Goodreads Rating: 4.33
My Rating: 4/5
Pages: 849
This book was impossibly long, but I did enjoy it. While I enjoyed it, it was frustrating at times. I was drawn to this book because of the idea of changing history and I've also never read a Stephen King book before. I got frustrated with the length at times, feeling it was unnecessary, but in the end, every word mattered. For being suck a long book, it was really easy to read, and quick too which surprised me.
Synopses from Goodreads.com
November 22nd, 1963 was a rapid-fire sequence of indelible moments: Shots ring out; a president slumped over; a race to the Dallas hospital; an announcement, blood still fresh on the First Lady's dress. But what if President John F. Kennedy didn't have to die; if somehow his assassin could have been thwarted? For Maine schoolteacher Jake Epping, those hypothetical what if's become real possibilities when he walks through a portal to the past. Without special skills and still unfamiliar with his new/old surroundings, he struggles to discover a way to change the history he left. Like its Under the Dome predecessor, Stephen King's 960-page novel shows that this master of suspense is back at the top of his game.
More after the jump.
I am so on the fence about this book its redonkulous. This book was a lot to digest, I mean a lot. Not just because of its length, because that wasn't the problem, and the method of time travel wasn't that bad either, but when you examined how every decision he made impacted those around him and its impact on history-it was a doozie. For being such a long book, it was a pretty quick read, if i had had one day to just devote to reading it, I like to think I would have been able to put it away easy.
I understand now what people mean about him being one of the best storytellers of our time. While the story of time travel can seem somewhat overdone, King adds, a new twist to it. Every time you go back into the past, its a do over, so say you go back to 1958 kill a man then come back to our time, but go back again, the man will be alive again when you return a second time. It's a paradox in a paradox.
Its hard not to explain this book and what I didn't like about it without a little summary but I'll be brief. Jake Epping, our dear hero and English teacher gets dragged into trying to save Kennedy. He goes into the past only a few times, but each time he gives a pretty detailed account of what happens. That was perhaps my biggest problem; the amount of information that he gave you. I suppose it was somewhat important that before going to Texas he lived in Florida for a few months, but then again, it wasn't. Nothing of that had to do with killing Oswald, and in my eyes was just extra.
I liked how King added what Epping did while in Texas, it would be hard to explain away nearly five years with just a paragraph, so I thought that the pages about his life in Jodie, Texas were worthwhile. I also felt that the addition of Sadie as his love interest was a great move because there were only so many pages that could discuss Oswald beating his wife.
After letting this book sink in, I've decided not to throw all the spoilers at you, instead I want you to go out and read this book, even if its the only book you read all year. Considering my only complaint is the length (and it wasn't that bad) and the 1950's language, then I would say you have a pretty stellar book on your hands.
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