It

[thistlechaser]

It took me more time to finish It than it has any other book, and not because it was 1,100+ pages long. Somewhere around the halfway point I LJ posted asking if it got better, and folks told me it did. Luckily I found the same thing, but it didn't get better enough. It went from "unreadable" to "barely readable" -- but "barely readable" only story-wise; style-wise it was just the opposite.

Imagine a book with entire chapters (multi-page chapters) with no paragraph breaks. Yes, paragraphs that are multiple pages (of very small type) long. More than once.

Imagine many, many chapters entirely in italics.

And we won't mention that the first 500+ pages of the book had nothing to do with the story. (Someone (quasilemur?) told me the book had started as a history of Derby but was changed at the end to be a horror story about It. That's all fine and dandy, but it was marketed as a story about It, not about Derby. The title and summary should have reflected the book's real content/story ... or they could have just cut out the first 500 pages and made it match the title/summary).

Every time I grumbled to myself about the book, thoughts of The Long Walk returned. Another story by King, but as different as day and night: Short, intense, every word counted, and I still feel the emotional impact of the story. (If it wasn't cliche to do so, I'd say the last line still haunted me.) I can't see myself ever forgetting The Long Walk, but I can't forget It soon enough.

Comments

[pomr.livejournal.com]

Sounds like you enjoyed it very much! :)

Not.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

*snickers* Indeed. I kept wanting to stop reading it, but would get that "But I've read (500|800|1000) pages already! It'd be a waste of that pain to stop now!" thing. :P

[sileas.livejournal.com]

I totally agree. It's been years since I've read 'It' and I can barely remember what it's about, but 'The Long Walk' still haunts me. So sparsely written and every word making an impact.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

It's been years since I've read 'It' and I can barely remember what it's about

Consider yourself lucky. :P

but 'The Long Walk' still haunts me

Yeah. All the characters and the ending and and and...

[webbapettigrew.livejournal.com]

I read It and didn't like it much. It was too...well, there were just some scenes that weren't necessary to the plot at all, I didn't think, excpet to set up that this clown was just weird as hell, but I do love the scene where Beverly has to clean up all the blood in the sink and just as she finishes, it becomes bloody again.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

but I do love the scene where Beverly has to clean up all the blood in the sink and just as she finishes, it becomes bloody again.

Yeah, I liked that scene as well. But all the stuff from generations back? If necessary, it could have been covered in a few lines instead of in chapters and chapters and chapters...

[quasilemur.livejournal.com]

It is like Stephen King's Simarillion. :)

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Heh, yes!

[pomr.livejournal.com]

You didn't like The Silmarillion????

Cenobite. ;)

[peppygrowlithe.livejournal.com]

Imagine a book with entire chapters (multi-page chapters) with no paragraph breaks. Yes, paragraphs that are multiple pages (of very small type) long. More than once.

Maybe that's what makes the book scary!

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

True! In that case, at least something in the book was scary!

[wanderingscribe.livejournal.com]

You know, I found it kind of odd that you disliked It so much. It baffled me for the longest time, but then I realized that when I read the book, it wasn't so much for a story as it was for the ability to read as many King novels as I could find.

My need was different then yours, which is why I overlooked the lack of plot or common sense. And to be honest, if I read it today, I'd put it down for one of King's anthologies instead. Four Past Midnight and Danse Macabre were much better works, in my opinion. The Langoliers still gives me the shivers to this day. :D

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

it wasn't so much for a story as it was for the ability to read as many King novels as I could find.

Heh! That's sort of what I was doing, at least till I hit It. Now I think I need to branch out a bit more. :P

And to be honest, if I read it today, I'd put it down for one of King's anthologies instead.

Heck, yeah! And I really want to read the Dark Tower series again, too.