11/22/63 by Stephen King
Narrator: Craig Wasson
Source: Audible
Finished: 2/18/12
Rating: 9 out of 10
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Length: 30 hours, 44 minutes
Pages: 849 (print version)
Published: 2011
Challenges: 2012 Audio Book Challenge
Synopsis (from Barns & Noble): It begins with Jake Epping, a thirty-five-year-old English teacher in Lisbon Falls, Maine, who makes extra money teaching GED classes. …his friend Al, who owns the local diner, divulges a secret: his storeroom is a portal to the past, a particular day in 1958. And Al enlists Jake to take over the mission that has become his obsession—to prevent the Kennedy assassination.
So begins Jake’s new life as George Amberson, in a different world of Ike and JFK and Elvis, of big American cars and sock hops and cigarette smoke everywhere. From the dank little city of Derry, Maine, to the warmhearted small town of Jodie, Texas, where Jake falls dangerously in love, every turn is leading eventually, of course, to a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald and to Dallas, where the past becomes heart-stoppingly suspenseful, and where history might not be history anymore. Time-travel has never been so believable. Or so terrifying.
Overall Impression: It’s such a pleasure to end a book and think, “Woah. Just…woah.” At the end of 11/22/63, I found myself pretty much blown away by King’s writing, research, and ability to craft a damn fine story. This alternate history / time travel was probably the best I’ve ever read, primarily because King is able to weave a story so full of characters that you love, only to mess with it in ways I won’t elaborate on here — just suffice it to say that there’s some wicked stuff that comes up.
The story itself — Jake preventing the Kennedy assassination — is the perfect framework for setting up a story within a story, of love, redemption, failure, morality, and ultimately the choices that we make. At first I thought this would be primarily about the Kennedy assassination, and King’s attempts at either proving or disproving some of the conspiracy theories. But it wasn’t at all — it was just an incredibly plotted, meticulously researched, rousing good time. It was a love letter to the late 50s and early 60s, with King managing to transport me to a time I never knew, and fill me with a nostalgia for something I’ve never experienced. It also had me guessing all the way through, wondering what the past might throw at Jake in its effort not to be changed.
If you’ve shied away from King because you thought he only writes horror, I beg you to give this one a shot. While there are some darker parts, it rarely strays into anything that would be off-putting to a reader who doesn’t like to be scared.
Positives: Beautifully plotted! Surprisingly sweet! Meticulously researched!
Negatives: It felt a little bloated in places, and there was some repetition that got a little tiresome (the past is obdurate…the past is obdurate…).
Narration: Craig Wasson really nailed this, with the exception of Sadie (Jake’s love interest) — she seemed slow, not Southern.
Other books I’ve read by Stephen King: On Writing (read before I started writing reviews), The Gunslinger (review)
Other books I’ve listened to narrated by Craig Wasson: none
Other blogger opinions:
Book Journey: “For me I can not stress enough that you must take time to read or listen to this book.”
Outgoing Signals: “I finished this one completely satisfied.”
Steve Betz: “I think King aficionados will very much enjoy this book and if you’re one of those who’s stayed away from King and are looking for an introduction,11/22/63 would be a great place to start.”
Did you think King crafted a better story than Connie Willis’s “Blackout” and “All Clear”?
How in the WORLD did those books not cross my mind while I was writing this review?! Book blogger fail. I have to say, I probably enjoyed them equally. They were different, but both were really, really good.
I might have to stop reading your blog before my list of books to read grows any bigger. Just kidding. I’m loving your reviews.
Thanks! My to-be-read list threatens to devour me whole sometimes. :)
Loved this one! Two points you brought up that I particularly agree with were the annoying repetition (someone should really go through and count how many times he used the word “obdurate”…where was his editor??) and the nostalgia for a time you’ve never experienced. What I particularly loved about his portrayal of the 50s and 60s was that yes, it was very idyllic–but he also didn’t shy away from the blatant racism and sexism that was present in those times (i.e. Sadie’s disbelief that a “negro” would be president on 2011, the lady from the school board being all pissy about Jake and Sadie “living in sin,” etc). A lot of the time I have to remind myself that despite the nostalgia I feel for the 50s, what I’m picturing never actually existed in the way that I sometimes imagine it did, you know? And King’s really good at showing the other side that people try to forget.
Great points! I totally agree about the racism and sexism. As I was listening, I kept thinking “must mention that in review…” but I completely forgot. Makes the nostalgia for a real ice cream sundae a little less strong. :)
I don’t even remember writing the sentence you quoted!
Maybe you went back in time and changed the future?
Can’t wait to read this one….just added to my list…which also threatens to devour me. Maybe if I could go back in time I would have enough time to read everything. Hmmmm…..just a thought. I gave up on S. King a while ago but I’m glad he’s back with a huge hit. I thought Salems Lot and the Stand were both fantastic! Keep up the good work, Cori!
Note to self: build a time machine specifically to go back in time to have enough time to Read All The Books.
Really good review. I, too, thought it was going to be more about the Kennedy assassination and wingnut theories — which would have made me less excited for it, but I liked the alternate history take. There was that point where I thought — oh no, I know what’s going to happen — and I was right, but I liked the way he was able to “un-make” some things, but not go for a contrived, completely happy ending. I really liked the bittersweet wistfulness of the end.
“Bittersweet wistfulness” is the perfect way to describe how this one ended.
I have wanted to read this, but it is so damn long!!
Read it anyway! It’s super-good.