11/22/63 by Stephen
King
When Al finds a portal to 1958 in his diner, he talks Jake
Epping, a local English teacher, into
going on a mission back in time to stop the assassination of JFK from
happening. But they find you really can't change the past without drastically
changing the future.
I'm not usually a reader of Stephen King novels, mostly
because he creeps me out. But I actually really enjoyed this book. I loved how
King made references throughout to some of his other books (IT, Shawshank
Redemption, The Body, etc.) and how I really didn't know what was going to
happen next. It was also interesting to know that King spent over a decade
researching the JFK assassination for this book. 11/22/63 is a little long, but
well worth the 700 pages or so.
I give it a B+.
I listened to 11/22/63 on my own audiobook a few years ago, before I discovered the book club. The narrator was great, but I remember being about halfway thru and marveling at how truly long (and historically detailed) it was! The audiobook surprised me at the end by actually playing 'In the Mood'. I was at work. I cried like a baby.
ReplyDeleteEarlier this week, I read an interesting interview that Neil Gaiman did with Stephen King a few years back -- he has some interesting things to say about people who call him a horror writer. Not sure if you are interested, but it kind of touches on what you said regarding horror: http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2012/04/popular-writers-stephen-king-interview.html
I actually laughed out loud at this part: "I was down here in the supermarket, and this old woman comes around the corner this old woman – obviously one of the kind of women who says whatever is on her brain. She said, 'I know who you are, you are the horror writer. I don’t read anything that you do, but I respect your right to do it. I just like things more genuine, like that Shawshank Redemption.'"
I came to a really slow acceptance that Stephen King is one of my favorite authors. I mean, I love genre fiction and indie authors and more brainy stuff and hate horror movies, so how can I like an author that is so darn popular and popular for his horror at that?!? But I realized that I love how he can capture emotions and snippets of modern life. He is popular for a reason. And now I am hoping to read all his stuff. Someday. Because the man writes 700 page novels twice a year like it is No Big Deal. :)
If you ever have 9 + months of your life to devote to it, I totally recommend King's Dark Tower series. It is King's epic fantasy series.
Sorry for the super long comment! I've been following your reviews and really enjoying them!
Stephanie! I LOVE your comments! :D
DeleteI agree. I usually avoided Stephen King's stuff, both because of his mass popularity and his horror stories, but the few I have read have all been so, so good, and make me want more! His storytelling abilities are truly unparralelled.
And I LOVE that article. Especailly (wierdly...) the part about Amy Tan channeling a dominatrix while singing "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'". King sounds like a fantastic, humble guy, even though he's a huge presence in the literary world.
This makes me want to go read some more of his stuff now! Thank you for that! :D
:) Got to share my newly minted King love!
DeleteDid you see that Hulu announced a TV show based on this book?
http://blog.hulu.com/2014/09/22/stephen-kings-best-seller-112263-finds-its-place-in-history-with-direct-to-series-order-from-hulu/
Oooh!!! That makes me so excited!! And JJ Abrams. I usually love his stuff! Really looking forward to this!
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