There are quite a few people who relegate anything written by Stephen King as “horror” and therefore will not read it, which to my mind is a big mistake!  11/22/63 his most recent book couldn’t be farther from the horror genre and instead is a very thoughtful and interesting book.  It is a step back in time to the days leading up to the Kennedy assassination and explores the ways we might want to change the course of history if only we could or would. Like Philip Dick, King explores the possibility of an alternative reality where Kennedy would not be shot if only our protagonist, Jake Epping, can change things just enough so Lee Harvey Oswald is caught before he has the chance to fire those fateful shots.

King is masterful in describing the 1958-1963 time period.  You can hear and feel and even smell the differences between now and then, and you sense the differences in the rhythms of life as well.  Jake has to learn how to fit into this new time and culture as if it is a foreign country even though it is only 50 years ago.  As Jake struggles with his responsibility as well as the impact that his presence in this different time and place has on the the people around him, we are drawn into the story, on the one hand hoping he succeeds and on the other hoping he doesn’t as we see the effect even small changes have on the lives of those around him.

King takes the “what if” and creates a wonderful fully realized story about how complicated the flow of history is and how inextricably entwined we are to one another whether we recognize it or not.

Brenda’s Rating  *****(Five Stars out of Five)

Recommend this book to: Keith, Sharon, Ken, Marian and Lauren

Book Study Worthy: Yes

Read in ebook format.