A few chapters in, I couldn't put it down. Even with the expected fictitious teacher cliches-- he corrects students' grammar, all the time-- whether in class or alumni; he is mild-mannered but tough; he catches kids drinking at a dance and lets them off the hook after a stern talking-to; and the one that seemed ripped out of so many other things (Glee, High School Musical, and I'm sure there are older references I'm forgetting) when he casts the High School football star in a play and everyone is astonished by the kid's depth and level of talent, the kid gets crap from his teammates and coach and nearly quits, blah blah blah...
In spite of that, though, the story really worked. The character development was believable and the adventure of him changing the future was intriguing. Above all else, Stephen King is a storyteller-- a really good storyteller.
I especially enjoyed the 1958-1963 stuff. My dad, who is coincidentally reading this book also, said it's been nostalgic for him. For me it's history brought to life. I haven't ever really pondered what the common public felt and experienced during the Cuban missile crisis, or the ongoing racism and anti-semitism of the time (though I am WELL aware of it, I hadn't really felt or "experienced" it, but through the pages of a good story, magic happens). I found those elements so much more educational than any history book I've ever slogged my way through for school.
I loved the mixture of the picture-perfect past (the root beer is full of flavor, people are very friendly and trusting, kids still say "sir", etc.) and the underbelly-- the cruelty of bookies and racists, the multitude of abusive husbands (though this book almost makes me think they were in the majority-- were they?), and the heat and stink and day-to-day happenings. I wonder, though, if so many people in the early '60's used the f-word so freely...
Would I recommend it? Well... mostly. If you don't mind some mild sexuality and a lot of cussing (as though everyone talks like that???), yes. It is a really good story.
2 comments:
Great review, Steph. This is the first King book I've read in a decade or more and I was not surprised at the language but I was surprised at the amount of sex. I did enjoy it mostly, but it struck me that it's quite chauvinistic in its view of women. The main female character is little more than a sex object, really, a fulfillment of the male fantasy of aggressive female sexuality, and their relationship seems based on little more than that. And although there is an effort to be compassionate with the two victims of face slashings, and although the teacher says repeatedly that he loves the librarian unconditionally and the facial scar doesn't matter to him, both plots about those slashings are all about fixing up their faces and making them beautiful again, not about accepting them for who they are now. The teacher says repeatedly that he enjoys living in the early 1960s but in the end he just wants to take her to 2011 so he can get her face fixed with 21st century procedures, so he can have her beautiful again. The rest of the women were simple caricatures. And in the end, when fate or the past or whatever it was, threw all those obstacles in his path on his race to the book depository, I found it silly and cartoony. Hey, I'm a critic. I complain. But I really did mostly like it.
Oh you are so right. I didn't really think about that, but you are absolutely correct about the portrayal of women in the book. Interesting... Thanks for adding your two cents!!
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