If you’ve scrolled through my Instagram then I don’t need to be the first to tell you that I’ve read a fair few books – from romances and thrillers, to murder mysteries, fantasy, and children’s fiction. I’m a book lover, and I will never turn down a recommendation. But there is no other book I have read that has affected me like this one.
Before this, I had never read a Stephen King novel. I’m not a fan of horror, so most of his works don’t really appeal to me very much. So, when I said to my best friend, Isaac, that I wanted to start reading his work, he suggested that I begin with 11/22/63. And holy moly cannoli with a side of pepperoni, what a book to start with!
I have a confession: this is not a recent read. I actually read this five years ago, in 2019, but I think about it constantly. When someone asks me what my favourite book is, this is the one with which I reply. I am not a fan of historical fiction, but this is the exception. It combines history with fantasy and thriller, and is an exquisite piece of writing that I urge everybody to read.
I never ever thought I would be crying at a Stephen King novel. The words “crying” and “Stephen King” don’t usually fit in the same sentence unless they’re tears of fear and horror. But the ending of this book had me sobbing for forty-five minutes. I cried, re-read the ending, and then cried for another forty-five. The ending was so profoundly moving that it was overwhelming for me, and I never wanted it to end. It was beautiful and bittersweet – both heartbreaking and comforting, and I couldn’t have imagined anything better.
This novel is over 800 pages long – something which is probably intimidating to a lot of readers, especially if they have the “big book fear.” Tackling something so dense in length can feel overwhelming, like climbing a mountain and wondering if you’re ever going to reach the top, while also asking whether the payoff is going to be worth it. I myself will admit that I had the same thoughts and was apprehensive at the beginning. It was the first book over five hundred pages that I had ever tried to read, and my fear was that I was going to lose interest or I wouldn’t be able to make it to the end.
I’m not going to lie: the story is quite slow to begin with, and doesn’t really get started until around 200 pages in. There is so much detail, description, and backstory that it can be a lot to process. But once the story really starts, it’s an utter page turner. It took me two days to read the entire thing because I couldn’t put it down, and once I finished it, I wanted to re-read it all over again.
Of course, you’re probably asking whether all of the 800+ pages are necessary? The answer: yes. One hundred percent, yes. It is in my honest opinion that I don’t think the book would have been the same without them. Does it get a little bit repetitive at some points? Sometimes. After all, you’re reading about a time travelling English teacher journeying back to the same day in history over and over again, with a detail/action changed each time (both big, and small). But, it is this repetition that upholds the ending. It is this repetition – the feeling of having lived Jake and Sadie’s story over and over again with them, that allows for the emotional final pages. (And yes, I believe that this is Jake and Sadie’s story more than anything.)
Honestly, I can’t really say any more about this book without giving things away, and I really don’t want to spoil anything, as this is a book you have to read without knowing much about the plot or the characters. I wish I could forget everything I know about this book and read it again for the first time because it was a rollercoaster and a half.
And to those who are still hesitant about picking this up: don’t be. I promise it’s worth every moment.
This is a book that has irrevocably changed me, and it is a story that I will carry with me forever.
Favourite Quotes:
✨ ‘When all else fails, give up and go to the library.’
✨ ‘We never know which lives we influence, or when, and why.’
✨ ‘.. stupidity is one of the two things we see most clearly in retrospect. The other is missed chances.’
✨ ‘A person who doesn’t learn from the past is an idiot, in my estimation.’
✨ ‘But I believe in love, you know; love is a uniquely portable magic. I don’t think it’s in the stars, but I do believe that blood calls to blood and mind calls to mind and heart to heart.’
✨ ‘Life always turns on a dime. Sometimes towards us, but more often it spins away, flirting and flashing as it goes: so long, honey, it was good while it lasted, wasn’t it?’
✨ ‘Sometimes the things presented to us as choices aren’t choices at all.’
✨ ‘If you’ve ever been homesick, or felt exiled from all the things and people that once defined you, you’ll know how important welcoming words and friendly smiles can be.’
✨ ‘Even people capable of living in the past don’t really know what the future holds.’
✨ On the subject of love at first sight, I’m with the Beatles: I believe that it happens all the time.’
✨ ‘I saw something even more beautiful than a sense of humour: an appreciation for life’s essential absurdity.’
✨ ‘Things do happen for a reason, but do we like the reason? Rarely.’
✨ ‘Home is watching the moon rise over the open, sleeping land, and having someone you can call to the window, so you can look together.’
✨ ‘Resistance to change is proportional to how much the future might be altered by any given act.’
✨ ‘For most of us, I think it’s easier to admit doing wrong than being stupid.’
✨ ‘Sometimes life coughs up coincidences no writer of fiction would dare copy.’
✨ ‘Life’s simplest answers are often the easiest to overlook.’
✨ ‘Life’s too sweet to give up without a fight, don’t you think?’
✨ ‘History doesn’t repeat itself, but it harmonizes, and what it usually makes is the devil’s music.’
✨ ‘A person could see a lot without ever leaving his own living room. Especially if he had the right tools.’
✨ ‘You know how it’s going to end, but instead of spoiling things, that somehow increases your fascination. It’s like watching a kid run his electric train faster and faster and waiting for it to derail on one of the curves.’
✨ ‘Sarcastic people tend to be marshmallows underneath the armour.’
✨ ‘Like all sweet dreams, it will be brief… but brevity makes sweetness, doesn’t it? Yes, I think so. Because when the time is gone, you can never get it back.’
✨ ‘The multiple choices and possibilities of daily life are the music we dance to. They are like strings on a guitar. Strum them and you create a pleasing sound. A harmonic.’
✨ ‘Because the past isn’t just obdurate; it’s in harmony with both itself and the future.’
thebecksedit.co.uk 