#15 – 11/22/63

Plot

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.

Review

Immediately upon finishing 11/22/63 I called my mother and told her she should read this book.  In a novel that is centered around time travel, King is able to transport his Constant Readers back to the late 1950s and early 1960s.  Since my mother grew up in that period, I figured she would appreciate this set-piece even more than me.  Spoiler alert – she did.    

11/22/63 has a silly premise.  What if you found a time portal that sent you back to 1958?  And what if you tried to go back and stop the JFK assassination?  Would you do it?  However, because of how much King immerses you in that world with insane detail, it not only feels like a plausible plot line, it feels like an extremely important one.  But, as Jake Epping soon realizes, the universe doesn’t like people messing with Father Time.  

Joe Rogan doesn’t like people who say books are better than movies/shows because you can see what’s being written.  Apparently, Rogan doesn’t have a good imagination – or hasn’t read any decent books. 11/22/63 was turned into a Hulu TV-show starring James Franco, but after a couple of episodes I lost interest.  It just didn’t captivate the way King was able to in the book.  Sorry, not sorry Joe.  

Usually love stories thrown into plot-driven novels annoy me to no end, but I make the exception here in 11/22/63 because I completely bought in to the Jake-Sadie relationship.  This was likely due to Sadie’s back story, and how much time and care King put into developing their love.  

This is the fourth-highest rated Stephen King book on Goodreads with an average rating of 4.32.  The Green Mile was #1 and you’ll have to wait a while on this list to see #2 or #3.

Details

Pages: 849

Dates Read: Pre-2012

Quote: “We never know which lives we influence, or when, or why.”

Best Part: The first experiment Jake runs with the portal.

Hint for #14: A sequel to a book that previously showed up on this list and whose main character shares his first name with my son.

 

Until next time, peace be the journey.