As it turns out, It has an unearned reputation.
Pennywise the Clown is not the scary
part of the book. Maybe he’s scary in the film, I don’t know, but in the book
he’s only a symbol for a much bigger evil. It the creature is a glimmer or a
spectre—she (yup) can change into whatever form she needs to, and Pennywise is
her friendly shape, to lure children
to her den. So let’s start there—clowns have been destroyed forever thanks to
Stephen King. I’m okay with that because honestly, they weren’t doing
themselves any favors before Pennywise. Clowns can rot, but I do want more
people to read It.
Pennywise is arguably not even what the book is about. The heart and soul of It
is the found family created by the Loser’s Club—a group of exhaustingly brave
kids. By the end of their journey together, they’re bonded in more ways than
one.
Without spoiling a major emotional event of the book, I
will say I read the end of It through uncontrollable tears. Movies and
television shows pull at my heart strings pretty easily, but I don’t remember the
last time a BOOK had me in tears. Probably The Fault in Our Stars, which
was about four or five years ago now, and nowhere near as powerful.
Spoilers ahead, though it’s not a play-by-play of the book.
