Paul’s Reviews > It > Status Update

Oh, the casual racism.

Ah, yes, my least favorite subplot of the book, and one that I was thankful that they mostly cut out of the second movie. I really don't like secondary characters coming in and interrupting the main storyline, which is exactly what Henry, Tom, and Audra do. Henry's involvement is appropriate, I suppose, but the latter two are just annoying.

Over 500 pages in, and we're not even halfway there. The fact that they managed to adapt this so well in only two movies is a minor miracle.

Every time Richie does his Pickaninny Voice, a part of me just withers away at the pure, unbridled racism of it all.

The neglect that Bill suffers from his parents after George's death has always stuck with me, despite the fact that I've otherwise forgotten 90% of the specifics in this book, and it's (blessedly) not as though I find the circumstances personally relatable. Something about the unfairness — and the sad, real-world applicability — of it just hit a nerve long ago that I've never been able to shake.

Woo, buddy. I'm now realizing just how long it's been since I last read this, because it has aged, shall we say, poorly. I've always remembered it having a lot of issues (it's probably the most King-y book that King has ever written, and that's both a good and bad thing), but, yikes, does the homophobia/sexism/racism go hard, even in these preliminary chapters. (Beverly and Adrian's sections are just... wow.)