I finished it last weekend. It kept me interested enough to get through all 842 pages. I thought the ending was a bit abrupt though. I have it if anyone wants to borrow it.
OK, I finished this a couple days ago. It took me a long time due to my school reading load and the length of the book. I have to say that it really got me at the beginning. I loved the premise of it, the time travel aspect and wanting to change the past. I also have to say that it made me very curious about the Kennedy assassination and what that particular historical event was like. I even asked my dad if he remembered it. (His predictably unhelpful response was "yes" with no further elaboration, but I digress.) I've always found it sort of unfathomable that a country was plunged into such depths of mourning over a president's death. It's hard to imagine that happening these days.
The love story was well done and bittersweet, and for me, one of the best parts of the book. On a sappy, sentimental level, I loved that Sophie never married once Jake set the time line back on its original path. Definitely gave the impression that these two people were destined for each other.
Anyway, my primary criticism is that the book was SO long that I found myself wishing it would hurry up somewhere in the middle. I understand the interconnectedness of the different stories, i.e. saving the lives of various people, but it was too drawn out. It could have been riveting if it were written with a bit more precision. For instance, I have to ask what the point was of mentioning the "evil thing" that lived in (was it a warehouse? I can't remember) in Derry. I got the impression that as a horror writer he just had to throw in this random supernatural element that really added nothing to the story. Same thing with the "Yellow/Black/Orange/Green Card Man." Also, this is nitpicky I realize, but how many times did he say "The past is obdurate"? This annoyed me both for its repetetiveness and the fact that "obdurate" seems like a pretty inaccessible word to an average reader. As for the ending, I understand the concept of the butterfly effect, but did anyone feel that it was an easy cop-out to make the future SO horrible that the new timeline HAD to be undone? It sort of read like a convenient way to finish up the book instead of a legit ending. But that's just me. Other thoughts?
Has anyone read this yet? I saw over 800 pages and gulped!
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You can do it Joanne! That's why you're the READING teacher!
ReplyDeleteI am past the 300 page mark, so far I like it.
ReplyDeleteI finished this book yesterday.I did enjoy it, the end was not what I expected but otherwise it was a good read. Did anyone else finish it?
ReplyDeleteI finished it last weekend. It kept me interested enough to get through all 842 pages. I thought the ending was a bit abrupt though. I have it if anyone wants to borrow it.
ReplyDeleteOK, I finished this a couple days ago. It took me a long time due to my school reading load and the length of the book. I have to say that it really got me at the beginning. I loved the premise of it, the time travel aspect and wanting to change the past. I also have to say that it made me very curious about the Kennedy assassination and what that particular historical event was like. I even asked my dad if he remembered it. (His predictably unhelpful response was "yes" with no further elaboration, but I digress.) I've always found it sort of unfathomable that a country was plunged into such depths of mourning over a president's death. It's hard to imagine that happening these days.
ReplyDeleteThe love story was well done and bittersweet, and for me, one of the best parts of the book. On a sappy, sentimental level, I loved that Sophie never married once Jake set the time line back on its original path. Definitely gave the impression that these two people were destined for each other.
Anyway, my primary criticism is that the book was SO long that I found myself wishing it would hurry up somewhere in the middle. I understand the interconnectedness of the different stories, i.e. saving the lives of various people, but it was too drawn out. It could have been riveting if it were written with a bit more precision. For instance, I have to ask what the point was of mentioning the "evil thing" that lived in (was it a warehouse? I can't remember) in Derry. I got the impression that as a horror writer he just had to throw in this random supernatural element that really added nothing to the story. Same thing with the "Yellow/Black/Orange/Green Card Man." Also, this is nitpicky I realize, but how many times did he say "The past is obdurate"? This annoyed me both for its repetetiveness and the fact that "obdurate" seems like a pretty inaccessible word to an average reader. As for the ending, I understand the concept of the butterfly effect, but did anyone feel that it was an easy cop-out to make the future SO horrible that the new timeline HAD to be undone? It sort of read like a convenient way to finish up the book instead of a legit ending. But that's just me. Other thoughts?