“The past is obdurate.”

-Stephen King

I might like King better as a sci-fi writer than a horror one. While I can never remember the name of this book (my memory for words is much better than that for numbers), I often recommend it to people who like science fiction, and particularly time travel.

The length is of course daunting (nearly 900 pages), but reading it doesn’t feel daunting. The book feels long because it encompasses so much and so much time passes, but you don’t feel like you’re slogging through it. Jake, for the most part, makes the same choices I think most reasonable readers would make, and the repetition of the loop is fascinating and frustrating in a way that makes you want to read the next iteration, instead of becoming, well, repetitive.

I know some people aren’t crazy about the romance in this book–and I agree that it would have been just as strong without it, it’s not strictly necessary–but I really enjoyed it. I thought it was sweet, and I think the ending of the book was better for the conclusion of the romance plotline.

King’s writing here is similar to elsewhere, fairly direct and focused on character behavior and reactions rather than setting deeply atmospheric scenes. I do think his foreshadowing is better (read: less hit-you-over-the-head) here than in some of his horror work. In short, if you know you like his writing style, you’ll continue to enjoy it here.

While 11/22/63 probably isn’t a tome you’ll schlep on a plane or to the beach anytime soon, it’s an exciting, thought-provoking read that still somehow manages to be “light enough” for summer. And maybe the audiobook would be more portable?