11/22/63, Stephen King

As a young reader I ploughed through all of Stephen King’s work. I can’t quite recall what grabbed me at the time … Most probably it was just that his work was just so readable and gripping. It has been a long time since I read any of King’s work and I have to confess that I only picked this one up because of a high school history project that I once did on JFK. I couldn’t resist seeing what King had done with this era and how he had resolved some of the controversies surrounding Kennedy’s assassination.

In hindsight, this book had some interesting elements. I was intrigued by King’s description of time travel and the implications of changing the past. At times I felt that this part of the book was too drawn out and at times meaningless. But I did find myself considering his notion of the “butterfly effect” and the waves of change that ripple from any one moment in time …

It was clear that King had done considerable research in constructing this narrative – reconstructing the events around Kennedy’s last moments and building Lee Harvey Oswald’s persona seductively in the background. I found all of this very well crafted. The insights that King provided were intriguing and certainly provided much food for thought. Who was Oswald? Was he a patsy? King’s time travel enables him to envisage multiple endings or resolutions to this situation and I found that quite liberating in some way.

As to be expected, King’s characters were wonderful and layered and there was sufficient thrill in each of them to provide action to sustain the flow of the book and to carry King’s underlying interest in the Kennedy story.

Despite all these intriguing elements, I found reading this book somewhat slow and at times tedious. While I appreciate King’s desire to properly explore his context, there were times when I felt that he had done so in a manner that was too long winded and that detracted from the flow and speed of his narrative. I don’t think I would recommend this book to anyone … If you have an interest in Kennedy then it is a must read, or, if you are a history buff and appreciate some of the deeper nuances of the passing of time and the impact of all events on the evolution of society and the world, then I expect you will find this book well worth the time.

The shelf.

Ok, so I made the big mistake of glancing over at that buckling shelf next to my bed which couldn’t possibly hold another piece of dust, let alone another book that I really should read! It used to be that a position on this shelf meant imminent consumption by me, the reader. But, over the last however long, perhaps since I’ve started to sink into digital reading spaces, I have been seriously neglecting this shelf and I can’t imagine that any of these poor tomes are happy! I have to admit that in a buying frenzy (the store was going under and liquidating all of its stock, I had to buy!) I have actually added to this shelf, knowing that it would probably be years before I could tickle these new pages.

In short, I am feeling guilty about abandoning these books so I thought I would give them some public recognition and recommit myself to reading them, well, at least some of them … Ok, maybe just one? … at some point in the near future.

So here goes. This list is in order of appearance. No favouritism implied.
1. Reading Lolita in Tehran, Azar Nafisi – I am half way through this book. I have been half way since it was published in 2003! Not a good sign.
2. Solar, Ian McEwan – I have read some of his other books and really enjoyed them so I am interested to experience this one, although the reviews were not so fabulous.
3. Shiver, stiefvater – I am filled with enormous anticipation about this one!
4. The Imperfectionists, Tom Rachman – I bought this one based on a great review that I read in the Sydney Morning Herald.
5. Stones Into Schools, Greg Mortenson – this story grabbed me. I am in awe of ordinary people who manage to change the lives of others in such a positive way.
6. The New York Trilogy, Auster – those of you following my blog will know that I have almost given up on this one, unable to finish reading the first in the trilogy. I have kept it on the shelf because I am holding a little flame in the hope of reigniting my desire to uncover the austereness of this author.
7. Deception Point, Dan Brown – a bit of light escapism.
8. Maps for Lost Lovers, Nadeem Aslam – promises to be a “dramatic and moving portrayal of Muslim life … Richly poetic and poignant.”
9. The Hungry Tide, Amitav Ghosh – I loved The Glass Palace so it seemed logical to buy this one!
10. The Kindly Ones, Jonathan Littel – amazing concept, I had to read this one! Or at least have it on the shelf.
11. Peacock Throne, Sujit Saraf
12. The Angel’s Game, Carlos Ruiz Zafon – The Shadow Of the Wind was one of my favorite books and I have great expectations for this one!
13. The Children’s Book, A.S. Byatt – one of my all time favorite authors.
14. Things I’ve Been Silent About, Azar Nafisi – I bought this just because I respect this author… Not that I have managed to read any of her books, but I respect her life.
15. The Satanic Verses, Salman Rushdie – my confession, I have never read this book, shame on me. I have read almost everything else that Rushdie has written, not sure why I missed this!
16. The First Hour I Believed, Wally Lamb – I think the size of this one is somewhat of a deterrent. But that seems to be a Lamb trait. I loved his other works so hoping this one will be a winner.

The rest of the shelf is filled with some theory books about memory and remembrance. All yet to be read.

Clearly I have some serious reading to do!