It

Read from Wednesday, February 15th to Wednesday, March 7th.

It, the classic, epic horror novel by Stephen King.  Got this book at a used book sale at the place where I volunteer.  Only a buck for 1100 pages of writing.  Reading horror novels like this are out of my comfort zone, but it was a nice break and change of pace.  I also rented the movie from Netflix after I finished reading the book, and it compared pretty well.

Seven kids from Derry, Maine form a Losers Club in 1958.  They are all outcasts and nerds, and they band together after one's little brother dies.  But they soon realize that it was no accident, nor is it a normal string of murders affecting the town, but actually a supernatural creature/beast/spiritual force that feeds on the town of Derry.  This beast is called It, and it takes the form of a clown with balloons most of the time, but in reality is a shapeshifter and looks like your worst fear at other times.  At various times, It looks like a werewolf, a mummy, a giant bird, leeches, and a giant spider, as well as inhabiting certain townspeople.

The Losers are composed of Bill, the stuttering leader and whose brother was killed; Richie 'trashmouth' the non-stop talking voice impersonator; Ben the aspiring architect who is overweight, Eddie the hypochondriac; Stan the neat and tidy Jewish Boy Scout; Mike the black historian/librarian; and Beverly the dreamboat all the boys love but who is beaten by her dad and later husband.  In 1958, the Losers believed that had defeated the monster, but they made a pact to return to Derry if It ever came back, (It awoke in Derry every 28 years to feed, they were able to trace the pattern back hundreds of years). The novel begins in 1985 with Mike calling the rest of the Losers to announce that It had awoken and was killing kids again.  The rest of the group are obliged to return with hopes of killing It once and for all.  Stan would rather commit suicide than face It again. 

The novel traces both stories simultaneously, telling the events in 1958 alongside their return in 1985.  There are many similarities, as the characters resume certain traits they had in their childhood, like Bill's stutter.  I'll start with 1958.  All the kids are chased at various times by Henry Bowers, the school bully who gradually turns into a psychotic killer throughout the book.  They are chased into the Barrens, a woodsy/marshy area in the middle of town, and the Losers establish a hideout there.  But they can't ignore all the other kids being killed around them.  The adults are in denial, and there seems to be a haze of memory loss among grown-ups.  The kids have all had separate experiences escaping from It, but they decide to fight back.  When they bond together as a group, they seem to have better luck, or super powers, they can use to fight.  They invade a haunted house, and shoot It with a silver ball from a slingshot, wounding It. 

Eventually, they are forced into the sewers after being chased by Henry.  They know that it is in the sewers in which It resides.  But, being propelled by Henry, the Losers are forced to confront It.  Each of the Losers has a strength that they use to almost kill It.  Richie uses his voices, Bev uses her love, Ben uses his architect skills, Eddie his sense of navigation, Mike his understanding of history, and Stan his love of birds.  In the sewers, two of Henry's buddies are killed by It, and Henry is driven completely to insanity.  Bill is transported to another dimension by It, and Richie goes after him, and they somehow wound It.  Instead of finishing It off, they decide to run away.  (There is a weird scene here:  while trying to get out of the sewers, they get panicked and lost.  So in order to calm everyone down, Beverly lets all the boys make love to her, to show how much she loves everyone.  But remember, these are all 11 and 12 year old kids.  Involved in essentially a gang-bang.  Weird.)

28 years later, in 1985, It begins killing kids again.  The Losers, with the exception of Stan, return to Derry.  They have forgotten almost everything about that summer in 1958, but gradually the fog begins to lift and they remember more details and events  (these memory revelations are where King goes back to telling what happened in 1958).  The Losers are all very successful adults.  Ben's an architect, Bill a writer, Bev a fashion designer, Eddie owns a limo company, Richie is a famous DJ and Mike is the town librarian.  He is the only one who stayed in Derry.  No one was able to conceive children.  While reconnecting, King cuts away to the insane asylum, where It helps Henry escape, talking to him through the moon, and convincing him to kill them all.  Henry attack Mike in the library, and nearly kills him, but Mike wounds Henry, and then Eddie is able to finish him off.  The Losers know they need to go into the sewers that first night in Derry, and they follow the same path back to the lair of It.  This time, they are able to kill the monster, although Eddie is killed in the process.  Bill's wife had followed them into the sewers, but she was paralyzed by It, and they had to carry her out of the sewers after.  The town of Derry is nearly destroyed by a storm in the aftermath.  The rest of the gang slowly lose their memories of what happened once again, and they return to their respective lives.

This was an entertaining book.  It was light reading for the most part, and only slightly scary at times.  Definitely some cheesy and unexplained moments, especially at the climaxes in 1958 and 85.  As I mentioned, the sex scene was very strange, and thankfully not shown in the movie.  The novel was very long, and probably could have been condensed, but many of the fears that King expounds on are very realistic.  He shows, in a simplistic way, how our own personal traumas can affect the way we perceive the world.  King is also a fantastic writer, with his style, dialogue, and character development. And the town of Derry became very realistic and detailed. Worth checking out.  Four out of five stars.

Citrus County

Read from Monday, February 13th to Wednesday, February 15th

Citrus County, by John Brandon.  This is a small book that I picked up awhile ago from the Museum of Unnatural History where I volunteer.  It was published by McSweeneys.  It is a quick story, dark most of the time, about a county in the backwoods of Florida.  In Citrus County, there are three main characters.  Shelby and Toby are middle school students, and Mr. Hibma is one of their teachers.  Shelby is bright, talented, with lots of promise.  She lives with her father and younger sister, and they are new to town.  Toby is a brooding, deeply troubled, quiet rebel.  He likes to take long walks by himself, and he lives with an abusive, alcoholic uncle deep in the woods.  Mr. Hibma is a young teacher, who skates by, sticks to himself, and prides himself on not trying very hard.  He is always harassed by one of the other, older, preachy teachers.

Of course, Shelby falls in love with Toby, and follows him around town.  But Toby realizes he is different, a villain, and knows he has to do something.  He kidnaps Shelby's little sister and keeps her locked in a bunker deep in the woods.  There is a big panic and search in town, but Toby's secret is kept for a couple of months.  Shelby works to get through it, even though it is with Toby by her side.  Mr. Hibma meanwhile is forced to coach the basketball team, while he harbors and almost goes through with a plan to murder the other annoying teacher.

Finally, Toby's guilt is too much for him and he goes to release the girl, but she has finally escaped.  Police converge on Toby's house, but his uncle decides to make a stand and he is arrested as the kidnapper.  Toby, an orphan, is adopted by Mr. Hibma, who is the only adult to take an interest in the kid.  Shelby's family is reunited, and it is a generally happy, although strange, ending.  This was kind of a bland, easy book, that I got through in just two days.  Not really something that will stick with me.  I don't really feel like spending too much time on the review. Three out of five stars.

A Very Minor Prophet

Read from Thursday, February 9th to Monday, February 13th.

A Very Minor Prophet: The Gospel according to Joseph Patrick Booker, as interpreted by his faithful scribe, Barth Flynn, a novel by James Bernard Frost.  This was my February Rumpus book club pick, and I really enjoyed this unique, large book.  It is set up, first of all, like a textbook, at least in the size, and the multiple columns of text on a page.  But then it is also meant to be a Gospel at times, with the fancy font, and also a comic book/ zine, complete with illustrations.  It is a hipster book, and an ode to that lifestyle of freaks and weirdos in Portland, and also to bikes, coffee and unique donuts.

Flynn is a young, college graduate who moves to Portland right before the Iraq war.  He goes for no discernible reason, and works in a coffee shop.  He tries writing zines, but with little success.  One day, while riding his bike, he gets a flat tire outside of an old church.  The church has been converted, haphazardly, into the home of Booker, a midget.  Booker has just returned from a trip down south, where he told people, for some reason, that he was a preacher, and so when Flynn arrived, he tried out a sermon.  These parts of the novel, where Booker preaches, are illustrated, with lots of word bubbles and cutting and pasting.   The sermon is about the real message of Jesus Christ.  How it is not the current bible-thumping, war-mongering Christians that closely follow his teachings, but actually the hipsters, weirdos, and self-proclaimed atheists that would probably be friends with a modern Jesus.

Flynn is inspired, and he creates a zine based on this experience, and this instantly becomes a hit.  He hangs out with Mercyx, a bike messenger, and develops a crush on her.  Flynn and other friends go to the church the following Sunday for another sermon.  Instead of wine and crackers, they eat Voodoo donuts and premium coffee.  Together, over the next few months, the zine does well and a professional illustrator is brought in to help.  The group has adventures, especially one bike trip up a mountain, that ends in a car crash and Flynn naked in Mercyx's room.  They kiss, but go no further.

Of course, things go downhill.  Flynn and Mercyx get awkward after she reveals she is a virgin.  He decides the logical thing would be to marry her, but his proposal is rejected and she is furious.  Flynn is also muscled out of all the proceeds from the zine, and is kicked off the project by greedy professionals.  Booker is also harassed by the leader of a local biker gang.  It is also revealed that Booker is a pimp.  That is how he made money.  Finally, in a moment of weakness, Booker and Mercyx hook up, and in retaliation Flynn buys one of Booker's hookers.  Flynn and Booker's relationship is in tatters, but Booker tries desperately to make it up to him.  He issues an apology to Flynn over the airwaves of Portland.  In this last sermon, Booker also makes the point that Americans need to take responsibility and apologize to the Muslim world for the wars going on.  Flynn rejects the apology at first, and then denies knowing Booker when the FBI come looking for him.  Turns out, Booker went to Iraq, and started preaching and apologizing, before he was strung up and martyred.  In their grief, Mercyx and Flynn are reunited, and end up getting married years later.  They inherit the church, and Flynn becomes the preacher every Sunday.

I really enjoyed this clever book.  I can really get behind all the preaching and the values of the characters.  I actually just bought a bike last week, so that I could take long bike rides like in the book.  Unique and very fun.  Flynn, the narrator, is relatable, but also deeply flawed at times, as all good characters should be.  Check this one out.  Four out of five stars.