11/22/63 by Stephen King

Characters
September 9, 1958, 10:58 AM  - 1963	2011
George Amberson – Jake Eppling   Yellow Card Man (Kyle) Green Card Man (Zach Lang from Seattle)   Sadie Clayton - librarian Johnny Clayton – husband Sadie’s parents   Denholm Consolidated High School: Mimi Corcoran - librarian Deke Simmons – principal Ellen Docherty – Home Ec., acting principal   Lee Harvey Oswald Marina – wife Robert – brother Marguerite – mother   George de Mohrenschildt General Edwin Walker   George Bouhe – helped Marina   Frank Dunning Wife – Doris Harry – son Ellen, Arthur (Tugga), Troy – children   Bill Turcotte – “No Suspenders”   Richie and Beverly – dancers   Andy Cullum – accidentally shot Carolyn Poulin Mamie – wife	Jake Epping   Al Templeton   Harry Dunning   Carolyn Poulin

For discussion:
NOTE:  All page numbers are from the hardback edition.


In 2011
1. If Harry Dunning had a choice, which of his three life scenarios do you think he would have chosen?


2. Would you have gone down the “rabbit hole?”  Why or why not?


3. Why did the Yellow Card Man call Jake “Jimla” the first time he saw him?


In 1958 - 1963
4. What did you think was the purpose of the Yellow Card Man and the others that followed?  What did they add to the . story?   King explained their purpose at the very end (pages 794 – 798). 


5. Why do you think Richie, Beverly, Mamie Cullum, and the man in the wheelchair on West Neely Street (page 490) all seemed to know that George was different?


6. If you were Sadie, would you go to the future with George? 


General discussion:
7. On page 312, Stephen King gave the reader some help to follow along when he wrote, “We’re going to take another leap forward in time (narratives also contain rabbit-holes…”  Were you able to follow along with the time line of the book?  Why or why not?


8. Did the fact that you lived through this period in history make any difference in your reading as opposed to historical fiction set before you were born?


9. How well did Stephen King portray the early 1960s?
*Ship N Shore blouse (page 629)
*Dr. Ellerton sharing medical information with Sadie’s friends (no Hippa laws!)
*Miss Caltrop worrying about the morality of the school’s faculty (page 616-617, 644)


10.George/Jake noted often that the past harmonizes with itself or that history repeats itself.  One example is the similarity of Sadie’s name with Doris Dunning.  Do you think this is an accurate observation?  Do you have any examples from your life?


11. Did this novel make you think about the effect you might have on others that you are not aware of?


12. Do you think King’s idea of the results of changing history was accurate?  Consider Harry Dunning, Sadie and the world in general.


13. Did you like the ending?  Why or why not?
*****
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