By Dr Vaidehi Nathan
11.22.63: The Day That Changed the World. What If you Could Change it Back? Stephen King, Hachette India, Pp 740 (HB), Rs 895/-
John F Kennedy’s assassination is a haunting memory for the Americans. Several movies have been made based on the conspiracy, and several book—both fiction and non-fiction—have been written. Stephen King the best selling author has chosen to tell his own version in style. He moves from the present backwards and stops the clock as it were with the title of the book 11.22.63 i.e. November 22, 1963, the day Kennedy, easily America’s most popular President was killed. The subtitle to the book is equally enticing. The Day That Changed the World. What If You Could Change It Back?.
It is a time-machine kind of plot, familiar to the readers of Stephen King. The protagonist is Jake Epping, an English teacher who makes a little extra money by taking classes in adult education programme. He leaves behind the world of hi-tech gizmos and enters into an era when big cars were still the norm and life was less complicated and more romantic. Now enters the ‘villain’ Lee Harvey Oswald who was convicted (in real life) for the assassination. Jake gets to know him and stops him moments before the assassination. He also falls in love with a beautiful librarian.
The King fans are in for a pleasant surprise. He is not just a master thriller writer. He writes romance too, with equal engrossment. All that was sweet and nice ‘back then’ comes out in the book. There are characters moving back and forth, including Jake. The book is voluminous, another hallmark of King. If you are a King fan, pick up the book, if not, this is a good time to start.
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