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Shaun Ryan's Reviews > 11/22/63
11/22/63
by
by
You might expect a book this long to be a sweeping epic, and if so, you're right, but not in the usual epic sense. This book is up close and personal, every step of the way. The master of the Boomer generation has done it again, pouring forth an entire nation's angst and nostalgia for a lost time of "watershed moments," and tackling what is perhaps the most pivotal in American history. You will feel the innocence and allure—as well as come to grasp the veneer it mostly was—of the late 50's and early 60's, as if you are actually there. Once again, King immerses us in a history that not only defined the generations who lived it, but the world their succesors inherited as well.
And it doesn't end there. The master storyteller many of us grew up with goes on to tackle idealism, misguided patriotism, bigotry, love, community, the dangers of meddling with the past, the wonder of the moment and, most importantly, personal accountability and sacrifice, all while spinning an entrancing yarn peopled by his usual living characters and, best of all, studded with signposts signalling that reality is a tapestry in which every being and each event are but threads comprisng a weave more dimensinal than we can ever begin to comprehend.
Awesome book, huge in scope and bottomless. King admits in the acknowledgements that he played around with this idea early in his career, and that it was too big for him then, so he set it aside. That's saying something, coming from the author of so many great works, and it shows in the resulting story. This book has it all: Action, adventure, horror, suspense, romance, tenderness, surrealism, realism, grit, anger, pain, love, elation, regret, loneliness, alientaion, a sense of belonging, and wonder on both a human and cosmic scale.
Bravo, Steve. You da' man.
And before you write me off as a hopeless fanboy, understand that this review comes from a guy who threw another epic novel from this author across the room after a three day marathon because the lame ending (or at least the lame climax) pissed him off so much.
And kudos to Joe Hill for the idea for the superb ending (as acknowledged by King).
And it doesn't end there. The master storyteller many of us grew up with goes on to tackle idealism, misguided patriotism, bigotry, love, community, the dangers of meddling with the past, the wonder of the moment and, most importantly, personal accountability and sacrifice, all while spinning an entrancing yarn peopled by his usual living characters and, best of all, studded with signposts signalling that reality is a tapestry in which every being and each event are but threads comprisng a weave more dimensinal than we can ever begin to comprehend.
Awesome book, huge in scope and bottomless. King admits in the acknowledgements that he played around with this idea early in his career, and that it was too big for him then, so he set it aside. That's saying something, coming from the author of so many great works, and it shows in the resulting story. This book has it all: Action, adventure, horror, suspense, romance, tenderness, surrealism, realism, grit, anger, pain, love, elation, regret, loneliness, alientaion, a sense of belonging, and wonder on both a human and cosmic scale.
Bravo, Steve. You da' man.
And before you write me off as a hopeless fanboy, understand that this review comes from a guy who threw another epic novel from this author across the room after a three day marathon because the lame ending (or at least the lame climax) pissed him off so much.
And kudos to Joe Hill for the idea for the superb ending (as acknowledged by King).
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11/22/63.
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Reading Progress
April 21, 2012
–
Started Reading
April 21, 2012
– Shelved
April 28, 2012
–
Finished Reading
