If you haven't read 11/22/63, I highly recommend you check it out. You should also wait until you've read it to read the rest of this post because it will contain lots of spoilers. Do feel free to read my spoiler free review of 11/22/63 here, but I can give you the short version. "I loved it."
If you have read 11/22/63, I'd love to read your thoughts in the comments!
Spoiler thoughts on the first half of 11/22/63 can be found here.
Spoiler Thoughts 11/22/63 Parts 4-6
I have a question for you guys! After Jake was beaten at his home in Dallas, his neighbor - the lady in the pink nightgown - got help for him. Is it my imagination or did Sadie not find her and buy her flowers?
"the walker-lady (Alberta Hitchinson; Sadie sought her out and brought her a bouquet of flowers) stood over me on the sidewalk and hollered until a neighbor came out, saw the situation, and called the ambulance that took me to Parkland."
Why did we have a billion chapters (slight exaggeration) after that with Jake and Sadie trying to remember where he lived?! Um.. he lived by the walker-lady in the pink nightgown! What am I missing here? I'm hoping someone can tell me where my misunderstanding lies.
Jake's recovery was the only part of the book I didn't love. I know it was a necessary evil to bring us to 11/22/63, and the past is obdurate, but it was the one area of the book that hung for me.
Other than that, I hope you guys loved this book as much as I did! I'm not a romance reader but I fell in love with Jake and Sadie. When she asked Jake if he was from the future - I absolutely loved that! It was completely perfect that he didn't even have to tell her! As heart wrenching as it was at the end, I loved that part of Sadie remembered Jake. After learning more about the yellow card man (whoa!), I thought Jake and Sadie's last meeting was perfect.
What did you guys think about the natural world and possibly reality being affected so greatly by Al and Jake's travels? I'd still love to know more about the yellow card men! I can't help but wonder if the doors in The Dark Tower work like the portal in Al's Diner since the yellow card man said there were other portals like Al's.
I look forward to making the rounds today and hearing all of your thoughts!
i was a little frustrated with jake's recovery too. it kinda dragged. i was totally grief-stricken by the ending. i knew it wasn't gonna end happily for jake, but i still held out hope. what a sad llife he's gonna lead now. i dont know what would be better... to love and lose or to have never known what he was missing.
ReplyDeleteThere's some parallel to Jake's suffering and that of the narrator in Duma Key, and presumably Stephen King's own recovery from having been hit by a van. I think the stuff he writes is going to continue to be colored by that experience for a while, and rightly so. It wouldn't be Stephen King if he didn't put his own fears and suffering into what he writes.
ReplyDeleteAs for the relationship to the Dark Tower mythos, I saw the "bubble" as having created new versions of reality ("there are other worlds than this"), which the Dark Tower holds together and serves as a doorway to. So, even though the future Jake eventually ends up in is very close to the one he grew up in, there's still a version of reality out there where everything's tearing apart.
Did you know I never read anything by Stephen King!? *gasp* Of course I've seen his movies but haven't dared a book yet. I have been curious about this one though since I've seen it around so much lately.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read any of the Dark Tower books yet, but I'm considering it based on the apparent ties to some of his other books.
ReplyDeleteI don't really have any clarification or answer for you regarding the flowers and walker-lady. I didn't even notice the discrepancy while I was reading.
I definitely had to fight the urge to just flip forward pages until Jake was healed and I could get back to some "real action" in the book, but just when I thought it really wouldn't pick up again, it did.
Rachel - I know what you mean! You'd think it'd be better to have loved, but I'm not so sure.
ReplyDeleteAlice - I haven't read Duma Key. I bet Stephen King gained a lot of material in his accident.
Giselle - you should remedy that. :)
Brittany - I keep thinking I must be reading it wrong somehow. I'll have to do some googling and see if anyone else is mentioning it.
I was on the fence about this one until I started readig along with everyone. Looks like I'll have to add another massive King tome to my list!
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