11/22/63 by Stephen King

Now seemed like a good time to read a really long book, and I’m so glad I chose this one.  I laughed, I cried, and I lay in bed thinking about it even after I had put it down for the night.  It’s a time-travel adventure and a beautiful love story all bundled into one.  The premise is that Jake Epping, a 35-year-old teacher in 2011, time-travels to September, 1958, and plans to hang out in the past until he can change the course of history by preventing JFK’s assassination.  Those five years make up the bulk of the story, and, oh, what a story it is.  With about 80 pages remaining to read, I imagined three or four ways in which Stephen King could wrap up this novel, but none of my scenarios matched what he came up with.  The novel is full of danger, violence, heroics, and edge-of-your-seat suspense.  It’s also packed with what-if scenarios and moral dilemmas, particularly as Jake has to grapple with how his actions, or decisions not to act, will impact, not only his mission, but the future in general.  Jake also wants to verify that Oswald acted alone.  In other words, he can’t take out Oswald and then discover that someone else did the deed.  The heart and soul of the book, though, is a love story that develops while Jake is in Texas keeping an eye on Lee Harvey Oswald.  Sadie and Jake click right away, but Jake’s secrecy is a constant source of conflict.  Not only does he not want to get her involved in his perilous plans, but he knows the truth would require a huge leap of faith on her part.  The most unbelievable thing about this book is that it took me so long to decide to read it.