‘Love is a uniquely portable magic…’
Stephen King was my first love in terms of literature but I lost touch with his work in adulthood until the The Losers’ Club podcast brought King’s oeuvre roaring back into my consciousness. This has mostly manifested in taking in some of King’s early work that I missed first time around, but as the aforementioned podcast put out a six episode run on 11/22/63, I felt this would be a good time to tackle one of King’s most celebrated late era novels. I was not to be disappointed…
The plot is pleasingly simple. High school teacher Jake Epping is tasked by Al Templeton – the proud owner of Al’s Diner – with going back through a wormhole in time to prevent the assassination of JFK. Upon arrival, Jake becomes George Amberson and life becomes a whole lot more complicated when he meets and falls in love with fellow teacher Sadie Dunhill.
While I enjoyed Hulu’s TV adaptation of 11/22/63, I can see now that it is far inferior to the source material. This sweeping slice of historical fiction features some of King’s finest writing and in George and Sadie one of his most compelling couples. While the time travel element is the main thrust of the story, King beautifully describes the blossoming romance between his two central characters and it is here in which the emotional crux of the story lies. While it is on the long side at 849 pages, I was hooked throughout this novel and the combination of small town American and lofty metaphysical concepts is wonderfully rendered. For long term King fans, there is also some exquisite connectivity here. While the Maine writer often provides links to his other works within his novels, rarely does he commit to this expanded universe as he does here. We are treated to an entire chapter in the fictional town of Derry from IT – picking up in the summer of 1958 just after Pennywise has been vanquished for the first time. This feels earned rather than forced and it’s a pleasure to walk around the insidious town of Derry again after so many years away.
It seems as if many people have a similar relationship to King and his work as I did. Teenage infatuation followed by a cooling of passions into adulthood. Well, I’m here to tell you that 11/22/63 is not just one of the finest books of King’s late era resurgence, it’s also one of his finest books period. A passionate and unforgettable dance through history.