11-22-63

A Novel

By: Stephen King

Narrated by: Craig Wasson

Length: 30 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

On November 22, 1963, three shots rang out in Dallas, President Kennedy died, and the world changed. What if you could change it back?

In this brilliantly conceived tour de force, Stephen King - who has absorbed the social, political, and popular culture of his generation more imaginatively and thoroughly than any other writer - takes listeners on an incredible journey into the past and the possibility of altering it.

It begins with Jake Epping, a 35-year-old English teacher in Lisbon Falls, Maine, who makes extra money teaching GED classes. He asks his students to write about an event that changed their lives, and one essay blows him away: a gruesome, harrowing story about the night more than 50 years ago when Harry Dunning’s father came home and killed his mother, his sister, and his brother with a sledgehammer. Reading the essay is a watershed moment for Jake, his life - like Harry’s, like America’s in 1963 - turning on a dime.

Not much later his friend Al, who owns the local diner, divulges a secret: his storeroom is a portal to the past, a particular day in 1958. And Al enlists Jake to take over the mission that has become his obsession - to prevent the Kennedy assassination.

So begins Jake’s new life as George Amberson, in a different world - of Ike and JFK and Elvis, of big American cars and sock hops and cigarette smoke everywhere. From the dank little city of Derry, Maine (where there’s Dunning business to conduct), to the warmhearted small town of Jodie, Texas, where Jake falls dangerously in love, every turn is leading, eventually of course, to a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald and to Dallas, where the past becomes heart-stoppingly suspenseful - and where history might not be history anymore. Time-travel has never been so believable. Or so terrifying.

©2011 Stephen King. All Rights Reserved. (P)2011 Simon & Schuster, Inc

I love Stephen King!

Loved it! Narrator was good! Didn't want to stop listening! Stephen King is the best!

interesting

this book was good...not great. found it hard to follow at times. the end seemed rushed resulting in an incomplete feeling at the end. good read.

JUST WOW

There isn’t enough words to say WOW!!! I couldn’t stop. Best book since language development.

Stephen King is a great author

A really great book! Stephen King did a lot of research on a JFK assassination before writing this book and it shows. I highly recommend this book.

Enjoyed the ride, especially with Craig Wasson

I started out thinking the book could be cut here, and cut here, and cut here, to make it shorter...but then I settled in and enjoyed the ride. Craig Wasson made the story and the characters come to life, and when I got to the bookie who had unmistakably Burt Lancaster's voice, I really started to enjoy the narration. Walter Kronkite and John F. Kennedy's voices for their characters, well of course. Jimmy Stewart, not perfect but unmistakable. But the Yellow Card Man's voice near the end was driving me bonkers until I finally found it in a review here--John Houseman! What other imitations were there? I'm sure there were more.

Looking backwards from the 2021 future, the basic plot concept reminded me of The Midnight Library, except Stephen King's concepts and implications that were so much more sophisticated. Also from the benefit of hindsight, the apocalyptic after-effects of the main character's actions make the book feel like it could have been written much more recently than 10 years ago.

5 star book but not perfect. Loved it though

Highly recommend this book! Good narration and a great story. Very long but worth it.

SPOILERS!!!!! ahead.

SPOILERS!
The first third of the book or so (maybe fourth?) that takes place in Maine and then Derry is the strongest act. Everything about it was fantastic. I was completely immersed and on the edge of my seat.
Then, the book takes a (to me) seemingly sharp turn from a more "straightforward" time traveling story and ties in with an earlier, separate Stephen King book.
I'm not sure how I feel about this. I thought it was going to go farther in exploring this tie in but it seems that was only a small connection. Anyway....

The 2nd (Texas) and 3rd parts (preventing the assassination and the consequences - then ending) of the story were good but I feel like the first act was on a different level. This is my biggest complaint about the story itself. The story all the way through is fantastic, it is just that the 1st act is just so enthralling on its own.

The narration by Craig Wasson: Very excellent work. The characters were strong with one exception - I thought that the Sadie character was a little weak at times. It was the only character that the voice bothered me at times, for one specific reason - I live in Georgia and have for most of my life, and when media tries to do a Georgia "southern" accent, they usually fail miserably.
The very generic southern accent that is found in many films and tv shows (and audiobooks) just does not sound natural or accurate to those of us from the area. I'm sure the same can be said for many accents, but this one is close to me. So this is probably one of those things that is ALWAYS going to be an issue when you have a single narrarator trying to do a specific regional accent - they are always going to be judged harshly by those who are most familiar with that accent. This is probably not especially fair, but it it something I can't deny happens when listening.

Best Stephen King book ever!

I've listened to this book twice now and could easily do it again! The narrator is great. The story and concept are incredible. I love it! It includes the typical darkness you expect from Stephen King, but told in such a great way. Don't miss this one!

my favorite of all not your typical King book

this is my favorite Stephen King book of all his books it's not your typical horror book it's just a very good book

magnificent book

I love this book, I bought it a while ago as a result of having a free credits and I couldn't figure out what to do with. I've watched the miniseries the Kennedys, I've watched historical documentaries about the 60s, I've always been very interested in the past, so it was only natural that I eventually came up on the question what would have happened if John F Kennedy wasn't assassinated? I had posed this question to several people and every single one said if you really feel like that you should read Stephen King's 11 22 63. I enjoyed this book because of the storyline, it's not just what would have happened if he wasn't assassinated, it goes more in-depth into a life about a man named Jake Epping who by virtue took on the persona of George Amberson. You follow him through his journey back in time, the storytelling is so vivid you can actually imagine yourself in 1958. Several times I found myself dreaming of simpler times. the narration by Craig Wasson was on point, with the different accents, dialects, genders and ages of all persons in this book. I often found myself so riveted by the narrators ability, that I would probably go seek out other books he has done. I finished this book today and feel that I could totally start it back up again tomorrow morning and not be bored in the slightest.

Time travel, mystery, and romance

Great combination of historical fiction, time travel fantasy and a great love story. The Sadie character was my favorite. She helped bring out the sensitive, romantic, protective side of the main character who “was never a cryer.” Story was just a bit long, however. Could have chopped off maybe 50 pages. Some portions were very implausible, too. For example, in the last couple days before Kennedy rides through Dallas, Jake (central chapter and narrator) goes out of his way to buy 2 John D. McDonald novels, and actually reads and finishes them, while waiting for highly intense and nerve-wracking events to transpire. Seemed like something Dean Koontz might do. Stephen King is above that cheap stuff. He can afford to skip a bunch of little/unnecessary details that don’t contribute towards the advancement of the story! Still is and always will be such a terrific storyteller!