Mitchell’s Comments (group member since Aug 11, 2021)

Mitchell’s comments from the "It" Book Club! group.

1) I think only Richie and Eddie's careers were changed in the movies? Richie's career definitely needed to be updated, since big time radio DJ's aren't really a thing anymore. Making him a comedian was a logical choice, but making him a podcast host may have been a fun way of updating radio DJ for the 21st century. Changing Eddie's career felt less necessary. Overall though, I don't think the Losers careers are that important in the adaptations.

2) I like Richie, but the fact that I don't find him funny at all has always been a bit of a stumbling block for me. It's fine in the kids sections where he's supposed to be bad at voices/jokes, but it's harder for me to accept him as hugely successful because of how funny he is as an adult. I've definitely used humor to cope with stressful situations in the past.

3) I think it's because Stan was already so adult in 1958. Like there was less of a gulf between kid Stan and adult Stan than there was with the other Losers.

4) I'm honestly not sure. I think Stan would have had a really hard time coping with things if he had come back to Derry. He is already barely able to deal with things as an eleven year old.

What's our reading for week three? Just the first interlude?

I keep meaning to answer these and then forgetting. Haha.

1) I don't think Fur Elise plays any real significance in the story, but it could be that King chose the song because it held some kind of significance for him.

2) I think After The Flood is told out of chronological order so that we can jump right into the action. We wouldn't get that incredible opening line if the book started with Bill making the boat. In After The Festival King uses the police interviews as a framing device to illustrate the way the powers that be in Derry turn a blind eye to the evil in their midst. We also get more context for Adrian's murder, including a very sympathetic depiction of Derry's gay community and Don's grief.

3) King totally nails it. Especially the part about looking away while you lean in to flick the light switch on.

5) Good!

I read (listened to) the first two chapters (After the Flood and After the Festival) last night. I'm going to try to pace myself since I've read it so many times.

Rahim wrote: "Hello everyone! So glad to have you all here in this "It" book club! I'm very excited to get started. I have some Pre-Read questions for you all. We start reading next week! I will post more info o..."

Hey all.

1. My favourite Loser is Mike, because he's incredibly well fleshed out through the interlude chapters. I also love his relationship with his father. Child Ben is a close second, because I do relate to him a lot.
2. Not a first time reader, but I will explain how I initially found the story. I saw the miniseries when I was in high school and thought it was pretty bad, but I liked the concept so I checked out the book, which I thought was amazing. This was around when the recent movies were first announced, in 2009. Since I didn't care for the miniseries, I was pretty excited about that. At the time I had no idea I would have to wait almost a decade to get a new adaptation!
3. It's the richness of the book for me, I think. The characters are so well drawn and the world feels so real. It's a very ambitious book. Even if it doesn't completely pull off everything it sets out to do, I think if you removed any one component of the story, I would find it less interesting. This will be my sixth reread.
4. Yes! I'm really looking forward to discussing the book. I have a lot of thoughts about it after reading it so many times. I'm very interested in seeing what first time readers think of it, especially those who are coming to the book after seeing the movies.

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