Fairy Tale

Too long! If there is another world you get to by climbing down a spiral staircase in a backyard shed, I hope it’s more interesting than the one Stephen King has created in this Fairy Tale. 

While the reality-based part of the plot held my interest because I sympathized with the 17-year-old protagonist, once he descended down that staircase, I couldn’t suspend my disbelief enough to engage with the otherworldly events taking place. Even though I’m a huge fan of escaping from reality, I found myself wishing Charlie would just return to the real world and leave the abominable fantasy land behind.

11/22/63

In my youth I was a huge Stephen King fan. Then I had babies and no longer enjoyed horror — imagining horrific things happening to my own children was more than I could bear. My all-time favorite King book is The Stand, which is more dystopian thriller than horror. I even liked the made-for-tv movie adaptation.

Here is a short timeline of some of the Stephen King books I have read, listed from favorite to least fave:

The Stand —  'Salem's Lot — The Shining — Pet Cemetery — Firestarter — The Running Man — Cujo   — Christine — It — Misery

That said, I was intrigued when 11/22/63 was published in 2011. I bought it on ibooks for $3.99 in 2012. I started reading it and stopped after about three chapters. The plot involves a character's ability through time travel to return to 1963 to prevent the assassination of President Kennedy. I had a hard time getting into the story despite the descriptive writing and intricate character development, and I think I was a little intimidated by the length.

Recently I returned to the book and have been devouring it since school let out this summer. It is looooong and repetitive, but I like it. Sometimes the characters are too schmaltzy, but overall I can tolerate them. And, of course the historical context of JFK's death is compelling and thought-provoking. Right now, the end is in sight (2556 of 3332 pages on my phone), and I'm still curious about how Kennedy fares. If he lives, I'd like to read a sequel that explores the impact that would have had on the future / present.