Book Review – 11.22.63 by Stephen King

I read this book as part of our Speaking LITerally Podcast Book Club. If you would like to listen to our discussion (there are spoilers in the episode), you can listen to the podcast episode here.

Wow, where do I start. If you have ever physically picked up or read 11.22.63, you will know how much of a beast this book is. At 740 pages it is not necessarily an abnormally big book for Stephen King (have you seen how big It is?) But, from the King novels I have read so far, it is the book which has been the most thought provoking and has left me with a lot to say, but I will try not to ramble on too much.

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I guess the first thing you might want to know is what type of book it is? That is probably one of the hardest questions about this book. The reason for this is that there are aspects of so many genres that you can’t really label it. We have sci-fi elements with the time travel, romance, horror aspects, and thrillers, and that’s the main ones. However, sometimes you just need to accept that you can’t label every book.

11.22.63 is about Jake Epping, a young 20 something who, after suddenly witnessing Al Templeton’s (the diner owner) sudden aging and instant decline within a few minutes, is brought into Al’s secret which he has kept for decades. Before long, he is persuaded to accept a mission from a dying man, to travel back to the past and stop the assassination of J F Kennedy. After accepting, he is thrown into 1950s America and needs to survive for 5 years to achieve what Al never got to, to stop Lee Harvey Oswald.

This is a story about time travel, about survival in a strange, unknown world, about knowing how to adapt to a whole new situation. But it is also about sacrifice, about how much you are willing to give up and about whether, if given the chance, would you lose out to benefit the world, read the book you will understand.

The MC, Jake, is just your standard American, teacher, nice guy. Just your average Joe Bloggs, but the situation he ends up in is far from average. I like the fact that we got to see how just an average person reacted. During his journey, the things you expect to happen often do. He makes mistakes, he experiences the darker side of humanity, and on the other side, he falls in love. The balance between darkness and light begins equally. But, as you may have guessed, the dark times occur more as the book progresses, and we see Jake face many difficult, emotional situations.

The topic of time travel can be complex but one of the aspects I enjoyed about King’s portrayal of time travel is the butterfly effect, the theory that whatever action you take can have a profound impact elsewhere in the world. In this novel, as we are talking about the past, it is the past that tries to fight back when you try to change past events. It’s fascinating to see what form these fights take from food poisoning to broken cars and worse. Through this method, it almost feels like King is personifying the past, giving it a physical form.

Although the main genres for this book would be sci fi, thriller and romance, there are still scenes of a horrific scenes which King is renowned for which will make you squirm and recoil at the brutality of at times.

And of course, the universe of King is continued in this novel as we see references to other works of his, which is always a joy. I won’t tell you which ones you’ll need to find out for yourself.

Overall, yes, it is a big book, and at times, it was slow. However, the story and King’s writing style made it difficult to put down. You can’t help but be dragged into this world and become attached to Jake and the love of his life. You will wish you were there in the 60s until they reach the pinnacle event, then you are glad you aren’t.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ – heart-wrenching, thrilling, engaging ride you won’t want to get off

Have you read this book? Do you like Stephen King? If so what is your favourite novel? Let me know in the comments below.

Much love ❤️