11/22/63: A Novel

by Stephen King

English language

ISBN:: 978-1-4516-6383-9

(56 reviews)

11/22/63 is a novel by Stephen King about a time traveller who attempts to prevent the assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy, which occurred on November 22, 1963 (the novel's titular date). It is the 60th book published by Stephen King, his 49th novel and the 42nd under his own name. The novel was announced on King's official site on March 2, 2011. A short excerpt was released online on June 1, 2011, and another excerpt was published in the October 28, 2011, issue of Entertainment Weekly. The novel was published on November 8, 2011 and quickly became a number-one bestseller. It stayed on The New York Times Best Seller list for 16 weeks. 11/22/63 won the 2011 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Best Mystery/Thriller and the 2012 International Thriller Writers Award for Best Novel, and was nominated for the 2012 British Fantasy Award for Best Novel and the 2012 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel.The novel required considerable research to accurately portray the late 1950s and early 1960s. King commented on the amount of research it required, saying "I've never tried to write anything like this before. It was really strange at first, like breaking in a new pair of shoes."The novel was adapted into a Hulu television series in 2016, 11.22.63.

8 editions

Owen Blacker reviewed 11/22/63 by Stephen King

Review of '11/22/63' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

I'm a big fan of alternate history as a genre and I definitely like Stephen King's œuvre, but the premise of this novel — that there's a time portal to 1958 and the protagonist goes through to try to prevent the JFK assassination, assuming this would lead to a better world without the Vietnam War (escalated by LBJ) and the assassination of Martin Luther King — really intrigued me.

I'll be spoiler-free as much as possible, but it's nice to see that King doesn't paint 1950s America as some halcyon utopia. Whilst many things are "better" than in the now, there's all sorts of things that were unempirically worse — the US South was still segregated, social morals were much stricter and the Cold War was at its height, with the Cuban Missile Crisis being in the middle of the protagonist's time in The Land of Ago. The protagonist needs to wait out five years before JFK's visit to Dallas, so there is plenty of colour added to this time period.

There are several moments that are genuinely moving, but there's not a huge amount more I can write without spoiling the plot for anyone who's not read it yet. If you're interested in 1950s/1960s America, the JFK assassination or alternate history and an "obdurate past", then I'd strongly recommend you pick up a copy.

drizzy reviewed 11/22/63: A Novel by Stephen King

Review of '11/22/63: A Novel' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

I know life is hard, I think everyone knows that in their hearts, but why dos it have to be cruel, as well? Why does it have to bite?

This is very much not a normal Stephen King book, but at the same time it is. It’s both mysterious and familiar. It’s full of little things to make you stop and think about your days and how they impact the future.What would you do if you could travel back in time and actually change things? Well as it turns out our hero-to-be is pushed to save JFK from being shot by Lee Harvey Oswald. But the past pushes back and does not want to be changed and throws things at him. Not to mention butterfly effect being in full swing.It’s not just about JFK assassination, it paints a beautiful picture of the past - post-war America full of hope, sexism, racism, cigarettes and milk in glass bottles. Not all good, not all bad - but as past tends to be - somewhat twisted. Imagine throwing a person from 2011 into this past. Seeing him deal with all of that was the fun part.I have mixed feelings about the ending (hence 4/5). Or perhaps not the ending itself which I liked, but the mysterious and unexplained butterfly effects on the scale that are hard to explain. But then again, time travel is not something that’s meant to be easy to explain so perhaps that’s OK.

Kathleen reviewed 11/22/63 by Stephen King

Review of '11/22/63' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

I like to pick up a Stephen King novel when I feel like I need something of a literary palate cleanser, especially after a string of heavy memoirs or non-fictions. I know pretty much what I’m getting—cringe romance scenes, dramatic conversation, and a story I can immerse myself in. I got that again with 11/22/63, but I have to admit... that ending was pretty abrupt, unsatisfying, and incredibly cheesy. And also confusing. I think this is one of those conclusions I’ll need to chew on for a bit before it all totally clicks.

Chelovek Kevolek reviewed 11/22/63 by Stephen King

Review of '11/22/63' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Read this in three days. Given the very short reading time by a rather slow reader, you'd be right to guess I couldn't put it down.

tivasyk reviewed 11/22/63 by Stephen King

Review of '11/22/63' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

прослухав з великим задоволенням преклад французькою 22/11/63: чудова аудіоверсія фантастичного повернення в минуле. лише необхідний мінімум містики. мабуть, це найкращий твір кінга — принаймні найкраще з того, з чим мені випало познайомитися.