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Ellen Isaacs | |
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This story is an interesting variation on the time travel theme. Rather than just going back in time once, Jeff Winston finds himself repeatedly going back in time. Every time he reaches 43, on October 18, 1988 he goes back in time about 25 years. Each time, he knows everything he's learned in the previous lifetimes. The book explores the different reactions he has each time, from exhilaration to anger to depression, and the subsequent lives he chooses to live each time. I should say that I'm a sucker for time travel books, but I found this one especially interesting and compelling. In other time travel books I've read, the person goes back in time to a period before they were alive, so they're really exploring a whole new life. In this one, Jeff is inserted right back into his own life. For the most part, the events outside of Jeff happen just as they did the first time -- not only does the same horse win the Kentucky Derby but also his wife-to-be goes to the same Florida resort on the same day, and so on. As a result, Jeff has many opportunities to do things differently (or not) at different points in his life. I found this very intriguing, and it made me think about the multitude of specific, daily choices I make, big and small, and how they affect my life. There were a few frustrating aspects to the book, specifically when the characters don't think of the more straightforward way to accomplish a goal (e.g. if you want to learn more about how the replays might be happening, come back and train as a physicist or neuroscientist, don't go to the press and hope that scientists contact you before the FBI does). But for the most part, this book was not only compelling to read but also adjusted my perspective a bit and made me think about my priorities and the choices I make.
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