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all of the sexist language and racial slurs got to be too much.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
For my first Stephen King book, I really enjoyed it! Though its a little bit of a slog in the middle, I really enjoyed it for what it was, and not what I expected it to be.
Read most of this while on the beaches in Greece, and was an amazing companion.
Read most of this while on the beaches in Greece, and was an amazing companion.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Violence, Murder
Moderate: Misogyny
Minor: Racism, Sexual content
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Physical abuse, Violence
Moderate: Racism, Toxic relationship, Alcohol
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Murder
Minor: Domestic abuse
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I have not read many Stephen King book (I think this is only my second one), but holy cow this is my favorite so far, and I can’t imagine something else topping the insanely expansive scale of this book. I know it sounds cheesy but the best word to describe this book was epic. I can’t even imagine the amount of research that would have had to go into writing this book, even just for the historical accuracy, let alone the speculative sci-fi elements.
This was quite a long book, and I would say that it had two main parts that it switched between. There was the spy/time agent stuff, and the small-town life/romance stuff. And even though I didn’t hate Sadie as a character or anything, I consistently found the espionage sections way more engaging and interesting. I just wanted to hear more about him stalking Oswald and planting bugs, and found myself waiting for his romance and school teacher life to end.
Probably my favorite part of this whole book was the way it portrayed the past as its own character. He kept referring to it as the “obdurate past”, and made it clear that it actively tried to stop people from changing it at every opportunity. For example, by the time Jake gets to the building where Oswald shot JFK from, he is so physically destroyed and injured from all the things time has thrown at him. I just loved how he described it as trying to break through a stocking where you have to keep pushing until it rips. It was a very cool literary device that made his task seem a lot more challenging.
I also liked that even though he portrays a very idyllic picture of the 50s and 60s, he still makes a point to mention how ingrained racism was in society back then.
I honestly still don’t know how I feel about the ending. I can’t really put my finger on it but something about it didn’t feel totally satisfying. It kind of made me feel like everything up to that point was a bit useless, because it didn’t amount to any change in the world. But at the same time, I don’t think the ending was bad or terrible.
Something I do think was bad though was the tie-in to It that he put in there. It just felt like a meaningless cameo that really took me out of the story. Plus, it felt even more out of place because this book and It are two separate genres.
Overall though this book was absolutely incredible.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, Murder
Moderate: Sexual content
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was my first Stephen King novel, and it was a doozy. I picked it up after seeing trailers for the Hulu mini series, because it sounded like a fresh take on the time travel genre. I didn't expect most of the content of the book to not be about Lee Harvey Oswald, but rather just a moving drama about a man living life in the early 60s. I liked it, but I wouldn' recommend it if you're mostly interested in the Kennedy assassination, as that really isn't the focus of the book. Despite the length of the novel, it was an engaging read that moved back and forth between cozy and tense. The characters were all very endearing. And I appreciate the nod to Bradbury, whose short story "A Sound of Thunder" clearly had an impact on the novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Stalking, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cancer
Minor: Racism
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Sexual content, Violence, Stalking
adventurous
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Diverse cast of characters:
No
King did an excellent job of bringing the past to life (for me, someone born in the late 90s), and his prose is very digestible. I’m a bit of a contrarian, and therefore not much of a King fan, so I was turned off a bit by the length of this book, the many detours from the main plot, and the romance that seems to be the intended heart of this novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, Antisemitism, Suicide attempt
Minor: Addiction, Cancer, Medical content
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cancer, Emotional abuse, Blood, Injury/Injury detail