[stylist] Review on 11/22/63

Sat Jan 7 15:51:57 UTC 2012

Bridgit,

If I were to rate it on a one to five, five being 
extreme and 1 being barely scoring, I'd rate it as:

Romance: 4
Violence: 2
Mature Language: 2.5
Descriptions of Sex: .5
Graphical Gore: 1
Mystery: 3
Suspense: 3.5
Historical: 2.5

Brad

On 1/6/2012  07:32 PM Bridgit Pollpeter said...
>Brad,
>
>Nice, in-depth review. I like how you use specific examples from the
>writing to better explain your point as well as the carpenter analogy.
>I've only read a few King books, but tend to stay away from his novels
>just because I can't always handle disturbing material. I usually let my
>husband read this kind of stuff and let me know if I could handle it!
>Grin. This book sounds intriguing nonetheless and not as violent or
>disturbing as some of his books have been. The Stand or Bag of Bones
>anyone?
>
>Sincerely,
>Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter
>Read my blog at:
>http://blogs.livewellnebraska.com/author/bpollpeter/
>
>"History is not what happened; history is what was written down."
>The Expected One- Kathleen McGowan
>
>Message: 26
>Date: Fri, 06 Jan 2012 09:22:31 -0600
>From: Brad Duns? <lists at braddunsemusic.com>
>To: Writer's Division Mailing List <stylist at nfbnet.org>
>Subject: [stylist] Book review of sorts: 11-22-63
>Message-ID: <7.0.1.0.2.20120106091812.055ac2e0 at braddunsemusic.com>
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"; format=flowed
>
>Title: 11-22-63
>Author: Stephen King
>Genre (my classification): Sci Fi/Drama/Suspense/Mystery/Romance Rating
>(1 out of 5) 4.5
>Rating: I would give it an R due to occasional
>language and violence, though I'm a bit
>conservative compared to the current media rating
>system which might give it a PG. As if a parent
>sitting next to a kid would mysteriously and
>effectively eliminate the offensive elements.
>Pages: Unknown as it was the commercial audio version.
>Reading time: Approximately 30 hours 45 minutes
>
>Though I am not totally opposed to a good horror
>flick now and again, I do tend to gravitate
>towards mystery, drama, suspense and occasional
>romance media; not to mention biographies and
>self-advancement type books. Nonetheless, and
>despite the genre he is known for, I was very
>curious to read a Stephen King novel simply due
>to the fact people seemed to rave of his writing style.
>
>I was gifted the audio version of the novel
>11-22-63 by Stephen King from my son for
>Christmas. I think because he knows my wife--his
>mother, is absolutely not a fan of anything
>horror, decided to play it safe and pick a King
>novel that was more of a Sci Fi than anything
>close to horror. I will say that I am not a
>"Treky" type either and tend to shy away from
>cheesy Sci Fi type movies or books, but I thought
>to give this Sci Fi a go regardless. On the
>horror front, since I tend to blare books while
>on the early morning treadmill, I too was glad my
>wife wouldn't be awakened to graphical
>descriptions of dismemberment and character
>disfiguring, though it might be an effective
>stimulant without the consumption of caffeine.
>
>I didn't get far into the book before I began to
>recognize why King's writing style kept one's
>interest. The fresh descriptions of everyday
>items was particularly appealing to me as a
>songwriter, Phrases like "fish-belly white" when
>describing a face gone pale; and "the flirt that
>was floating between us for the past two months"
>describing that ever slight and mysterious sense
>just before actually recognizing a flirt existed.
>The fresh phrases and perspective kept me
>interested in general, and just when you think he
>has exhausted describing a scene or character's
>thought, he successfully digresses into a small
>flashback or diversion of current events, and
>then returns to his diverted description,
>investing more of your visual and emotional
>capital like an effective stockbroker drawing out
>more of your willingness to buy more shares.
>
>I would liken his writing, at least in this book,
>as a master carpenter who knows the value of kerf
>cuts. A kerf cut is a linear series of saw cuts
>not quite all the way through a strip of wood,
>enabling it to be bent without breaking. You can
>take a perfectly straight rigid piece of wood,
>and if given enough kerf cuts in it, can make it
>into a complete circle without crack or splinter.
>What King does in this book is start you off with
>a straight piece of wood, then puts some kerf
>cuts on one side of the board, then on the other,
>then a little more on that same side, then
>switches sides on you to direct your emotion in
>another direction. Since a strip of wood has four
>sides to it, he makes well use of kerfing all
>four sides, or wait ? does a strip of wood have
>just four sides? That is what he would like you
>to assume, but why couldn't it have six, eight or
>more sides to it? Kerf cutting each one of those
>facets would indeed create quite a twisted
>curling piece of wood. That is King's art. He
>plays on your assumption and curls the strip of
>wood, or plot, always staying ahead of the curve. He
>gives the feel of random cuts kerfed in the
>board, and yet you know there is no randomness to it whatsoever.
>
>I won't comment on the storyline or summarize the
>plot or characters because it would totally spoil
>the apprehension of the story. I will say it is
>based off the assassination of JFK which has a
>historical element to it. It is told from the
>protagonists narrative and I think the most
>impressive thing about this book is it appealed
>to all of the genre's I love. I'd gotten my fix
>of mystery as there were elements that ran the
>length of the book that kept you thinking of what
>it meant-and he was not shy to bring that to the
>front of your mind along the way; e.g. jimla and
>the yellow card man. There was suspense as you
>followed in real-time as the narrator recalled
>his experiences, not knowing what would happen
>next as he described it. There was a powerful
>underlying romance that drove the entire book
>along with friendships that drew you in. You
>didn't just listen to the character, he wrote it
>in such a way that you felt you "knew" those
>people. There is a fine balance in determining
>what to say about someone and what not to say;
>that is to say if we go too far in describing
>something it creates more questions that if left
>unanswered make a character unbelievable. Just
>prior to that, you can eliminate some aspects and
>we don't get to a point of guessing or wondering
>about a whole left. For instance one character in
>the book does a very bad thing, and it seems an
>extreme end of his character, and while King
>could have went off and described or tried
>explaining why, it would have taken us too far
>away from the plots trail, and in essence create
>more curiosity or question about the character's
>past. Omitting some detail and leaving the act
>stand for what it was and moving on was the right choice.
>Each aspect or genre within this one book had its
>own story, yet they all were intertwined. I will
>say due to the Sci Fi aspect of it, it sure made
>you think of various possibilities or what could
>be possible based on the set up he gave. I like that aspect of that
>genre.
>
>I had one problem with this book, and that was
>its obstinate draw on my calendar. That is to
>say, I couldn't put the book down, I found myself
>thinking of it when I wasn't reading it, and
>created excuses to do other things around the
>house just so I could listen to it. I dare say,
>due to cooked meals, folded laundry and such, my
>wife would likely want me to read another one
>though. The audio actor who read it did a superb
>job, he totally became the character and not only
>did he do a good job impersonating JFK, Texans,
>and the east coasters, but I expect you'll
>recognize the voice impersonations of the FBI
>agent, Dallas police and old man in the wheelchair.
>
>Stephen talks about the writing of the book at
>the end, which was interesting. Due to the
>historical nature of it, there was lot of
>information for him to draw on, and yet due to
>the mystery behind JFKs assassination, that gave
>him license to speculate or make his
>determination just like the rest of the world.
>
>Would I recommend this book? Absolutely, it is an
>excellent sample of writing. I will give a
>warning that there are some rather powerful
>expletives in it. He spared us of descriptions of
>sex, and as for the horror aspect, if you are a
>bit weak in the knees in that area, you'll be
>glad to know that you'll make it through without
>faint. Only one area is descriptive but it is
>very brief, and I would say probably more of an
>emotional impact rather than graphical because of
>the situation and delivery of it. It is a very
>minute part of the whole so you'll be OK.
>
>When said and done, I am interested in reading
>another of his novels, but my problem is, I have
>other things to get done in life and I could
>easily become consumed in reading more of these
>if they are as good as this one.
>
>I'll leave you with the following phrases:
>
>"Who are you! What are you doing here? You don't belong here!" "Jimla"
>"How we danced" Glen Miller's "In The Mood" "The harmonics in life"
>"Hello Ms Dunnhill" "My lindy days are long gone"
>
>
>
>
>
>Brad Duns?
>
>
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Brad Dunsé

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