Supernatural

My mom just finished reading IT. She mentioned that she didn't really like the scenes with Pennywise. She loved the character development, but to the battles with the monster. I said that people have said for a while that King's weakness is his need to use the supernatural. Some people think his books with be scarier minus the supernatural element.

.

Not playing the supernatural card is almost impossible for King. He almost did it with Gerald's Game and Dolores Claiborne -- until he connected the two through a powerful vision. He played it straight in Misery, I think. Also Cujo doesn't have any supernatural spooks. Under The Dome was light on the spooks and heavy on the drama. It was human nature at its worst.

.

But I'm not one who thinks the supernatural is a stumbling block for King. In fact, that's what I like! From aliens to spooks, he takes people we feel like we know and puts them in some pretty nasty situations.

.

A few of my favorite supernatural moments in the S.K. universe:

.

1. The hand of God coming down and setting off the nuke, The Stand.

2. The spider in Needful Things.

3. The chase scene in The Shining.

4. The mastern house, Salem's Lot

5. Crucifixion: Crucified cat, Desperation. And crucified people, The Stand. (The movie version of Carrie, she crucifies mama with the kitchen knives.)

6. Going down into the cellar in Graveyard Shift. Rats, yuck!

7. The world falling apart as cell phones ring. I liked the women fighting at the opening in Cell.

8. "Darling". . . Pet Sematary. That whole book was messed up -- in a wonderful way.

9. Tentacles on the dock in The Mist.

10. The surgery in The Dark Half.

11. The bathroom scene in Dreamcatcher. That was one very gory novel!

12. What about the two women cutting themselves up right on Main Street in Needful things?! Delicious. I think this was one of the first novels I read by King, and I remember thinking, "If this guy will have old women chop each other up in broad daylight on Main Street . . . and give us the details -- I've got to read everything he's written!"

13. The chase scene in Christine. (Mid novel), is edge of your seat stuff, too. Nice.

. . . there are many many many more that I'm just not thinking of. Tell me in the comments section.

.

An Inch deeper.

.

Stephen King once said, “...Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win.”

.

Monsters and terror in a Stephen King book are really a mirror of our world. The monsters almost lighten the mood. Child murders, child abuse is a terrible subject. Even if the children fight back against the abuse, no one really wants to read a book about it. Unless the abuser is turned into a real monster -- such as Pennywise.

.

Pennywise reminds us all a little too much of serial killer John Wayne Gacy. He dressed up like a clown and buried his victims under his house. Interesting that Pennywise tends to like storm drains and places under the ground. (That's actually a pointless observation. You're welcome.)

.

No one wants to read about a drunk father who tries to kill his whole family; unless a haunted hotel is really responsible. The scary thing is if King takes the scary out of his books! We are then left with nothing but raw sin to account for evil.

IT Journal 4, Child Abuse

Chapter 6 deals with a disturbing subject -- child abuse. It is an uncomfortable read. So long as King is discussing children and monsters, there is at least a little bit of reality that can be suspended. But when he begins to deal with parents, step-parents and all too often abusive relationships, things get painful for the reader.
.
While the subject itself is terrible, King sharpens the knife in this chapter by choosing to introduce stories of abuse through a series of newspaper articles. The reader knows up front that there is a monster killing children -- but not all the children are killed by a monster called Pennywise. Along with the child abuse itself, King relates the self-loathing a parent involved in something so terrible would feel. Add to this, the mistake the law makes in thinking previously abusive parents must have killed children that Pennywise has killed. This information is vital to keeping the plot real, since the reader is likely to ask at some point, "What will the police say about all these children getting killed?" The answer, King suggests, is simple: Parents aren't always such nice people.
.

To soften the blow of this chapter, King gives several rather affectionate sub chapters related to Mike Hanlon.
.
Other King books that deal with child abuse are Carrie, The Shining, Gerald's Game and Dolores Claiborne. My favorite of these, just as child abuse as a subject, is Claiborne because Dolores gets such sweet revenge. Of course, domestic violence is a constant theme worth further consideration in King's novels. I haven't read, but am aware of the domestic violence theme in Rose Madder. Spousal abuse also appears in Salem's Lot.

IT Journal 3

In the opening scenes, King spent time giving us peeks at Pennywise. In chapter three he introduces the seven protagonist who will face off against the monster. All of the adults have forgotten the events of their childhood, until Mike gives them a call.

.

The sub-chapters are titled, making this very long single chapter a series of short stories. When the mini-series was filmed, they paired these introductory scenes with an encounter with Pennywise. So each character got a shot as an adult, then a flashback. Anyway, the book doesn't do that.

.

Interestingly, just from a literary standpoint, is that King tells several of these scenes from the viewpoint of someone who loves the central character. So Stanly Uris' story is told from the standpoint of his wife; Beverly Rogan's story is told through the eyes of her abusive boyfriend.

.
It is scary how easily King takes the reader inside the head of an abuser. In this case, a violent abuser who likes to whoop on Beverlay Rogan. No slow build-up like in The Shining, you're just dropped right into this guys head. Ouch.
.
Some quick notes:
.

1. I really like Bill asking, "can't you guys let a story be a story?"
2. Eddie marry's a fat woman who reminds him of his mother. She is both pathetic and icky.
3. George Orwell makes appearances in this book also, as he also had quite a role in Firestarter. It is obvious that Orwell's work has had an influence on King.
4. King also gives honorable mention here to Ray Bradbury and William Goldman.
5. Bill Denbrough appears to be King's closest alter-ego in this novel. He's not only a writer, Denbrough is even published by Viking.
6. The cultural references are more than I can count. Grateful Dead, Carson, O.J. Simpson (Hertz ad), Esquire -- and a trillion more.
7. All of the characters are very successful. I'm not sure how King is going to play on that. But they're certainly not "losers" as adults.
.
Foreshadowing - The Scar
The foreshadowing is awesome in this section. I especially like Bill showing his wife his scarred hands, a sign of a blood covenant. But it is a scar that has suddenly appeared -- come back with a single phone call. How cool is that?! And then, King delivers a true shiver: Stan did it. What did Stan do? He cut their palms. Now this is powerful because Stan just killed himself.
.
Bill tells his wife, "I can' remember Stan doing his own hands last, pretending he was going to slash his wrists instead of just cut his palms a little. I guess it was just some goof, but I almost made a move on him . . . to stop him. because for a second or two there he looked serious." p. 131 pb
.

The titles all make use of the verb "take."
Stanly Uris takes a bath
Richard Tozier takes a powder
Ben Hascom takes a drink
Eddie Kaspbrak takes his medicine
Beverly Rogan takes a whuppin
Bill Denbrough takes time out
.

Hemingford Home

In the section about Ben Hascom, we learn that he lives in Heminford Home. This is the same place mother Abigail from the Stand lives. It is also the site of one of the upcoming stories in King's upcoming book, Full Dark, No Stars. We are given this description of Hemingford Home, "Downtown Hemingford Home made downtown Swedholm look like New York City; the business district consisted of eight buildings, five on one side and three on the other." These include a barber shop, a hardware store, a bank and a 76 gas station and the Red Wheel -- the local bar.

It Journal 2

Not what you expect:

.

This book doesn't start where you expect it to. If you are familiar with the mini-series, the second opening to the book is pretty chopped up. if you previously read it, this is stuff you probably forgot. Because it's not what you expect.

.

After George's death, the book starts with the year 1984. This is to let us know that IT is back. IT was spotted while some gay-haters beat a homosexual youth to death. But it appears that the monster himself got a few bites of his own in. In particular, a big chunk of the victims arm pit. This is actually a powerful opening, since it gives the reader an inside look at how police are going to deal with this "clown" story (several people saw the clown, but police ignore this). It also shows that Pennywise enjoys attacking those who are culturally oppressed.

.

The next chapter leaps us ahead one year, to 1985. Stanley Uris is the focus of this section -- and his unfortunate demise. Again, the humanizing of the characters is strong. King moves quickly to sketch his characters. Interesting that he chooses to show his hand so early. There will be numerous scenes to come that include Stanley, but he lets the reader know up front that things will not come out well for poor Stan. This would be an out right gamble for any other author -- can this be pulled off? But in the hands of Stephen King, it is a master stroke.

.

The turtle?

I might note that there are several references in this chapter to "the turtle" that I somehow missed the connection to. Dark Tower connection? I'm not sure.

.

The writing:

Another note on King's narration is in order. On page 37 of the paperback he once again speaks directly from writer to reader, stating, "At the time of this writing, all three sentences are under appeal" Leaving that section of the story open-ended. That is, King does not always choose to write as omniscient narrator, but sometimes acts simply as a story teller who is also locked in time and space and is relying on what information he has at his disposal. It does give the story a deeper sense of reality.

.

The reading

Weber's reading is awesome! The voice for Pennywise is no Tim Curry rip-off. But you don't realize just how good Weber is, what a joy he is to listen to, until the scenes with Richard (Richie) Tozier appear. These call for him to do the voice of Kinky Briefcase, WC Fields and so much more.

IT Journal 1

Well, I'm off and running on this long narrative called IT. Actually, I'm listening to the book on my computer, read by Steven Weber. I think this is the same actor who starred in The Shining. The reading is very good. He gives Pennywise a great voice!

.

Already King shows that he is the master of characters. And these are not easy characters -- they're children. But with ease, King takes us back to a world we had forgotten. He resurrects thoughts and fears long buried; the thing in the cellar, arguments about who's the biggest a-hole, and the love/hate tension with siblings. What's amazing is that he so skillfully does this in just the opening pages.

.

George's death sets the stage for everything that's going to follow. He is the first of the terrible killings, and King gives us a front row seat. I could smell that drainage ditch -- and I swear I saw teeth -- yellow eyes for sure. There's no messing around in this novel. No wondering if maybe it's the work of a serial killer; King shows us right up front who enemy is. He pulls back the curtain quick, giving us a long hard look at Pennywise before moving on. That face will haunt the reader as they proceed.

.

I was wondering if you could do that:

.

King's narration is a college course of its own. He is the master of his craft, and this book stands as one of his strongest.

.

First, notice King's ability to speak to the reader outside of the time period the story is set in. I was working today on a story set in the 30's. I wanted to reference something from the 40's in my narration. Could I do that? This lead to a family discussion. Wife said yes, friends said yes, mother-in-law said no. Could I mention Roadrunner, even though it was the wrong decade? Well, Stephen King answered my question. "If George had been inhabiting a later year, he would have surely thought of Ronald McDonald before Bozo or Clarabell." p.13 Ah, thank you Mr. King.

.

Second, even when writing in third person, there are times King himself speaks directly to the reader. Note the opening of IT, "The terror, which would not end for another twenty-eight years -- if it ever did end -- began so far as I know or can tell, with a boat made from a sheet of newspaper floating down a gutter swollen with rain." Those prose are beautiful, by the way. He sets the stage for a true horror story, promises a beginning, middle and maybe an end. But did you catch the "I"? There it is, boldly at the very beginning of the novel. I wonder if he had to fend off some editor telling him you can't use "I" in a third person narrative.

.

He done it again! Check this out, "The boat dipped and swayed and sometimes took on water, but it did not sink; the two brothers had waterproofed it well. I do not know where it finally fetched up, if ever it did; perhaps it reached the sea and sails there forever, like a magic boat in a fairytale. All I know is that it was still afloat and stilling running on the breast of the flood when it passed the incorporated town limits of Derry Maine, and there it passed out of this tale forever."

.

Again, he speaks directly to the reader. Also notice that he takes ownership of tieing some knots int he story. For instance, he doesn't let some college professor make a symbol out of the toy boat. . . he does it himself! I like that a lot.

.

Of course, there's a whole world of publishing out there that will warn you not to take your cues from Stephen King. As one published writer told me, "Stephen King can do what he wants because he's Stephen King. You need to play by the rules." But, I want to object, we read Stephen King, don't we?! Why not write what that inner-voice says is true?

.

IT and Me

.

This is a strange novel to me. I was born in 1973, so the stories about the children happened sixteen years before I knew this world. I grew up in the 80's. This means that things feel a little reversed in this novel to me. the 80's in the book are supposed to represent the harsh reality of today's world. But I have fond, tender memories of the 80's because that was my childhood! And don't knock the 80's, they gave us the best of the Star Wars films, Michael Jackson, Atari, and Sam the Eagle. All I'm saying is that the "now" portion of the book, the section that is supposed to represent harsh modern reality, is romanticised in my own heart.

.

One of the things I didn't like when I heard about the upcoming IT movie was that they changed the time frames -- moving everything by 20 years. So the children's scenes take place in the 80's. But, as I listen to this novel, I understand why that change would be made. The 50's weren't my generation -- I can't identify with that world; that world belonged to my parents.