While on our vacation, I spent a lot of time reading. Here are my reviews:
11/22/63 by Stephen King
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I'm so happy Stephen King isn't really "retired". 11/22/63 was an epic novel (690 pages!) that did not disappoint. King is the master at spinning a good yarn. In his latest book, he creates a time travel scenario just this side of plausible with characters who are believable, likeable, and still genuinely human (i.e. flawed). As protagonist Jake Epping attempts to make good on a dying man's wish to use a found portal into the past to stop the JFK assassination, he embarks on a journey that is part history, part fantasy, and completely engaging. Through the lens of the early 1960s, 11/22/63 explores the possible implications of time travel, examining that age-old question: are we masters of our own (or someone else's) destiny or is life more about a predetermined fate. As narrator, Jake repeats two mantras throughout the journey. The first mantra, the past is obdurate, explores that idea that perhaps history doesn't want to be changed. Attempts to manipulate the past are challenged from all sides. The second mantra is the past harmonizes. Themes repeat. Characters recur. Plotlines merge.
I sometimes wondered if this was not just an exploration of the implications of time travel but also a commentary on King's own oeuvre where characters from Castle Rock and other tiny Maine towns show up randomly in various stories across the years. King aficionados will recognize several references to other works within the story. It was interesting to note that the kernel idea for this story has been muddling around in King's brain since the early 1970s. Given the depth of the historical information in the book, I'm sure a great deal of research went into the novel. I'm grateful to King for seeing the project to fruition. It was both an enjoyable read and a thought-provoking cautionary tale. Perhaps the past doesn't want to be changed but we certainly can control our future. Or can we?
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I read this book (and the sequels that followed) back in grade school. At the time, it was one of my favorite books. I was lost in an amazing fantasy world where time travel met the modern world and intelligent kids were the real heroes. I also related instantly to Meg Murry, the geek-chick heroine of the story who was cool long before geek-chicks were cool.
My dog-eared copies of the trilogy are long gone, probably given away after I left home for college, but my husband gifted me with new copies on my birthday this year. I dove into the first book again just to see if I was still amazed and enthralled after over 25 years.
I still can't believe this story was written in 1962. L'Engle's plot revolving around travel through space and time, magical worlds governed by super computers, and secret government projects gone wrong still holds up after over five decades. A Wrinkle In Time remains a classic that stands the test of time, so deserving of the Newberry Award it received and a must-read for any generation.
It was purely coincidental (or was it?) that I found myself reading two very different books that carried the theme of travel across time. Both novels, one set in the early 60s and the other written at the same time, posit this question of the malleability or permanence of time. As I read King's novel, I found myself thinking of my life and recent events: If I had the power to manipulate time, to go back and find Charlotte's tumor earlier, would I do it? Would it fix her? Would I save her life? Or is the past so obdurate that regardless of my efforts, we would lose her at an early age?
L'Engle's novel took a slightly different tack on the same subject. Near the end of the book, one of the characters tries to explain how even the omniscient Happy Medium can't know everything that will happen. She likens life to a sonnet, a strict form of poetry with 14 lines and rigid rules around rhyme and meter. While the form is strict, the content varies immensely. Shakespeare wrote hundreds of sonnets (or did he?), each one a unique creation. Mrs. Whatsit explains, "You're given the form, but you have to write the sonnet yourself. What you say is completely up to you."
I may never know whether the past can be changed. Is my future already written? Or am I writing the sonnet of my life within the rules of the form? Only time will tell.
View all my reviews on Goodreads and check out more of My Favorite Things on my website.
11/22/63 by Stephen KingMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I'm so happy Stephen King isn't really "retired". 11/22/63 was an epic novel (690 pages!) that did not disappoint. King is the master at spinning a good yarn. In his latest book, he creates a time travel scenario just this side of plausible with characters who are believable, likeable, and still genuinely human (i.e. flawed). As protagonist Jake Epping attempts to make good on a dying man's wish to use a found portal into the past to stop the JFK assassination, he embarks on a journey that is part history, part fantasy, and completely engaging. Through the lens of the early 1960s, 11/22/63 explores the possible implications of time travel, examining that age-old question: are we masters of our own (or someone else's) destiny or is life more about a predetermined fate. As narrator, Jake repeats two mantras throughout the journey. The first mantra, the past is obdurate, explores that idea that perhaps history doesn't want to be changed. Attempts to manipulate the past are challenged from all sides. The second mantra is the past harmonizes. Themes repeat. Characters recur. Plotlines merge.
I sometimes wondered if this was not just an exploration of the implications of time travel but also a commentary on King's own oeuvre where characters from Castle Rock and other tiny Maine towns show up randomly in various stories across the years. King aficionados will recognize several references to other works within the story. It was interesting to note that the kernel idea for this story has been muddling around in King's brain since the early 1970s. Given the depth of the historical information in the book, I'm sure a great deal of research went into the novel. I'm grateful to King for seeing the project to fruition. It was both an enjoyable read and a thought-provoking cautionary tale. Perhaps the past doesn't want to be changed but we certainly can control our future. Or can we?
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'EngleMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I read this book (and the sequels that followed) back in grade school. At the time, it was one of my favorite books. I was lost in an amazing fantasy world where time travel met the modern world and intelligent kids were the real heroes. I also related instantly to Meg Murry, the geek-chick heroine of the story who was cool long before geek-chicks were cool.
My dog-eared copies of the trilogy are long gone, probably given away after I left home for college, but my husband gifted me with new copies on my birthday this year. I dove into the first book again just to see if I was still amazed and enthralled after over 25 years.
I still can't believe this story was written in 1962. L'Engle's plot revolving around travel through space and time, magical worlds governed by super computers, and secret government projects gone wrong still holds up after over five decades. A Wrinkle In Time remains a classic that stands the test of time, so deserving of the Newberry Award it received and a must-read for any generation.
It was purely coincidental (or was it?) that I found myself reading two very different books that carried the theme of travel across time. Both novels, one set in the early 60s and the other written at the same time, posit this question of the malleability or permanence of time. As I read King's novel, I found myself thinking of my life and recent events: If I had the power to manipulate time, to go back and find Charlotte's tumor earlier, would I do it? Would it fix her? Would I save her life? Or is the past so obdurate that regardless of my efforts, we would lose her at an early age?
L'Engle's novel took a slightly different tack on the same subject. Near the end of the book, one of the characters tries to explain how even the omniscient Happy Medium can't know everything that will happen. She likens life to a sonnet, a strict form of poetry with 14 lines and rigid rules around rhyme and meter. While the form is strict, the content varies immensely. Shakespeare wrote hundreds of sonnets (or did he?), each one a unique creation. Mrs. Whatsit explains, "You're given the form, but you have to write the sonnet yourself. What you say is completely up to you."
I may never know whether the past can be changed. Is my future already written? Or am I writing the sonnet of my life within the rules of the form? Only time will tell.
View all my reviews on Goodreads and check out more of My Favorite Things on my website.