I’ve never read Stephen King either, although I don’t think it’s relevant here. I wanted to read this book, though, because the premise is fascinating. However, I don’t *really* know that much about his assassination or really too much of his presidency. What should I educate myself on prior to reading this, if anything? Open to suggestions on what to read/consume first.
by illseeyouinthefog
9 Comments
You really don’t need to know much about the assassination to enjoy the book, the real-life people are very much perinatal characters. There are some really small things you may miss not knowing much about the assassination, but no more than the little easter eggs he puts in his books connecting them to other books he has written.
I would just start reading, it is an excellent book.
For full context, I suggest Robert Caro’s series of books on the life and Presidency of LBJ, who is the President who assumed power after the JFK assassination.
You only need to know the basics. You may get a better understanding of the book if you know the history but it’s not necessary.
Just spend 10 minutes reading the wiki (JFK Presidency and Assassination) and you’re probably good to go. If you want more background, click on a few more linking wiki articles. That will give you a good, basic understanding of the time period. Having an idea of what was important during that time (eg. Cuban Missile Crisis) could be helpful in understanding why certain characters acted a certain way.
Nothing. It’s a pretty small part. Anything you really need to know is explained in the story.
I was wondering whatever happened to the tv show with James Franco
I think you can skip reading it and save yourself 850 pages of dull, repetitive nonsense.
I know King has a massive fan base and is mega successful. But that book is a disaster.
Massive downvote incoming, in 3…2…1…
Just Google what happened and about the aftermath. That’s all you need to do.
This book doesn’t take any knowledge frontloading, in my opinion. I knew what the basic pop culture knowledge was about the assassination when I read it the first time (shot by a guy while in an open air car, his wife was with him. Guy who shot him possibly involved in some conspiracy thing or not?) and that was it. The book weaves an actual event in with SK’s larger world-building fiction really well without needing a ton of context.
There’s barely any JFK stuff in this super long book