By Al LaFleche
His supernatural monsters have ranged from the classic (à la Bram Stoker) vampires of Salem’s Lot to haunted houses (The Shining), werewolves (Cycle of the Werewolf), and killer worms from space (Dreamcatcher).
His tales have often gone for the proverbial jugular of horror, but also touched on more gentle themes, such as the passage from life to death in The Reach, as the aged Stella Flanders journeys across the frozen Reach separating Goat Island from the mainland, guided by those who have passed on before her.
In 11/22/63, King stretches his storytelling to a new frontier: time travel. The protagonist, Jake Epping, aka George Amberson, has survived a failed marriage to an alcoholic wife and has no remaining family. He is introduced to a time warp (no explanation of how or why) at the back of a diner by the owner, Al Templeton, who has been using this as a way to buy 1958-priced hamburger for resale in 2011 burgers. (Notes on the time warp: it always goes back to 11:58 a.m., September 9, 1958; each trip lasts two minutes in 2011 time regardless of the amount of time spent in the past by the traveler, though the traveler ages at the normal rate while in the past; and each trip resets to the arrival time, so that any action by the traveler - and its results - are negated. Oh, and “the past is obdurate; it doesn’t want to be changed.”)
Al convinces Jake, rather quickly, it seems, to continue/restart the quest Al was forced to abandon because of advanced lung cancer: to save John Kennedy from Lee Harvey Oswald. Yes, this is more new territory for King, historical fiction. These are real people: Oswald, depicted as a small person with monsters of his own, including wife beating and an overbearing mother; George de Mohrenschildt, a would be mentor of Oswald’s; Marina Oswald, of course; Officer J.D. Tippit; Jack Ruby; General Edwin Walker; and Dr. Malcolm Perry, who in real life would treat both Kennedy and Oswald.
The reader is taken by the goodness of the protagonist/storyteller, despite his planning and committing a preemptive murder relatively early on in his third trip back in time. This same type of preemptive murder is his goal as he travels from Maine to Florida, and finally to Texas. Reestablishing himself as a teacher, his 2011 profession, he falls for the school librarian, Sadie Dunhill, whose ex is a psychiatric monster case himself. As I said, these are good people, but this being Stephen King land, the good often suffer greatly, and this book is no exception.
As Jake/George gets closer to the title date, the stubborn past throws increasingly bigger challenges in his way, including a hideous beat down by a bookie’s goons. Note to self: never make large long-shot bets against the house, even if (especially if) you KNOW you’re going to win.
From an entertainment point of view, and novels should first and foremost entertain, this book succeeds from start to finish. I would often leave the story, late at night, and try to determine if and how George/Jake’s attempt to stop Oswald would happen. If it did succeed, given the time travel bugaboo of the Butterfly Effect, what might the unintended consequences be? And what cost might be exacted for that success?
As in so many of his novels, King provides the reader with nod-and-wink references to his other books and stories and geography. Some of the action takes place in Derry, Maine, the setting for It and Insomnia. Jake fears his actions may send him to Shawshank Prison. And there are repeated visits by one red and white Plymouth Fury, though not (yet) as malevolent as Christine.
At nearly 700 pages, this is a hefty book. Fortunately, with a Nook, it’s as heavy as a web page.
