comment 7 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Solid horror.

ByK. J.on April 28, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

One of his better horror type books. I am anxious to see the re-boot film to see if they stick to the original movie plot or pull more from the book. I hope they pull more from the book but, King is hard to translate to film. Probably in my top 10 of King books.

0CommentWas this review helpful to you?YesNo

Best King book I've read yet

ByZachon March 22, 2013

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I've read probably 20 King books now and have many favorites, but this is the best one I've read yet. I love how he goes back in forth with the character's childhoods and their adult life, showing how much things change and yet seem the same. No one writes coming of age books better then king. So many of the chapters where the kids are just playing in barrens and biking remind me and I'm sure many other readers of our own group of friends when we were young (hopefully none of you had a killer monster after you). He plays with real-life situations kids deal with along with fantastic horror situations that you'd never imagine dealing with. Many readers dislike Kings length to some of his novels especially this at over 1300 pages, but its a page turner and took me about 6-7 days to finish and I only read about 1-2 hours on a good day. So the plot is well worth the added bulk, and in my opinion the more pages he writes the more bang for you're buck. The ending is a bit strange, but like most King books its the journey you take to get to the ending which is so interesting. I would recommend this to anyone who likes King or anyone who reads novels in general. Very good read.

0Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

SCARIER STILL

ByD. Portilloon May 23, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

WHAT CAN I SAY EXCEPT THAT STEPHEN KING'S IT IS THE REASON I'M SCARED OF CLOWNS. I WAS 8 THE FIRST TIME I READ THIS NOVEL AND 40 YEARS LATER IT STILL FRIGHTENS THE BEEJEEBEES OUT OF ME!

0Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Incredible story that makes you think about friendship, perseverance, commitment, and what Other must be at work in this crazy w

Bynoah bowseron June 29, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Started this book in March, finished it in June. Even though it took me forever to read, it's been impactful. This is the second book of King's that I've read and I'm continually surprised to see that he's not a horror writer. This and Joyland (King's other book that I read) are commentaries on elements of life that we all hold near and dear. "It" makes you look back on your past and look towards your future and causes you ponder the continuity of all life's experiences. It calls you to ask yourself if you believe in fate. And if this book doesn't make you want to believe in fate, I don't know what will.

0CommentWas this review helpful to you?YesNo

The perfect novel

ByBill Pomeroyon June 23, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

It.

Arguably the best of Stephen King's body of work. The novel has everything you could ask for. 7 friends/strangers inexplicably drawn to each other one summer to fight a creature only children can see.

It's part revenge story, part love stories, part horror, and part nostalgia piece about living in New England.

0CommentWas this review helpful to you?YesNo

Love this novel

ByLarissaon March 1, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Love this novel. I watched the movie a bunch of times and heard that they are making a remake of it soon so I wanted to read it. It's a big book and takes a little while to finish but it's great! I compared it to the old movie & theres a lot of similaries but also differences (yes, books are always better then the movies).

0CommentWas this review helpful to you?YesNo

its STEPHEN KING what more can you ask for???

ByAmazon Customeron June 24, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I love the movie IT and i wanted to read the book to see if it was completely different from the movie, of course all movies aren't going to cover every single detail from the books but its been fun reading it! I received with no damage whatsoever and the book is huge! it has 1152! pages (not including the acknowledgement & about the author page) I love the book so far.

0CommentWas this review helpful to you?YesNo

This defines SCARY!

ByLorraine Dayon May 4, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

This is one of my favorites by the ScareMaster. I have read the book 3 times and watch the TV version whenever it is on. I don't get tired of it. The characters are so well devleoped that iI feel like I grew up with these people. A thoroughly enjoyable read.

0CommentWas this review helpful to you?YesNo