11/22/63: A Novel
THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER AND MODERN CLASSIC FROM MASTER STORYTELLER STEPHEN KING
A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW TOP TEN BOOK OF THE YEAR
WINNER OF THE LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE
On November 22, 1963, three shots rang out in Dallas, President Kennedy died, and the world changed. What if you could change it back? In this brilliantly conceived tour de force, Stephen King—who has absorbed the social, political, and popular culture of his generation more imaginatively and thoroughly than any other writer—takes readers on an incredible journey into the past and the possibility of altering it.
It begins with Jake Epping, a thirty-five-year-old English teacher in Lisbon Falls, Maine, whose life is upended when 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 the dying 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 the world of Ike and JFK and Elvis, of big American cars and sock hops and cigarette smoke everywhere and to the small town of Jodie, Texas, where Jake falls dangerously in love. Every turn leads eventually 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.
A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW TOP TEN BOOK OF THE YEAR
WINNER OF THE LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE
On November 22, 1963, three shots rang out in Dallas, President Kennedy died, and the world changed. What if you could change it back? In this brilliantly conceived tour de force, Stephen King—who has absorbed the social, political, and popular culture of his generation more imaginatively and thoroughly than any other writer—takes readers on an incredible journey into the past and the possibility of altering it.
It begins with Jake Epping, a thirty-five-year-old English teacher in Lisbon Falls, Maine, whose life is upended when 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 the dying 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 the world of Ike and JFK and Elvis, of big American cars and sock hops and cigarette smoke everywhere and to the small town of Jodie, Texas, where Jake falls dangerously in love. Every turn leads eventually 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.
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Readers say *11/22/63* is a captivating blend of historical fiction, sci-fi, drama, and suspense that showcases Stephen King’s storytelling beyond hor...
I was hooked from the start. I’ve always been fascinated by the events around JFK. This book is amazing.
First off, I assure you my review will not be near as long as this novel (which should totally count as three novels if you're working on a reading challenge). For the most part, I enjoyed the novel in its entirety save one thing - the potshots at conservatives/conservatism. Nonetheless, the care with which King takes to accurately describe and define the era adds a realistic element to the time travel premise. The story itself is really three stories intricately woven together - Jake Epping, 35-year old English teacher, an apathetic loner closed off from emotion; George Amberson, Jake's time-traveling persona on a mission to put right the horrors and atrocities of a past before his time; and George & Sadie, a love story between two characters emotionally scarred by their past relationships. I learned more about Lee Harvey Oswald - his maniacal persona and his murderous plot - than any history book because of King's detail-rich profile of the assassin.
I've never been a fan of Stephen King's gory, horror stories, but this is not your average Stephen King genre. Next to his On Writing, this book is my second favorite King novel.
I've never been a fan of Stephen King's gory, horror stories, but this is not your average Stephen King genre. Next to his On Writing, this book is my second favorite King novel.
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