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John Bieber

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11/22/63

by Stephen King (Goodreads Author)

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Reading for the 2nd time

read in March 2016

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John Bieber said: " This story originally intrigued me because I am a general fan of Stephen King and I am used to reading horror. I never though of him as a historical fiction writer. The idea seemed a bit crazy to me, a portal existing in a dinner that takes the user This story originally intrigued me because I am a general fan of Stephen King and I am used to reading horror. I never though of him as a historical fiction writer. The idea seemed a bit crazy to me, a portal existing in a dinner that takes the user back to 9/9/1958 and only allows for 2 minuted to pass in the future (or present) day upon the return. But the more I realized the power of the portal and the significance it has, I slowly grew more and more fond.

Beginning the book, I read about Jake Epping, a recently divorced english teacher, leading a night school class. A lot of the beginning is Jake silently judging each and every one of his students, describing himself as a strong, tough guy. All that changed when his student, Harry Dunning, the Janitor, turned in a final essay depicting the night his father killed his mom and siblings with a sledgehammer. Jake was truly touched, and he took him to Al's diner to take a picture and celebrate. Around that time, the portal was revealed to Jake from Al. After Jake steps through it and accepts that it is real, Al Lays out the plan.

Al wants to kill Lee Oswald so he cannot kill JFK. The portal takes the user back to 1958 so it's possible, Jake thinks the idea is preposterous. To see if it is even plausible and to better understand the butterfly effect, Jake travels back to stop Harry Dunning's dad from committing the crimes. He is successful and comes back, battered and bloodied. However, the photo with Harry no longer exists, proof that the future can change as a result of his actions. After all that Jake is almost forced to return back in time to kill Oswald (Al, who is lung cancer, killed himself and left a note asking Jake to do it). On the trip back, the man who greeted Jake every time he came through the portal (The yellow card man) was dead, his throat cut and now the card is black, like death. Something had happened, but Jake does not take note.

This book truly feels like a blast from the past. So many themes from the text and characters and music are so similar to what was common in the 50s and 60s, it feels incredible. Apparently King waited to write the book until he felt he had enough accurate research to write it well. This text would be perfect for anyone who enjoys an adventure novel. I decided to give it such a broad description because that's what it comes down to, it feels like a prince, saving a princess, a type of story I think nearly everyone can enjoy. It takes a little bit to feel truly involved in the book, for me, that came after a few of Jake's trips into the portal, but I think King wrote it that way so that the reader can have the same confusion as Jake. Every trip feels more natural and routine. I do have to say, I never read a book as original as this one, because the idea is so unique. Where I currently am, I am most fascinated with the "yellow card man", something is integral about his death, because he was was supposed to never change, yet he did. I plan to continue to read to both solve this mystery and see where Jake ends up in all this. (less) ...more "

progress:

(page 303 of 849)
"Jake runs into Al's diner, where this entire adventure began in the future Jake is from. He also meets the past Al, but I feel as though Jake is strained at the idea that Al has no clue of who Jake is or the situation at large. He was the one who started Jake on this mission, and especially now, Jake realizes that he truly is on his own. (I)" — Mar 06, 2016 08:21PM

Mar 28, 2016 12:10PM · see review