Book review (no real spoilers)

[riontel]

Finished "Replay", a 1987 novel by Ken Grimwood. It tells a story of a 43-year old Jeff Winston who died of a heart attack one day in 1988 and woke up to find himself 18 again in 1963 in his old dorm in Emory College, Atlanta, Georgia. It's a first in a cycle of deaths/reawakenings that he calls replays, because each time he gets to relive his remaining life anew. He always again dies on the same day at the same time but what happens in between is up to him. Each replay Jeff approaches differently, he doesn't just go through the same motions over and over again, he is searching for something: happiness, meaning, reason why this is happening to him. I thought it was very well written, well thought out, believable, with very sympathetic characters. It's the type of book that makes you ask yourself, what if? Would I still make the same choices? Choose the same profession? What opportunities would I take if I could do it over? Should I start memorizing Kentucky Derby winners? The book draws you in with the events and the atmosphere and makes you wish it didn't end quite so quickly. Very enjoyable read. Recommend.

In case you were wondering, Groundhog Day didn't make it to the screens until 1993 but a short story by Richard Lupoff called "12:01 PM" about a guy stuck in a one-hour loop was printed in 1973. Also, sadly but ironically, Ken Grimwood died in 2003, of a heart attack.

Comments

[riontel.livejournal.com]

Да, но не думаю, что Гримвуд читал Стругацкого :) У него, кстати, у главного героя намного большая свобода персонального выбора, Воронцов, похоже, как мазохист снова и снова проживает практически одну и ту же жизнь. Или это артифакт различности менталитетов авторов? Зато и там и там наблюдается оптимистичная невозможность изменить мир к лучшему.