This novel received glowing reviews (including from the more literary outlets) and is lauded by King fans as one of his best—but it’s hard to see the appeal.
Jake Epping is a high-school teacher in Maine. He discovers a portal to 1958, and after one thing leads to another, he decides to stop Lee Harvey Oswald from assassinating John F. Kennedy. This alternate history does have verisimilitude. You do feel as if you’re in the Kennedy era. But the story feels a little turgid, with King’s trademark slow-burn pacing making for a bit of a plod. The only truly memorable character is Marina Oswald, Lee’s Harvey’s wife. At 850 pages, there’s simply too much that’s unremarkable. Reviewed on April 7, 2022