Time and Again

This is a guest review from my eldest son, Deron:

Time and Again is the classic time travel story by Jack Finney set in New York City in 1970 and 1882. Our time traveller is Simon Morely, Si for short, an artist for an advertising agency. One day while at work, Si is visited unannounced by Major Ruben Prien. Over lunch, Major Prien tells Si that he has been selected, based on tests he had taken while still in the Army, for a secret government project, and he asks Si if he’d like to participate. Si eventually accepts; and when further tests confirm that Si is qualified, Major Prien reveals the nature of the project: time travel.

The project is in its infancy and is testing a conjecture that through self-hypnosis one can travel back in time. Essentially, if you believe that you’ve gone back in time, you will. Si decides on a time to travel to after a conversation with his girlfriend Kate.

Kate’s grandfather was Andrew Carmody, a financier and political figure in NYC during the late 1800s. She inherited a mysterious letter, partly charred, that Carmody wrote which reads, "If a discussion of Court House Carrara should prove of interest to you, please appear in City Hall Park at half past twelve on Thursday next.” Also on that letter, apparently added later, is scrawled: "That the sending of this should cause the Destruction by Fire of the entire World (a word seemed to be missing here at the end of the top line where the paper was burned) seems well nigh incredible. Yet it is so, and the Fault and Guilt (another word missing in the burned area) mine, and can never be denied or escaped...I now end the life which should have ended then." Si suggests to Major Prien that he travel back to 1882 and resolve the mystery of this cryptic letter. The board members of the project, seeing no harm and possible benefits to Si’s request, agree.

I enjoyed this book. At just short of 400 pages and with straightforward writing, it was a quick read. The book is illustrated with Si’s sketches and photos that help immerse one in late 19th century NYC. Additionally, there is exhaustive description of the people, their clothing, customs, streets, and buildings of that time. Sometimes these descriptions reminded me of Moby Dick in the sense that there are many chapters in Moby Dick that describe the whaling business in detail that are not germane to the plot. I felt the same for this book to the point where the narrative bogs down. However, would Moby Dick be the same book if those chapters were removed? No. Likewise, I ultimately think the same for this book.

The story picks up momentum in the second half as the mystery of the letter is slowly unravelled. There is also a subplot related to the changing motives of the government officials responsible for the project that adds an additional twist to the book’s satisfying conclusion.

The characters were uncomplicated as were their motives for the most part and with little depth. The good guys were good; the bad guys were bad. Conflicts are neatly resolved. However, I find this kind of character development to be very common with authors like Clarke and Asimov. Their books are often event, not character, driven. It is the same here. As long as you read this book in the right frame of mind, you'll enjoy the story.

RATING: 4 our of 5 stars

Comment: Finney wrote a sequel, From Time to Time, that was published just after his death in 1995 and 25 years after the publication of Time and Again.