This was my first Stephen King book and I went into it completely blind. I picked it up as I loved the idea of a time slip into the past and changing history through it.
All the small details about the 50s/60s made it so incredibly immersive. The world around Jake/George felt so real throughout the whole book. The time spent in Jodie was so enjoyable to take in, and I feel SK did a great job of making you feel the contrast of the town with Dallas.
But the absolute highlight for me was Sadie and Jake’s life in Jodie. I’ve found myself going back to those initial pages where they first meet, go to the football game and dance at the Sadie Hawkins. Every time the story returned to them after days of spying on Oswald I felt so much more at ease (which I guess was the intention). Call me selfish or a hopeless romantic, but I was really hoping that Jake would stay with her, whether it was in the 60s or 2011, and keep thinking what that would’ve been like.
And so that ending… I’ve never cried when watching movies or reading anything emotional. I’ve since regrettably poked fun at my girlfriend a few times when she cried at the ending of her favourite romance books, but now the joke is on me. The ending of the scene at the School Book Depository and the final page of the book had me welling up and blubbering like nothing else had before. Such a great ending but made me feel… empty? I guess I just really wanted a cliché ending to this amazing story, despite knowing how impossible/unethical it would be to stay behind.
I’ve probably hit a lot of the 11/22/63 Reddit post bingo card but really wanted to get my thoughts out to someone lol. I’ve never felt like this after reading a book, someone on here coined the feeling as an ‘emotional hangover’ and I think that’s exactly what it is. To anyone that has had this how do you get over it? This book definitely helped get me back into reading but I feel it has also put me in a slump. I’d love to hear some more opinions on this book as well!! Thank you guys 🙂
by Bonsanto20
7 Comments
Just FYI, you’re never going to stop thinking about it. 🤣 I first read it about 11 years ago and it’s still in my head.
Interesting time travel concepts and a beautiful love story.
It’s a fantastic book. Was also my first Stephen King. Easy five star read for me.
I read it at the end of last year/beginning of this year, and frankly, it’s the only book I’ve wanted to reread, which is not something I normally do. It’s phenomenal.
My favorite book of all time. Many, many rereads and it hits every time. So glad when someone else loves it too!!
I read it in 2016 and it is still my favorite book of all time.
I’m so glad King decided to rewrote the ending following the advice of his son. iirc, in the first draft the book ended at the bus trip, >!when Jake/Geoge reads about the disasters happening in the world!<