It's 2011 and Jake Epping - a divorced English teacher for GED students - is moved by a particular story written by one of his students who is a janitor for the school. With this tale of a family's brutal murder stuck firmly in mind, he is given the 'opportunity' to change the past via Al - a local restaurant owner - who shows him a most astonishing and unbelievable occurrence via a portal to the past. There seems to be no logical explanation for why this particular portal is 'here' or how it got there, but what if? What if you could go back in the past to fix all that was wrong? What would happen if he went back to stop the murders from occurring, but even better (and more dangerous), what would happen if he made the decision to change the course of American (and human) history?

Stephen King fans and anyone who enjoys a thriller, drama, suspense and (mild) romance all in one. In particular, this is a good story for those who wish to know more about a particular section of American history revolving around the life and death of JFK - or life in general in the late 50s and early 60s.

The realistic aspect of this. That though the concept of time travel in itself might sound ridiculous and far-fetched in some cases, King has managed to make it believable enough to think that it could happen where you least expected it. It's also a brutal reminder that one ought to be careful for what you wish for.

I felt there some scenes/sections that could have been done without. It made for a much slower read (for me) when I felt the pace could have been picked up a little.

Learn more about the principal characters surrounding the death of JFK. Quite an enlightening experience all around.

Intrigued and exhausted. You almost feel like you went on the journey with Mr. Epping and 'aged' just as he did in such a short time.

Stephen King

If you are looking for a book that's got all the elements of a great novel, bound to keep you on the edge of your seat (for the most part), that makes you realize just how powerful true love can be, and why it's sometimes good to let sleeping dogs lie...then this is for you.

Compared to my reading rates for other books, this particular novel took me a while to complete and the reason was mentioned above. Some sections seemed to drag on forever, but in hindsight I assume it was written that way to allow the reader to feel exactly how 'slow' things seemed to go with Epping on his quest to change history. However, it is definitely a good read and I highly recommend it.

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Created May 29, 2013 at 9:53pm • Submit your own review...