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“We never know which lives we influence, or when, or why.��

I still fail to understand why Stephen King isn't considered a writer of "respected literature". Because he writes sci-fi and horror? Because his books are so compelling, entertaining and popular? For me, King does what very few authors manage - he turns fast-paced genre fiction into well-written, thought-provoking literature.

And 11/22/63 is no exception. I've been putting this book off for the last few years; partly because it's an 800+ page giant, and partly because I studied the hell out of Kennedy and 1950s/60s America back in high school. But I find myself once again in that situation where I read a book I always meant to read and mentally kick myself for not giving in sooner.

This book is fantastic. Some of its critics don't like the crossover of many genres, claiming it "wanders from genre to genre". However, I loved how this book was many things. It's an extremely well-researched piece of historical fiction; it's a fascinating look at time travel science fiction (is it possible to change the past? What is the cost of doing so?); it's a small town thriller; and it's a love story.

King has this strange way of turning the most fantastical plots into stories about people who feel very real. He writes detailed and honest character portraits, so that these characters become so vivid and realistic, likable and flawed, that we so easily believe in everything that happens to them.

If you don't already know, this book is about a man called Jake Epping who - through his friend, Al - discovers a portal that takes him to 1958, where he takes over Al's obsessive mission to prevent the Kennedy assassination. He establishes a new life in the past, in a world filled with big American cars, rock'n'roll, and shameless racism, sexism and homophobia.

The amount of research King did is evident. He paints an intricate portrait of this time - simultaneously portraying an exciting, dreamy era full of different fashions, music, and the best root beer ever for 10 cents... and showing the darker side: segregation and the two doors and three signs - "Men" on one door, "Women" on the other door, and "Colored" leading to a plank of wood over a small stream. He makes this era seem like a bright, amazing, creepy nightmare.

I thoroughly enjoyed it. Unlike some of King's other works, the 800 pages didn't feel like too much to me and they just seemed to fly by. So glad I finally read it.

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