Book Four (B)

11/22/63
Stephen King

I should probably start by noting that while I'm a fan of Stephen King (especially Uncle Stevie, who entertains us often--though not often enough--in Entertainment Weekly), I don't read his books.  I have watched nearly all of his books on film--Pet Semetary and Sometimes They Come Back are particular favorites, and It scares the crap out of me just to think about it--but I just don't get into the swearing and the sex and the monsters in his books.  And, I don't really have 500+ pages to commit to anyone other than dear Harry Potter.  That said, I was excited to pick up 11/22/63 and knew that I wanted it to be the first book I read on my Kindle.

Man, Stephen King can write!  Seriously.  I knew this from the films based on his novels, the novellas that I've read, and from reading On Writing, but I just hadn't experienced it on my own.  From the first chapter through the Afterword, I found myself devouring each page.  I couldn't put it down and was grumpy when I was forced to do so.  While King wrote about time travel and stopping the assassination of JFK, 11/22/63 is about far more than that.  Along the way, this is a novel about building friendships and setting things right and how sometimes it's better to not know what is coming ahead because then we want to step in and change it.  And this is a novel about hard choices and love and responsibility.  In true Stephen King fashion, there are monsters in this book, but they serve as a reminder that sometimes the monsters are us. 

Readers familiar with King's work will see many delightful references that make me wonder if just any author could pull off.  History buffs will love the detailed research into Oswald's associates and his life in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.  Lovers of small towns will become engrossed in the Jodie Doin's (I sort of want to move there--to King's Jodie anyway).  Conspiracy theorists will find few answers and perhaps even more fodder.  Those prone to "what ifs" will be caught up in imagine a new world.  And aspiring writers will wonder if there is anyone else who can pull this novel off.  And then they'll want to try.