I’ve been a fan of Stephen King since I first read ‘Salem’s Lot when I was 12 years old. And while I don’t have as much time to read as I used to, I still try to keep up. Sometimes keeping up looks more like catching up, and I’m still in a catching up phase.
I read the book version of 11.22.63 when it came out in paperback and it easily became one of my favorite King stories. You don’t expect a time travel story that’s about preventing the Kennedy assassination to turn into a love story, yet it’s one of the best love stories I think I’ve ever read. Heartbreaking as it is.
I just watched the mini series on Netflix. And yes, I know it’s been out for a while, like I said I’m still catching up on things. Many TV and film adaptations of King’s works are notoriously bad, so I never go into them with high expectations. However, this miniseries wasn’t just good in my opinion, it was great.
It’s so rare that an adaptation actually follows the source material. And while it has been many years since I read the book, as I watched the series I found details coming back to me. I did feel like they glossed over Jake and Sadie’s time dating a bit, but I understand. SK does tend to write lengthily and many find it tedious. But the core story was still there. The difficulties Jake had in keeping his mission as much of a secret as he could and the misunderstandings it caused. The culture shock at how openly racist people were and the segregated bathrooms. The love between Deke and Ms. Mimi and the pain it caused them to not be able to be together openly. And of course, the love between Jake and Sadie. The miniseries kept the original book ending, too, which is all too often changed. And as heartbreaking as the ending is, it’s my opinion that it’s one of SK’s best endings. It’s the best ending because it’s the one that has to be, not the one that you want it to be.
Marginalia