In Which We Discuss It

I've just finished reading Stephen King's It, and watched the first episode of the mini-series.  I didn't find it scary, but I did find it quite interesting.

It was released in 1986 and written over the four years prior to that. Creepily, Stephen King dedicates it to his three children.  It was made into a successful TV mini-series, with Tim Curry as Pennywise the Clown and I hear it's now being remade with Will Poulter in the role.

Two main characters show up in later works; Bev and Richie in 11/22/63.  A character from The Shining shows up in one of the flashbacks, and Christine also appears at one point.  Apparently, there's a plaque dedicated to the Losers in Dreamcatcher.  And Pennywise appears in The Tommyknockers which I've not actually read yet, but which is up soon right between Eyes of the Dragon and Misery.

One of the most intriguing parts - spoiler alert - is around the way they get out of the sewers as children.  They make love.  One girl, to six boys.

I think most writers wouldn't touch that subject with a barge pole.  But it does lead me to an interesting thought.

See, as adults, all seven are wildly successful.  They're also sterile.

We know that It's power is focused on children.  Adult's don't believe in it, so they don't see anything to do with it; they don't see globs of blood, they don't notice trends in murders and so on.  Perhaps the sterility is caused by It to prevent these seven ever having that power of childish belief attached to them again.  And perhaps the glittering careers are a bribe to stay away, just in case.

If so, It scuppered itself by taking their memories away.  Because those memories and experiences - including the first time they made love - is exactly the time at which they became adults.  Perhaps by taking that away, a certain, important part of each of them remained childlike.

It doesn't make sense to me that It would have the power to make them successful and sterile, so perhaps both are gifts from the Turtle; one as a reward, the other to keep them childlike.  In Peter Pan, the mark of adulthood is being a parent, as when Peter comes back and finds Jane in the bed and Wendy as her mother.  Perhaps having children themselves would have meant letting go of their own childhood, something they couldn't afford to do.

As always, James Smythe has an excellent article on his experience rereading the book.  He mentions that it is the culmination of King's work in the horror genre.  Honestly, I didn't find it scary.  My partner did, especially when he woke up to find me smiling at him with wide-eyes and bared teeth, before hugging him and whispering "we all float down here".  I made him watch the first episode of the tv mini-series, you see.

James Smythe also mentions the size of the book.  Not something I noticed, as I read it on Kindle!

As above, the next novel is Eyes of the Dragon, which I've read before.  My edition was bundled, oddly, with Firestarter.  I now have it as an audiobook, which is rather good.