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 book.

I loved this book. It's well researched, intelligent, and fun. Maybe my favorite Stephen King book now.

Fantastic!

This was a great story with lots of terrific, historically acurate detail! I hated for the story to end!

Brilliant writer but vulgar

King is a brilliant writer and his descriptiveness of the time period, plot development, true-to-life characters, and attention to detail in 11.22.63 is masterful. Ultimately though, I didn't finish it. I skipped over large chunks of the story to find out what happened so I could be done with it. The vulgarity (i.e. F-word throughout, taking the Lord's name in vain, sexual relations, etc.) was just too much for my liking. You might be thinking, "This is Stephen King, what do you expect?" And you would be right. I guess my interest in the topic clouded my judgement so that I gave it a chance. For all of you fans, please note that I recognize brilliance when I see it but I do share this for others like me. If I had come across a review like this I would have been grateful for it and not purchased it. There are too many other brilliant books in this world to spend time on ones you find too objectionable to your own personal preference.

King at his best

Loved the history in this book, even though libertines were taken. Would recommend it highly.

Wow! What a great book!

I liked everything about this book. The story is fascinating, unlocking your imagination at the onset with a new twist on time travel. I found my two hour commute not nearly long enough to get my daily dose of this book so I found additional ways to get more listening time including an entire Saturday in my garage. I have a very organized garage now.
Craig Wasson narrated this book with a skillful combination of just the right pace and just the right voices for all of the different characters. And, for whatever reason, his voice just feels right for the story and for the main character.
Steven King continues to do what he does best- tell great stories.

Maybe King's Best

Excellent, epic, and engrossing story. I'm not sure I've ever felt so involved emotionally in a story. King makes one feel as if they are there and living it right along with George/Jake.

Very good book with so many cool things

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

Loved every minute

Who was your favorite character and why?

Jake thought out things and moves very carefully

What about Craig Wasson’s performance did you like?

Was very good. Very many voices.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Back to the Past

The Story is Compelling

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

i would listen to the book again up to a point. The story is very good but the performance is ridiculous in some parts like the Jimmy Stewart voiced FBI agent in the last part of the book and Mayor Quimby's JFK. It's distracting.

What did you like best about this story?

The characters are well developed and the story isn't rushed.

What didn’t you like about Craig Wasson’s performance?

His attempts at imitations.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

The past doesn't want to be changed.

My first King listen..........

Fabulous writing...I'm a confirmed King fan from here on. Time travel is a genre that often gets ridiculous very quickly, but King's treatment is so engaging...a cliff hanger even as we all know the outcome. That must take formidable skill.

Simply fantastic, with superb narration.

Exceptionally good. Extraordinarily well drawn characters. Many deeply moving and affecting moments. Narrator is spot on, with a wide range of expression and dialects. For me, there is only one brief period where the story slowed a bit...recovery after a beating. Still, even that sets up contrast with the high drama and pacing of the action that soon follows.