Stephen King: Why ‘IT’ is the legendary author’s best work to date
By Billy Cripps
Fans of Stephen King have always debated which Stephen King book is the best? If you were to ask any King fan most would answer with either The Stand or IT. This is where I weigh in.
If you were to ask anyone to name a Stephen King book, chances are two of his novels would be mentioned the most. People will likely say either The Stand or IT. That’s not to take away from The Dark Tower, King’s “Odyssey” or “Iliad”, if you will. What is it about these two works of sheer genius that draws people in?
When it comes to The Stand or IT, King has been accused of being long winded. After all, put the two together and there are more pages than War & Peace and Gone With The Wind combined. Though, in my honest opinion, these two modern classics could have been longer.
What makes a story great is the details. King has an abundance of details in each. Let’s face it, the basic premise of The Stand can happen. If I may point out something that The Stand and the majority of zombie movies have in common, it always seems to be the result of a government screw up. There is a strong possibility, but not probable.
Sorry for going on a rant but now I’ll get back to the topic at hand. IT is the best work of Stephen King. This is simple really. When you’re a kid, you’re at your most vulnerable and everything seems like magic be it good or bad. You often feel lost and alone. It’s almost like adults are from a different world.
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In some ways I guess you could say they are. The “Lucky 7” know that there’s something wrong with the town, but the adults seem to stick their heads in the sand and ignore the situation. So it’s a very emotionally charged powerful story when kids or the underdog stand up to real danger. In this case, we have them both — the kids are the underdogs.
Usually, King gives us one thing to be afraid of. The novel gives us almost every fear all in one creature. The monstrous forms taken by Pennywise still scare us today. It’s all the more frightening that the ordeal leaves the “Lucky 7” traumatized 27 years later as adults. They still see Pennywise as adults, when most adults don’t or just ignore the situation.
The story is all the more important to me because I never had many friends growing up. The ones I did have I am still friends with today. They’ve become like family. No matter how much time passes, we all seem to fall back into our old roles like we just seen each other yesterday. It (no pun intended I promise) is for these reasons that “Stuttering” Bill and the rest of the “Loser’s Club” are Stephen King’s true masterpiece. If the trailers are any indication, this year’s reboot will capture more of the magic of the novel too.
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