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funyuns_the_movie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Violence, Excrement, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Suicide
sarahrolinski's review against another edition
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Blood, Death, Cursing, Gun violence, Vomit, Excrement, and Gore
Moderate: Alcoholism and Suicide
Minor: Animal death
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