Reviews for 11/22/63--Many contain spoilers

[Dreamnine]

Hi, I joined up just to thank Stephen King for a great novel - I enjoyed it immensely.

I loved the plot, the descriptions of Derry and what life was like back in the years 58-63.

And I learnt quite a bit I didn't know about the Kennedy assassination.

Great book - my favourite since Hearts in Atlantis.

[The Goremet]

Where were you when 9/11 happened? Were you personally affected by this tragedy? What if you could go back and change it? Would you, or better yet, should you? Well, in Stephen King's giant novel 11/22/63 he asks this type of question, but instead of 9/11 he tackles the Kennedy assassination. Whatever the horror is it in the best interest to change the past? It seems like an honorable endeavor, one filled with ideas about making things better and changing the course of history - preferably changing bad things to good. King's tale warns about messing too often with the past as it creates roadblocks and recreates in different forms changes you have already made. In the end of King's book things are not for the better, regardless of the seemingly positive changes Jake Epping made; saving Dunning, saving Sadie and of course, saving Kennedy.

I ask about 9/11 since this is the most recent event to happen to us, one that we are remembering daily and scarred by whether or not you were at the center of the tragedy. what would the world be like if someone went back and changes that event?? What events in your life would you like to go back and alter and if so, how would that affect your here and now?

King taught me to be wary of wishing for a different today. If I went back in time and decided to go to college instead of running a bookstore and becoming a writer I might (and I stress might) have more money, but I would not have met my wife and had a beautiful boy. Would I risk all that? I think not. Would I love to see the world in a better state, less economic struggle and see the word war become something out of a sci-fi or historical novel? Is any of that truly achievable?

Jake Epping - our wonderful hero - tackles personal and worldly questions throughout the novel, but none so much as the personal one he makes in the books ending pages. Choosing to sacrifice the live of his life and leave events as they were played out is a decision no one should have to make. He decides to not go back again and try to save the world all over again, because what did he truly accomplish?

Early in the novel, readers will be reintroduced to a place called Derry - fans will shutter with glee, and it is this portion of the book that gives it its color. Epping has work to do here and the whole course of the novel is supported on the Dunning story and Jake's watershed moment. In a beautiful scene Jake meets up with Beverly Marsh and Richie Tozier, from IT. Not too long after the 1958 events of IT Jake enter the picture. Now, what if he had been brought back only months earlier?? Interesting idea.

Not since DUMA KEY have I loved a King book as much and moved it into my TOP 10. Bear in mind that I love all King's work and find this no easy task to change my favs, but every once in a while I am truly blown away by the brilliance King has. 11/22/63 is such a book. CRitics and reviewers say this is a departure for King, a genre shift and that comment makes me ache. King has never been a genre writer or a writer whose books feel repetitive or stale. 11/22/63 is made of the same cloth as all of King's work and the interconnecting layers make it all the more realistic to this reader.

The ending of 11/22/63 reminds me of the film version of THE MIST. Our efforts to do the right thing are what get us in the most trouble. For our own decisions are small shifts in the universe's gears and if we put too much pressure and try to alter who we are then the gears break. Good or bad we are both and make mistakes - people make horrible mistakes, but it is for us to look to the future and learn than go back and fix them.

Poor MISERY now falls off the Top 10, but sitting pretty in its place is 11/22/63.

[GNTLGNT]

...it's got a good beat and you can dance to it....

[PrisonerNumber6]

Well, welcome stranger, hope you like the board. Not to ruin the above review, which I thought was pretty darn good. However I was wondering, well, I don't know should spoilers tags have been used here and there?

Ah never mind, welcome aboard.

[The Goremet]

I am new to this kind of group here so I am sure to make mistakes, but I am glad you liked it and will try to warn if I am going to give too much away. I have been a fan for so long and love to talk about him and how he has changed me as a person and as a writer.

[The Goremet]

Hearts in Atlantis sure is closer in theme than other King books. Those tales are some of King's strongest and angriest writing.

[Karkie]

View some of the video taken of the assassination.....what were the Secret Service guys REALLY doing? Certainly not protecting the President!

[jchanic]

Well, welcome stranger, hope you like the board. Not to ruin the above review, which I thought was pretty darn good. However I was wondering, well, I don't know should spoilers tags have been used here and there?

Ah never mind, welcome aboard.

Since the title of this thread indicates there may be spoilers, I don't think adding the tags would be necessary.

John

[jarvi]

This was my first time reading a King book directly upon release and it was an absolutely wonderful experience. It's hard to say "one of his best" when he's always so good, but I loved being a part of the Jake and Sadie relationship, I loved having a chance to experience the late 50s in such a present-weighted way, I loved the experimentation with the timeline and the various consequences, and I particularly loved the author's obvious affection for his characters and his constant ability to drag every ounce of potential from the words "what if..." It was an amazing story filled with wonderfully human people capable of extraordinary things. It does the same thing every King book makes me want to do, pick up another King book right away. I loved it.

[mpsarch]

01/05/12 - my eyes were bulging out of my head as I carefully, but eagerly, turned the page....feet asleep under my blanket, back propped up while the wifey was sleeping beside me; "Oh, good for you," is what I said to myself. I couldn't put this piece down. Not now.
01/06/12, 12:30am - Done. But not really.
01/06/12, 8:00am - To: Sir Stephen
Constant Writer,
The reading of your new 11/22/63 novel was enchanting, extremely memorable, and a true delight. My
left arm was practically numb by the end, as the tome weighed heavily. I loved this piece; one of your
most eloquent, with a delicate balance between the absolutely horrifying and the absolutely joyful.

Per chance you read this brief review, please take away the following:
Keep strumming the strings on that guitar, Sir. But don't reach the harmony that will crack the glass or
break the crystal - that would not be good.

Michael P. Smith
Constant Reader
Orlando, Florida