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Loading... It (1986)by Stephen King
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Haven't read enough Stephen King yet to say if it's his best work, but it's my favorite one of his so far. I listen to it every year or two - Stephen Weber absolutely destroys the audio version in the best ways. ( ) I can’t remember what inspired me, but one day I just thought “I should re-read It“. It’s a defining book of both an author and a genre. Two two-part movies have been made about it. It’s an intrinsic part of the cultural zeitgeist. It was Halloween time. A good reader re-reads the classics every once in a while. It’s been about twenty years since my first reading, back when I was just starting as a writer (lowercase w). This time I was able to read it with a more critical eye. The eye of an author, knowing what I know about good writing and about Stephen King’s writing. Looking at each sentence, seeing what it’s doing here. King writes everything with a microscopic level of detail. Especially during this era when he was coked out of his gourd. I’m not sure if that’s what people were looking for in 1986, but that was when you only had three channels to watch or you could read. I do know that people don’t write like that anymore (I don’t think). They do write big books, but they don’t usually overwrite. It became King’s signature to write doorstoppers. At a certain point, I was looking at the copyright to see if I’d accidentally picked up the special edition. It just wouldn’t end. And the fact is, there really isn’t much of a story to It. They’re mostly long vignettes about the kids getting scared or fighting their bullies or growing up in the fifties. That’s about 75% of the book. The other 25% is the adults’ storyline where they’re getting ready to return to It’s lair. That’s the actual plot. The other parts, the kids parts, just sort of meander or sit in the book statically, not particularly connected to a goal or event. So the question is, like the Lord of the Rings, is the medium of cinema a better place for this story? Well, yes and no. You lose the detail and you lose the structure in the movie. In the book, the adult storyline is sprinkled throughout, not segregated between kid years and adult years, and I think that’s an important facet. On the other hand, movies are much better at scaring you. This iconic King novel started out very strong for me, but it started to lull a bit, with extraneous details in the Derry Interludes. I was still, however, enjoying the novel. The ending dropped my rating a bit, however, as I was perplexed and disturbed at the ending. I started this book with real enjoyment, but around 2/3 of the way through, I started having the same reactions that many others have said in other reviews. - King is better at short stories, novellas, and short novels. - This book could have been 200-300 pages shorter. Too many extraneous stories. - King is a good writer with strong characters that grab your attention. - Sort of spoiler. There was a disturbing scene near the end that didn't make sense to why it was added (in regards to 11 year old kids and sex). I am still a little perplexed at why. - I ended up enjoying the book, but due to issues above (and too much cussing while listening to the audiobook), it just didn't earn anything above a 4 star rating. Will I go back and read Stephen King again. Yes, but I think I will stick to the shorter stuff. Belongs to Publisher SeriesJ'ai lu (6904) Is contained inContainsHas the adaptationHas as a reference guide/companionHas as a commentary on the text
They were seven teenagers when they first stumbled upon the horror. Now they were grown-up men and women who had gone out into the big world to gain success and happiness. But none of them could withstand the force that drew them back to Derry, Maine to face the nightmare without an end, and the evil without a name. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.54Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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