Stephen King | Book Chatter

11/22/63
By Stephen King
(Scribner, Hardcover, 9781451627282, November 2011, 864pp.)

The Short of It:

A total departure from what King is typically known for, and not at all what I expected.

The Rest of It:

Jake Epping, thirty-five and writing his first novel, teaches GED courses at the local high school so he can make a few extra bucks. He asks his students to write about an event that changed their lives. One of his students writes about the murder of his family, at the hands of his own father. Jake is blown away by his essay and can’t get those horrible images out of his mind. Days later, Al, a long-time friend, asks Jake to visit him at the diner he owns. What Jake sees before him, is a very ill man. A dying man. Quite different from when he saw him just a few days before. Al explains that he is, in fact, dying from lung cancer and needs to ask a favor or Jake. In his storeroom, Al shows him a portal to the past and asks Jake to complete the task that he is now unable to carry out; preventing the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

The premise of this novel is so different from anything King has done before, that when I first heard about it, I immediately added it to my “want” list. Traveling back in time to change history has been done a million times before, but for some reason, I was looking forward to King’s attempt at it. Since the title of the book refers to the assassination of John F. Kennedy, I naturally assumed that the bulk of the story would center around it. However, I was wrong on that count.

Although Jake’s entire reason for entering the portal is to prevent the assassination, the story quickly takes a turn and becomes something else entirely. Much of it, almost half of the book deals with trying to prevent his student’s family from being murdered. The rest of it is about the woman he meets while living in past and then there is the assassination attempt. Had this book been advertised differently, I think I would have enjoyed it more, but I was expecting to read more about the assassination attempt and a lot less about Jake’s romantic interest.

Was the story readable? Yes, but it lacked the character development that King’s books are known for. I found myself skimming, especially through the romantic bits because I just didn’t care for any of the characters and that pains me because I am a huge King fan. All in all, I can’t recommend this one. It lacked depth, focus and the character development that I’ve come to expect from King and left me very disappointed.

Source: Purchased
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Duma Key
By Stephen King
(Scribner, Hardcover, 9781416552512, January 2008, 624pp.)

The Short of It:

Once again, King pulls you in with his vivid imagination, colorful characters and wry sense of humor. This is “classic” King.

The Rest of It:

I’ve got a thing for King. I like to read him in between my heavier reads, and I always save him for long breaks. I spent my July 4th weekend curled-up with Duma Key, and let me tell you, it was wonderful!

After surviving a construction accident that nearly kills him, Edgar is forced to come to terms with his new life. Left with one arm and angry as all get out, Edgar is not pleasant to be around. His wife has decided to leave him, and his grown daughters aren’t sure what to make of their new dad. On the recommendation of his doctors and close friends, Edgar rents a house on Duma Key’s Florida coast. There, his phantom arm continues to remind him of what was, but he gains a skill which he never had before; he becomes an artist. At first he is startled, but as the paintings begin to tell a story, he becomes frightened.

Why I loved this book:

Memorable characters. This may be my favorite King yet. I fell in love with Wireman and Jack. These are Edgar’s friends on Duma and they make this good read, great.
The setting. The sounds of the ocean, the color of the sunsets all play a role in this story. I had no trouble visualizing Duma Key’s strip of coastline and that’s saying a lot because Duma Key does not exist.
Very little gore. I know a lot of you shy away from King because you have this image in your head that he is all about gore. That’s not true. Yes, he does have a vivid imagination and his stories often have horrific scenes in them, but he plays upon your insecurities and he does it well. That’s why his books have the effect that they do. Given what I just said, the images created in this one are very mild compared to some of his other books. Mild, but still memorable.
There’s supernatural stuff going on. Some ghostly in nature, a bit of intuition and a lot of premonition.
There were no slow spots. This book is a chunkster, weighing in at 600+ pages yet I didn’t notice its length at all. It was steady reading throughout and there were many times where I didn’t want to put it down.
It’s “classic” King. Meaning, it’s the way he used to write when I first started reading him (late 80’s). After his accident in 1999, which involved being struck by a minivan, countless operations and several physical therapy sessions, his books took on a different tone. I didn’t care for that tone. I still read his work because I am a constant reader (what he calls his fans) but I didn’t care for it. Duma Key, was written at the end of that phase (imo) and he returned to his classic style of writing.

When I mentioned that I was reading this one, a lot of you said that you were looking forward to the audio version. I imagine it would be wonderful on audio, but there is something special about reading a book like this and picturing these characters yourself. Yes, I know you can do that with audio (to a degree) but I’m sure my image of Wireman would be completely different on audio. It would be an interesting test, that’s for sure.

Needless to say, I added this to my list of faves for this year even though it’s not literary or considered one of those “must-read-before-you-die” books. I am adding this one purely for the characters. I was so sad to say goodbye to them.

Source: Borrowed.