11/22/63 by Stephen King
Publication: Gallery Books
Publication Date: 7/24/12

GoodReads Synopsis: Life can turn on a dime—or stumble into the extraordinary, as it does for Jake Epping, a high school English teacher in Lisbon Falls, Maine. While grading essays by his GED students, Jake reads a gruesome, enthralling piece penned by janitor Harry Dunning: fifty years ago, Harry somehow survived his father’s sledgehammer slaughter of his entire family. Jake is blown away…but an even more bizarre secret comes to light when Jake’s friend Al, owner of the local diner, enlists Jake to take over the mission that has become his obsession—to prevent the Kennedy assassination. How? By stepping through a portal in the diner’s storeroom, and into the era of Ike and Elvis, of big American cars, sock hops, and cigarette smoke… Finding himself in warmhearted Jodie, Texas, Jake begins a new life. But all turns in the road lead to a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald. The course of history is about to be rewritten…and become heart-stoppingly suspenseful.

Review: If you had the power to go back and change a monumental event in American History, would you do it?

This is one of those rare instances where I watched the show, 11/22/63, on Hulu before I read the book. After binging the show, I knew I had to get my hands on the book. 11/22/63 is the second book I’ve read from Stephen King. When I first bought the book, I’m not going to lie that I was intimidated by it’s 800+ pages. What I found the most fascinating is that the premise focuses more on time travel, JFK’s assassination, and wasn’t as horror heavy as I anticipated. The strength that lies within the story that Stephen King executes well is ethical questions and the butterfly effect.

After reading the book and the TV show, I have to say that I liked the TV show much more which is super rare. As much as I loved the premise of the novel, I found the characters to be much more likable and to have more of a human element in the TV show. In the book, the characters, especially Jake, came off crass. However, I did find that I liked the explanation of time travel in the book which I felt the show rushed it a bit. I thought that the book could have been reduced by 300-400 pages as there were some scenes that seemed to ramble on and were unnecessary. I liked that the TV show cut to the point. I highly recommend reading the book and watching the show if you’re into time travel elements.

Rating: 4/5