11/22/63

11/22/63 by Stephen King

So, a Stephen King book makes the top ten list for the year on The New York Times booklist.  Is it the apocalypse?  All the hoopla, fortunately, is true.  This is arguably Stephen King’s best work ever.  Yes, even better than The Stand.

The title of this novel, however, probably isn’t exactly the best or most accurate.  Although the assassination of President Kennedy does play a pretty significant role in the story.  The story, quite simply, is one of time travel.  A topic that fascinates me no matter how implausible.  Judging from the rave reviews, maybe it fascinates others as well.

Jake Epping is  a Thirty Something High School teacher.  He has no children, and he’s recovering from a somewhat unpleasant divorce.  His wife, an alcoholic, leaves him for a man she met at an AA meeting.  All of this sets up a perfect “specimen” for such a project.  Without going into too much detail, Jake finds a portal that he can go through, which leads him to the exact same spot - only back in 1958.  He can stay there as long as he wants, and do whatever he wants, and when he comes back to the present, the clock advances only two minutes.  The only downside to this is that if he stays in the past for several years, well, he comes back “only” two minutes later - but his body has actually aged those several years.  So he can’t necessarily keep going back time and time again whenever he wants.  Another cool thing is that, if he changes the past, well, the “present” then obviously changes somewhat as well.  HOWEVER, the next time he goes back in time, he, in effect, presses a “reset” button so everything is once again "normal" the next time he arrives back to the present.  Follow all that?

So what is there to actually do in 1958?  Well, in a world where one is used to cable t.v. and the internet, not that much.  Yet when he remembers what happens only five years after 1958, he makes it a mission to change history - and stop the assassination of President Kennedy.  It won’t be that easy - as he finds out the past is obdurate (I didn’t know what that word meant before I read the book.  Look it up!).  Also,  there’s a lot of free time between 1958 until 1963.

This is actually the main strength of the story.  We see the world of 1958 through an observer’s eyes who wasn’t even born until the 1970s, and it’s a fascinating view.  We see just how different things were, and not all of them were necessarily good, but overall, this new (old) world seems to be a much better place.  He travels from Maine to right outside of Dallas to prepare for his mission, and a lot of the story deals with his new life as a school teacher in a small Texas town.  Sometimes, a bit too much detail.  This is the one area where the story might have been constructed a tad better, although it is necessary that we do observe Jake’s new life.  Of course, he falls in love, and this oddly only makes the story better.  There are many things I could discuss about his new relationship, but let’s just say that the story, with its two “worlds” has endless possibilities as to what can happen, and you’re never quite sure which direction you’ll be  pulled next.

During his time in Texas, he takes secret trips to Dallas/Irivng/Fort Worth where Lee Harvey Oswald and his new Russian bride are living, and does a lot of spying.  This is the man he has to stop from killing the President, remember.  Fortunately, money is no problem for Jake.  Since he’s from the future, it's very easy for him to visit the local bookie and make several long shot bets.  Plus, things were so much cheaper back then.  So renting multiple apartments and driving all over the place is never a financial burden.

It should be pointed out that, with all of the recent fascination around the Kennedy assassination, Stephen King is not a conspiracy believer.  In this story, you won’t find the CIA, the Mafia, the three tramps, Umbrella Man, or G. Gordon Liddy on the grassy knoll.  No, I guess King could have gone in that direction, but he simply doesn’t need to.  Even those who staunchly believe that Oswald was a patsy and had nothing to do with the killing of Kennedy won’t be deterred from enjoying this story.

In conclusion, we must remember that Stephen King isn’t always the macabre monster when he puts pen to paper.  He’s written some very safe, mainstream stories that have been loved by so many of the public without the horror stamp.  Who can forget The Green Mile, The Shawshank Redemption, or Stand By Me?  This novel ranks up at the very top of his “safe” books - the ones that anyone can read and not be grossed out.  I have the feeling I’ll reread this one someday.  I actually cried at the end of this book and, like Jake in the story, I don’t cry that much. 

Ten out of ten.