Search - 11/22/63

This is one thick book, coming in just shy of 850 pages, and I won't lie, it's not my favorite work by Stephen King but an enjoyable read nonetheless. The story is about Jake Epping, a single schoolteacher who finds a portal to 1958 in the back of a diner and sets out on a mission to save John F. Kennedy's life on November 22, 1963. There's a love story running right through the center of the story, and this I think is one of the only faults in the book, because the love story part runs a bit on the long side and bogs the main tension line down. The ending is somewhat unexpected and bittersweet--what is with Mr. King writing tearjerkers of late? On the whole, a good book with some surprises, good, bad, and ugly.

I had kind of given up on Stephen King - I believe the last novel of his I tried to read was "Lisey's Story" a few years ago which I couldn't finish. I loved all of his earlier works including "Salem's Lot," "Carrie," "The Shining," "The Stand," and on and on, but some of his later stuff just didn't do it for me. But when I first heard about "11/22/63" and its premise of going back in time to stop the Kennedy assassination, I had to read it! I got a copy as a Christmas gift and I was not disappointed. This has to be one of King's best books since "The Stand" - I loved every word of it (and that's a lot of words - almost 850 pages worth)! I was 13 in 1963 when Kennedy was killed and I actually remember thinking at the time that it would be nice to go back and prevent the killing - it really was like a bad dream. King's book uses this idea and the resulting novel is all that you could ask for in a time travel story. Some of it was reminiscent of the "Back to the Future" movies including using known sporting events results as a betting tool to make money. It also reminded me a little of "It's a Wonderful Life" and how changes can effect other events and people's lives. Along the way in this novel, King takes us back to Derry, Maine and the events of his novel "It". He then provides a myriad of information about Lee Oswald and his wife Marina, and the events leading to 11/22/63. The novel also includes a great love story and the ending I thought was near perfect. This is the first book I have read in 2012 and I doubt I will read a better one this year - very high recommendation!

It was better than I expected. Main character Jake/George was well written. Book was way too long could have cut 25% and not missed much. Worse thing was I had a pretty good idea how it was going to end. Last chapter was charming though. Read Stepehn King's afterward at end of book it was very interesting.

This was a very interesting read. I did not stay on the edge of my seat the whole time but King kept me interested throughout. Knowing the historical ending of the senario presented by King in the Kennedy assassination it was hard to imagine what the end would be like for the story. But King has other things going on in the book that captures you and stirs your imagination. It is a great book to read and I recommend it highly.
Sam

SciFi/ Historical Fiction. * * *. An aging Diner owner entrusts to a middle aged teacher the secret of a time portal located in his Diner in the hopes that the teacher may finish a job the aging owner was too sick to finish himself: travel back in time and stop the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. At least thats what the book jacket says. That summary is really the backstory; the motivation, if you will, that propels that protagonist's actions.

Jake Epping establishes a second life in the past as he awaits the day he must act. As time passes, critical decisions must be made; decisons that, ironically, were unforeseen; such as, HIS future in the past. The book really asks: Can you live in the past when you know what the future holds?

The book could have been about two hundred pages shorter. Jake takes an initial jaunt as "practice" that really don't affect the rest of the story, if only to establish how the hidden time portal works.

Without divulging whether or not Jake succeeds in his mission, I will say that King's use of time teleportation and its butterfly effects add realism to the conclusion.

I LOVED this book!! I'm not even a "die hard" Stephen King person. I have absolute respect for him as a successful author - no doubt - I just don't get everything that he does. I've enjoyed some of his work though, I even made it through "Under The Dome", which I thought was okay. It was good enough to get me through all 1,088 pages but I wasn't super excited about it.

I loved 11/22/63 though. It really makes you wonder what life would be like if one thing had or hadn't happened. There are so many of those "watershed moments" in all of our lives, some affect a smaller circle of us, some affect the entire nation and spread to the rest of the world like the assassination of John F. Kennedy and 9/11. We immediately think if only those things didn't happen, life would be great, but would it? What would you do if you had the power to change fate? Would it really make things better or worse if things didn't follow the way they are meant to be?

This is really a GREAT book for a book club. You can really get into some wonderful, deep discussions. Books that get you thinking and talking afterwards. Love that!!