It

It is 1958 in the small town of Derry, Maine and several children have been found murdered. Bill Denbrough and his six best friends believe the murders are linked to something that lurks beneath their home town – something that crawled from their nightmares and has taken form in the shadowed recesses of the sewers. Driven by forces unseen, Bill and his friends sense they have what it takes to stop the monster. They vow – with a piece of broken glass sliced across their palms – to come back to Derry if evil ever returns. Twenty-seven years later, the murders have started again. It’s time for Bill and his friends to honor their vow . . .

What a spectacular peice of horror fiction! At over eleven hundred pages in length, It is a prolific book that provides significant backstory for each character and gives an abundant history of Derry, Maine. Because King provides so many specifics – almost to the point of excess – the book reads like a vast compilation of research collected on true events.

What makes this book notorious, however, is the dreadful monster at the heart of the story: Pennywise the Dancing Clown. Pennywise – or It – is not as prevalent in the book as one might presume, given its classification as a horror novel, but any time It makes an appearance, the narrative drops readers into a dark scene where terrifying events unfold.

Deep down, It is a literary coming-of-age story, just as much as it is horror. There are two distinct narratives, one involving the childen in that fateful summer, and another set twenty-seven years later, when they come back to face It. The two stories are told simultaneously using clever plot linkages and an unorthodox chapter structure.

Even at its prolific length, and extensive sections devoted to the backstory and history, the book does not ever drag or slacken the pace, ever. An absolute must read just to reckon the sheer literary genius of Stephen King.