Reviews with content warning for Alcoholism - 11/22/63

Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

11/22/63 by Stephen King

25 reviews

clfenters's review against another edition

mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

I enjoyed this book because I found the premise exciting and I wanted to know how the story would play out and be resolved. I did not find the main character himself to be that interesting and felt no investment in his personal relationships, so a good chunk of the last two-thirds of the book dragged, but I really thought it was all leading to something worthwhile. I was very curious to see how the story would be resolved once the main character carried out his mission, but I found the ending to be a bit of a letdown - perhaps due to my lack of emotional connection with the main character's love interest. Overall, I rated this 3.75 because I enjoyed much of the journey, but did not get the emotional "hit" I expected at the close of the book.

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newswoman's review against another edition

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from the introduction of the love interest onwards i felt a gradual decline in my enjoyment of the book as i am not a fan of how the romance is written at all. i really liked the beginning a lot but the the main character is very hard to like in my opinion, which gets worse and worse as the story progresses.

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kregs910's review

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adventurous emotional informative tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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funkaroo12's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? Yes

4.75

Beautiful writing and an enjoyable story. I LOVE this take on time travel. Very unique.

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sarahrolinski's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

I have never read a Stephen King prior to the colossal challenge of reading this manuscript. I recently found a love for all literature containing alternative histories surrounding the Kennedy assassination and due to the sheer size of the book, I was intrigued.

The first portion of this book is slow. It drags. Elements are not cohesive, and I found my eyes drooping at every mention of a Maine landscape. I trudged through to the early 200's pages, and only then did I find the excitment worth the vast commitment. Our main character, Jake Epping's, internal monologue rivals one of a juvenile, immature man. Phrases repeated throughout the book are spaced and written as though they are to be perceived as profound when they are lackluster. "Dancing is life," is a phrase mentioned time and time again. Tone is inconsistent, and King so earnestly wants to juxtapose diction so it may come across as witty when it just creates distrust with the reader. How can I trust the narrator who talks out the side of his mouth when he is speaking to the reader?

Additionally, the ending left me in a complete, total fit of rage. Though the implications of a changed world depended on a "the past is obdurate" notion, the society at the end of the book feels like a slap in the face to the hopeful American citizen.

Nevertheless, I read the entire book over the course of four days, sometimes not eating in order to read. I was overjoyed to share the narrative revelations to coworkers and family. I was enthralled, and it hurt to put the book down. I was obsessed. Never in my life have I read a book that forced me to fall in love with reading. Despite the Jake Epping flaws and the Mary Sue-ification of Miss Sadie Dunhill, I reckoned with the fact that the book gripped me and relentlessly satisfied a snobby reader such as myself.

If you wish to read this as a piece of high literature, move on to the next book on your shelf. But it was fun and inventive and possessed a tenacity to illustrate romance in way that literally transcends time. I would read it all over again (I will probably will) and hope others grip onto adventurous nature of 11.22.63.

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epeolatrist's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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natrix's review against another edition

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adventurous dark reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

I started really liking this book, but the longer I read (and it's a long, long, long book), the more I was bothered by some problems with this book:
- (Unnecessary) use of racial slurs and sexist language and the clearly white male perspective on those issues (in the past and present)
- There is too much happening with the characters, making the plot that the book is supposedly about, almost seem like an afterthought
- I really didn't like the protagonist..
- The ending.. (but that's to be expected I guess when you pick up a Stephen King novel)

But, I did finish it and there were parts that I was really enjoying it, but that doesn't make up for the story overall being underwhelming in the and, on top of the problems listed above..

Also, I read some positive reviews about the narrator of the audiobook, but I really cringed the way he portrayed the speech patterns and accents of certain characters, especially foreign, black and mentally challenged people.

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