No Clowning Around

Stephen King has been my favorite author for a long time now. His stories are thorough and intriguing. It was difficult to choose which of his books to write about, between "Pet Sematary", "Misery" and "Carrie", all of my top favorites. After thinking for a while, I chose my second favorite King novel, "It".

The novel "It", original cover

"It" is about a disturbing evil dwelling in the town of Derry, Maine that preys upon its people, especially children, and the group of characters who vow to take it on until the end. This evil can take on several forms yet seems to prefer to appear as a clown, dubbing itself as "Pennywise". The transformation into a clown makes sense knowing its preferred prey is children. "Pennywise" is described by Georgie Denbrough, the first child named to be killed by it, as "a cross between Bozo and Clarabell, who talked by honking his (or was it her?-George was never really sure of the gender) horn on Howdy Doody Saturday mornings," (King 12). King elaborates that if George had been around for another year, he would've thought that the clown resembled Ronald McDonald.

Pennywise from the 1990 movie adaption

Pennywise in the drain as George Denbrough meets him 

 The evil being has no real name, yet says that the closest thing to it would be "Robert Gray". Though called "Pennywise" in clown form, the main characters who fight it know that it really isn't a clown. Since there is no real form or name, they call the being "It", thus the book title. This creature, "It", hibernates for a period of two or three decades before eventually coming out of slumber to wreak havoc, which is forgotten by those who witness it.

 The story begins in the 1950's, "Pennywise" lurking in a storm drain and eventually eating the kid brother of one of the main characters. The main characters consist of a group of six people, children at the beginning of the story. Their names are Bill Denbrough, Beverly Marsh (later Beverly Rogan), Ben Hanscom, Stanley Uris, Richie Tozier, Mike Hanlon, and Eddie Kaspbrak. After "Pennywise" kills Bill Denbrough's brother, he and his friends confront the evil being in the sewers afterwards, finally able to suppress it for a couple of decades. However, the children know that it could possibly come back and make a blood oath to re-group if such happens.

Funnily enough, the group of children forget about each other and what happened with the evil being during that time as they grow up and move away. Nearly twenty years later, what would you know, it turns out that the evil being returns. When Mike Hanlon phones his friends to tell them about it, their memories return to them. They all agree to come back, except for Stanley Uris, who cannot bare to go through the experience again and commits suicide. The remaining friends track the evil being down in order to stop it once and for all.

They again track "It" to the sewers where Bill Denbrough takes it on again. He eventually manages to crush the being's heart, and the friends return to their lives. The story ends with Mike writing in a journal, talking with rapid loss of memory about the events. He ends with how he loves his friends, and the story is closed.

This book is long and detailed, an instant positive mark for me. Anything by Stephen King is sure to be worth reading, but the theme and overall story of "It" has captured my heart. The psychological challenges the characters go through and the bond that keeps them together to defeat the creature that wandered the world for so many years before is excellently portrayed.

"It" has been made into a movie adaption in 1990, which is good, yet of course changes a few details that had to be left out or could not be recreated with the limited resources from back then. If you're looking for a thriller, "It" is the book for you.