Wednesday, June 13, 2012

11/22/63 by Stephen King

On November 22, 1963, three shots rang out in Dallas, President Kennedy died, and the world changed forever.

If you had the chance to change the course of history, would you?
Would the consequences be worth it?

Jake Epping is a thirty-five-year-old high school English teacher in Lisbon Falls, Maine, who makes extra money teaching adults in the GED program. He receives an essay from one of the students—a gruesome, harrowing first person story about the night 50 years ago when Harry Dunning’s father came home and killed his mother, his sister, and his brother with a hammer. Harry escaped with a smashed leg, as evidenced by his crooked walk.

Not much later, Jake’s friend Al, who runs the local diner, divulges a secret: his storeroom is a portal to 1958. He enlists Jake on an insane—and insanely possible—mission to try to prevent the Kennedy assassination. So begins Jake’s new life as George Amberson and his new world of Elvis and JFK, of big American cars and sock hops, of a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald and a beautiful high school librarian named Sadie Dunhill, who becomes the love of Jake’s life—a life that transgresses all the normal rules of time.

Explore the Possibilities... ~~synopsis from Goodreads

My thoughts on 11/22/63 ~~ 

Once again, SK has written a great book! I think I have pretty much read everything that he has written and he has written some great classics - Carrie, The Shining, It, The Green Mile to name a few. I do have to admit that some of his books are just a little bit too creepy for my tastes, like Pet Semetary. That was one I had a hard time reading. Maybe because it seemed too real, maybe our pets can come back from the dead? Creepy, creepy. 

Anyway, I am thinking that 11/22/63 might be right up there at the top (of my list anyway) of one of his best books. It's not creepy, in that SK sort of creepy way. It is about our U.S. history and the possibility of time travel to change the past. And who is to say that that possibility is not possible? 

The author incorporates a lot of other events in history as he sends his main character back to 1958 and the years leading up to Kennedy's assassination or should we say, his assassination attempt. If you like history, this book will appeal to you as Jake is involved in several major events from the past. And it was great to learn so much more about the time period surrounding the assassination and what the world was like during that era.  

I have recommended this book to anyone and everyone who will listen to me. I think everyone should read it! And not just because King is one of my all-time favorite authors. It's because this is such a great book! 




1 comment:

  1. I can understand, how some people don't like Stephen King novels, because of all the gory horror(even though his books have SO much more than just that.) But this one is really a great book, like you've said; and it's got a little for everybody, don't you think? There's historical fiction, science fiction, romance, mystery, fantasy and the usual eeriness that all his books have. I just loved it! Great review...

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