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

Excellent!

Didn't realize it was as long a story as it was but enjoyed every minute of it. I was a senior in high school on 11
22.63.

Great - will listen again & again!!!

What did you love best about 11-22-63?

This is not a typical Stephen King novel/story, but it still has the incredible skilled writing characterized by great character development - you feel like you know them and a story that twists and turns but never loses you. This really pulls you back into your past, if you remember what you were doing when you heard about the assassination.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I ran the gamut of emotions as I became entrenched in the characters, their lives, the era, and remembering what I was doing during those years in elementary school!

30 hours - TO SHORT!!!!

Would you listen to 11-22-63 again? Why?

Very addictive. The story just flowed along.

What did you like best about this story?

The narrator did a fabulous job in every character.

What about Craig Wasson’s performance did you like?

He captred the emotions well.

WOW!

This was an amazing listen. Narrator is top notch. Really shows King's versatility and ability to diverge from horror but still weave threads of his other stories in seamlessly. Can't wait to watch the Hulu version now.

a great story

I was a senior in high school when JFK was shot. it was interesting to go back in time. Thank you Stephen King for the travel.

Outstanding

Outstanding book, if your from the 50s
You will love this book . You will laugh and you will cry .

BEST BOOK EVER!!

Would you consider the audio edition of 11-22-63 to be better than the print version?

Yes, I put it on while at work and listen makes the day fly by! :)

What did you like best about this story?

The twist and turns that it takes! You truly never know what will happen next

Which scene was your favorite?

The very end made my heart race!!!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This book made me laugh, cry, be angry everything you can feel in a book!

Any additional comments?

I have listened to this book 10 times and still love to hear it!!! It is a must read!!!!!

Great Idea, Executed Moderately Well

This novel attracted my attention immediately. I am a life-long fan of Stephen King's works, although I admit that I have not enjoyed his post-accident works as much as his earlier stuff. The premise of this book sold me on getting it without hesitation, and overall I am not disappointed. This was my first Audiobook of a Stepen King work, and I enjoyed listening to the story much better than watching any Stephen King movie. If I am honest I have to admit that had I been reading the book rather than listening to it, I most likely would have set it aside and not finished it.

Whom amongst us hasn't asked the question, "What if you could go back in time and...?" This book attempts to tackle that question, and its unforseen consequences in a reasonably sober manner. This is not a ghost story, and you won't find a world filled with monsters and/or boogeymen. However, like with all Stephen King books, you will brush up against the threads of other tales from other books. Surprisingly, it doesn't damage the fable being spun here.

Somewhere around 1/3rd of the way in, the central plot becomes an afterthought and completely irrelevant to the book. For any Stephen King fans, this won't be surprising. His larger works, 'It', 'The Stand', 'Under the Dome', and even 'Pet Semetery' can all be read by tearing out the middle 200 (or more) pages and just moving on. The central plot doesn't become a part of the story again until there is around five hours left in the book. What is odd is that in the case of '11-22-63: A Novel' this fact doesn't harm the story at all.

The Author's obsession with the freedom people had to smoke anywhere and everywhere is the reason that I would have set this book aside. With so many injustices available to choose for discussion, segragation gets maybe 10 minutes of coverage in a 30+ hour book, and police abuses, widespread FBI surveillance, and communist hysteria gripping the nation gets nary a mention. This is sad, because so many parallels could have been drawn to our own current times. And yet, had all the diatribes against people's smoking habits circa 1960 been edited out of this novel, it would probably have cut close to five hours off of the book's overall length.

In the end, I give this book a positive review. It is worth listening to, but I wouldn't suggest paying full price for it if you can avoid it. I used my monthly credit, and I don't feel robbed. Still, I didn't take anything away from this book that I would consider my life being less enriched by had I skipped it. If you are looking for a decent, not great, personal struggle/love story, and not a tense political thriller with supernatural overtones, then this is the book for you.

Overall 6.5 out of 10

Amazing - not a sci fi time travel fan

Any additional comments?

I didn't want to get this book as I don't like fantasy novels. All I can say is that it was well worth it. I really enjoyed the historical details and the character development aspects of this stoy. It was exceptionally researched and it shows. I have listened to many audio books and this is definitely in the top 10% If you like history but don't normally go for sci-fi, I would say try it.

Wonderful

If you could sum up 11-22-63 in three words, what would they be?

Love This Story

What other book might you compare 11-22-63 to and why?

The answer to What If is... this book. What would you do if you could go back in time and make things right for the world? Can a small change, make big changes?