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It | 
 enlarge | Author: Stephen King
Publisher: New English Library Ltd
Category: Book
List Price: £8.99
Buy Used: £0.01
You Save: £8.98 (100%)
New (12) Used (42) from £0.01
Rating:  141 reviews
Sales Rank: 6814
Media: Paperback
Edition: New Ed
Pages: 1120
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 6.8 x 4.3 x 2
ISBN: 0450411435
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780450411434
ASIN: 0450411435
Publication Date: October 1, 1987
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: well read! spine and cover creases, slightly stained.
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk Review
Stephen King's idea for It came from a favorite childhood image: the entire cast of the Bugs Bunny Show coming on at the beginning. He thought of bringing on all the monsters, one last time: Dracula, Frankenstein's creature, the Werewolf, the Crawling Eye, Rodan, It Came from Outer Space. It is about a group of adults who were once troubled children in the late '50s--"The Losers." One of them is a best selling horror writer much like Stephen King (or his friend and collaborator Peter Straub). In order to defeat the protean "It" that threatens their hometown, they have to go back- -not only to the town itself, but deep into their childhood memories, to regain the talent for magic they once had. King says It is for "the buried child in us, but I'm writing for the grown-up, too. I want grown-ups to look at the child long enough to be able to give him up." This huge, baggy beast of a novel is a favorite of Stephen King fans--second in popularity only to The Stand. Perhaps longtime fans develop mental filters for King's sloppy storytelling to tune out the repetitions and silliness. King is like the pointillist painter Seurat: if you stand too close to the little dots, the picture falls apart, and it looks meaningless. That's why he makes the storyscape so big--to take you up to that macro-level where you like the book in spite of its flaws. --Fiona Webster
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| Customer Reviews: Read 136 more reviews...
Don't read this alone July 2, 2008
This is a fantastic book. I have yet to meet anyone who has read this and not felt the same. Just when you think you can't feel more scared he hits you again. its a story about friendship and facing your fears . Stephen King is a master story teller I also recomend his short stories.
Simply extraordinary... February 25, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
One of the best, if not the best, King books. Certainly one of the very best books ever written about children. I challenge anyone to read this book and not find their own small and perfectly remembered childhood nightmare. King's opus magnum as far as I am concerned - and to date I don't think he has bettered it.
Incredible January 20, 2008
Def one of the best if not THE best of King's books It has everything that a good story should have and the result is an amazing read.
I first read It when I was about 13 and since then have read it thousands of times more. It could actually be the first King novel I read and although not all his work is up to this standard, I think that King is not the mediocre novelist critics claim him to be. Other brilliant novels by King are The Stand and Salem's LOt. They resemble It in that they are chunky novels and just as enthralling.
"IT" makes your skin crawl and is a real page turner: It's difficult to put down. I won't reveal plot but there are two entwining stories which simultaneously unfold, each revealing the story bit by bit: you're kept in suspense up until the last minute and even then you'll be suprised.
Def worth the money for a very good read. Congratulations King
I hate clowns now . . . October 24, 2007
This book is brilliant. Seriously! I've always rated Stephen King as a writer but his genius really comes out here, I've always felt a chill from reading his other books, namely Tommyknockers, The Shining & Pet Semetary. Even the Green Mile can make your skin crawl a bit!
But they are nothing compared to this, it is genuine heart in your throat reading.
One of his longest books but it's a real page turner. After you get the basic introduction of Derry Maine in 1957, you get introduced to It. A shape-shifting, fear-inducing, child killer who goes on a feeding frenzy every 27 years. It's most prominent form (and most underware filling) is Pennywise the dancing clown.
But the heart of this story is friendship, about 7 outsiders who band together to stand up to the town bully, Henry Bowers and later It. I won't spoil it for you, but the friends think they defeat It so the friends make a promise to return to Derry if It ever returns. And it does in 1985.
King masterfully weaves the timelines of 1958 & 1985 together into one seamless story, along with other little side stories of Derry's history & It's history. The ending feels like a bit of a let down compared to the build up to the ending but when you finally turn that last page you won't feel disappointed.
Just don't take a balloon from a clown . . . .
 A Sprawling Engrossing Novel September 30, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
It's size is both its best and worst aspects. In favour, It is an utterly engrossing novel, one that really draws you and in particular gives you a clear picture of 50s America, one which (as a young guy from Scotland) makes me feel as though I know the time and place though it's obviously impossible. However, King seems to mistake detail (and boy, is there a lot of detail - no wonder so many of his novels have been adapted for cinema/TV, they're so visual) for insight, and some sections seem completely pointless - the section with the Korcoran family for example - or far too drawn out - Ben and the mummy, and Eddie and the pharmacist, the background on Stanley and his wife, could all be much more incisive. Not that all the background sections are pointless; I really like the four interludes of the novel, where Mike Hanlon gives us a greater historical overview of Derry. It adds to the sense of timeless horror, and gives the novel a sturdy ballast.
King wrote this novel after writing the excellent non-fiction book about the horror genre, "Danse Macabre", and I've always felt that this was a logical progression. After considering all the various monsters of the genre, and the function and curious attraction of fear and horror, a shape-shifting, all-encompassing horror-monster probably seemed the logical thing to do! And one of the things King pulls off so well is the shift in the conception of the monster, from a child-killing clown (a decent idea, but not stunning) to a Lovecraftian protean being of immense scale.
While the scale is immense, as said above, the detail is remarkable. The characters of "The Losers" are all closely-focused, both as children and (though to a lesser degree - Ben is less effective) as adults. In particular, Ritchie, as boy and man, is one of my favourite characters in all fiction. He just makes me laugh and laugh and laugh with his wisecracking - the scene where he ribs Stan and Mike for their being Jewish and black respectively is absolutely hilarious. But sometimes the detail can be overwhelming and you lose focus; for example when describing the destruction of Derry in a storm at the end, everything is described precisely, but I can't see it in my mind's eye. King must have an immensely vivid imagination, but sometimes he just can't convey it.
All the same, this is a novel to curl up with and lose yourself in, an immense pleasure to read. I think It is King's finest novel, up there with Misery (The Stand is overrated to my mind; the last third is so laboured). Enjoy!
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