Time and Again

by Jack Finney

Paperback, 1995

Status

Available

Call number

PS3556.I52

Publication

Scribner Paperback Fiction (1995), Edition: 1st, 399 pages

Description

Simon Morley is selected by a secret government agency to test Einstein's theory of the past co-existing with the present and is transported back to 1880s New York.

Media reviews

Time and Again sends out a huge valentine to the past. It's nostalgic and there's something deliciously comforting and escapist in its promise of a New York Eden.

User reviews

LibraryThing member Gwendydd
For some reason, I found this book really disappointing. I can't quite put my finger on why I didn't enjoy it: perhaps I was just in the wrong mood for it. The whole book was rather tedious, with long detailed descriptions of NYC in the 1880s, and as much as these descriptions should have been
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fascinating, they just weren't. The narrator kept talking about how the experience of time travel was so amazing that he couldn't express it, so the whole book comes across as a joke that ends with "I guess you had to be there to think it was funny." There were some great plot twists in the last 2 pages (literally!), but I didn't think it was worth reading the whole book just for that.

Other reviewers have complained about the fact that the book is dated, and I agree: it's not yet dated enough to be entertainingly old-fashioned (like H.G. Wells), but it is dated enough for some aspects to be annoying: the treatment of women in particular. Perhaps this is also why I couldn't enjoy the book: it was just an outdated aesthetic.

The book is illustrated, but the quality of the reproductions in the book is so bad that it might as well not be. Besides, if a picture is worth a thousand words, including the illustrations should have enabled the author to keep the book much much shorter.
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LibraryThing member whitewavedarling
There's something about this book that makes it possible to believe in time travel, and that alone makes it something far beyond time travel books I've read in the past. Finney manages to build this world and the premise so carefully, and the logic is so wonderfully simple and sensible in its own
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way, that his utterly real characters make it seem as if we're not reading about some other world, but our own reality where, just perhaps, this might be possible. That's the beauty of this book, combined with his wonderful characters and writing that sucks you in and all but demands that you keep turning pages. Each time I sat down to read a few chapters, I read far more than that, and had to be forced by time or my eyes to finally put the book down.

I freely admit that I'm not much for time travel books, normally, though I love fantasy--this brings together everything I love about suspense, literary fiction, fantasy, and speculative fiction in general, into a tale that feels more real and translated into fiction than it feels like a story.

I'd absolutely recommend, and I'm so glad to have discovered this author.
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LibraryThing member kambrogi
This time-travel classic follows the story of an artist from his present-day life in New York City as he travels (by way of a simple and not entirely believable technique) into the year 1882 in the same city. Since this book was published in 1970, reading it is inadvertently anachronistic, as the
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“present day” of the novel is in fact past to today’s reader. Such details as un-PC attitudes toward women and African Americans, scenes of excessive heavy smoking in closed offices and meeting rooms, and characters’ peculiar affinity for instant coffee were somewhat jarring in the contemporary scenes. The illustrations of 1880’s New York were an apt touch, however I was a bit put off by images that were obviously etchings or photos being passed off as the artist’s drawings. Conflict enters the book late – probably a third of the way in – so the book often reads like a travelogue of the past, focusing primarily on descriptions of street scenes and buildings, comparing them to their parallels today. If you enjoy time travel stories and history, and especially if you live in Manhattan, you might very well enjoy this one. I found it a rather slow and outdated diversion.
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LibraryThing member Meredy
Six-word review: Imagination takes flight across the decades.

Extended review:

Recruited as a subject for an extremely secret government project, commercial artist Simon Morley bridges the interval from the New York City of 1970 to the same city as it was in 1882. How his life and those of others
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change as a result is the plot of the novel, which blends mystery and romance with the ever-intriguing theme of time travel. There's a nice twist at the end.

The author isn't shy about revealing his fascination with the everyday sights and events of New York in the late nineteenth century; in fact, at times it seems as if his whole purpose were to show off the extent of his research. He has an ability to bring the period and place to life, as if he himself had seen it first hand, making us feel as though we were seeing it too. Finney's use of contemporary illustrative art, photographs, and newspaper stories lends authenticity to his very evocative rendition of time and place. If at times it does seem to grow long, I think perhaps that's only a matter of my own twenty-first-century impatience, cultivated by an environment in which a five-second computer response time is referred to as "forever."

One of the most interesting aspects of this story, however, is almost certainly outside the author's design: namely, his depiction of a major U.S. city in the late middle of the twentieth century. In 1970, Richard Nixon was president; the Cuban missile crisis and the Kennedy assassination were events in recent memory; the Civil Rights movement was in progress, although (to judge from the author's use of language: young women are all "girls") women's liberation had a long way to go in raising public consciousness; pollution was already a major issue, but computers were still a novelty, and small electronic devices were science fiction. In contrasting 1882 with 1970, Finney shows us a period 46 years ago that seems calmer and safer than 2016, even though in so many ways it already felt dark and dangerous at the time.

This is not a heavy or especially serious book, although it has its moments (and there are a few little questions of logic and continuity). It's mostly just an entertaining fantasy, with an extra dose of verisimilitude to make us feel as if we'd been there. And that we might want to go again.
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LibraryThing member MarthaJeanne
The first half of this book went slowly, with all the problems I have learned to expect in science fiction of that era. It got better, and I enjoyed the second half.
LibraryThing member bcquinnsmom
I am so happy to have read this book. For a few hours of just sheer escape time, it was worth every second. Secondly, I love the notion that time travel can be done without getting into all the scientific & jargonistic explanations which I don't understand anyway. Si Morley just wishes it and it is
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so. My problem with the book: no one told me this was going to be a romance!!! Plus, there really is some logic disruption here in certain parts. Overall, however, I loved this book and the mystery aspect kept me tuned in.

brief outline:
Si Morley, who works at an advertising firm in New York City has been "selected" as a possible candidate for a secret project run by a group of scientists, historians & the military. He is subjected to various types of tests before he even finds out what the deal is: traveling back in time. He is slated to go to San Francisco but instead chooses to go back to New York of 1882, to solve a mystery for a friend. He occupies an apartment at the prestigious Dakota, one which stood vacant in 1882, leaving some part of 1882 in that room. (It's complicated.) Anyway, he makes the trip back and although warned not to interact with anyone, he realizes that he cannot be a true part of time without involving himself with those around him. His interactions have to do with the mystery he is bent on solving, and make up the bulk of the story, leading Si to a point where he must make some serious choices that may have an impact on the future.

I loved the old photos & drawings; they really were able to make things a bit more real for a time.

This is one of those books that should not be missed. I can even forgive the romance.
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LibraryThing member DeltaQueen50
Time and Again by Jack Finney was originally published in 1970 and has grown to become a classic novel about time slip or time travel. This book even has a few fan sites that are devoted not only to the book but to the New York City locations that are visited during the course of the book. The
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story is fairly simple; a man is recruited by a mysterious government organization to investigate the idea of time travel. Of course, once successful, questions of morality arise about what, if anything should be tampered with in order to affect a change in the future.

Dialing in to New York City circa 1882, the main character Si Morley becomes wrapped up in a mystery that involves his present day girlfriend’s family. Eventually, after meeting a woman in the past, Si must make a choice. Despite the charm and imagination of the premise I wasn’t quite convinced with the method of time travel as it seemed entirely too simplistic, but the ethical and moral questions that arose during the course of the book were handled intelligently and in a way that enhanced the story.

By stressing the human angle of the story and using illustrations and photographs of New York in the 1880’s, Time and Again becomes a light, romanticized story that is appealing in its guilelessness but personally I prefer a little more grit in my science fiction so although I enjoyed this story well enough, it isn’t going to find a place on my favorite books list.
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LibraryThing member C.Vick
This book is often categorized as "science fiction," a baffling choice as the author himself is somewhat at war with the idea of technological advancement. Science fantasy, maybe, and overly nostalgic for sure.

However, if you can accept Finney's novel as a product of its time, all becomes clear.
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Finney is writing and living in a world somewhat convinced that humanity is bound to destroy itself any day now. Fear of communism, fresh off the Bay of Pigs Incedent, it is no wonder that Finney, and therefore the book's main character, Si Morely, long for the "simple times" of days gone by.

Sentimentalism aside, Time and Again is just a beautifully constructed book, and a perennial favorite. Some may find the story plodding, too detailed, but I love it. The sheer volume of description takes one, like the time traveler Morely, right back into the 1880s. Obviously, Finney's research was exhaustive.

The descriptions... well, defy description. I can't say I knew much about NYC, much less in the late 1800s, but I do now. Finney really makes it live and breathe.

But this isn't just a time-travel novel, oh no! This is a romance-mystery-adventure. Like all great books, Time and Again really defies genre, instead getting you involved in the lives, trials, and tribulations of the people that inhabit it.

Again, though,it is a novel of its time, and even the most unobservant reader is bound to notice the glaring sexism as secretaries are leered at, commented on, and never called anything, anything, but "girl." A mock butt-slapping incident twigged me for days. Thankfully, most of the novel is set in 1882 where, oddly, Si's sexism more or less disappears.

Really just a great journey through the past. So, like Si, hop on board an old horse-drawn bus, sit back, and just enjoy the scenery.
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LibraryThing member Othemts
A fun time-travel adventure where the means of time travel is merely self-hypnosis that takes the modern world away. A lot of the novel is fairly plotless as we follow the protagonist Si Morley through the streets of New York in the 1880's. My favorite part is when Si observes a streetcar operator
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in the snow and the romantic bloom of a "simpler time" drops away. I think this book could be adapted into an entertaining film.
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LibraryThing member sturlington
TIME AND AGAIN has been touted as the time travel novel to read. While I found a lot to like in it, and I thought it was compelling historical fiction, I did not ultimately think it was a great book about time travel.

Si is working an unfulfilling job at an advertising agency in New York City when
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he receives an offer to join a mysterious government project. After that attention-grabbing hook, though, the story proceeds very slowly. It takes so long to explain the time travel process that when it finally is revealed, it seems laughably simple and somewhat absurd, as if Si is merely going to wish himself into the past. He does manage to travel to 1880s New York, which Finney describes in great and convincing detail. These facts of ordinary life in a different age are interesting, but only to a point (probably more so for those who are very familiar with New York City). They also slow the story down to a crawl.

I particularly didn't care for Finney's romanticization of the past, in the voice of his main character, toward the end of the novel. Every time has committed its own crimes against humanity. The late 1800s were certainly no golden age, when you consider child labor, the unequal status of minorities and women, and the extreme poverty of some with no social safety net -- a facet of the time that Finney explores in the novel. In many ways, the 1970s are immeasurably better, so it seems naive to presume that the people of the earlier age were somehow more "real" or "alive." This is a personal bugaboo, but it bothered me bothered me quite a bit when I was reading the novel.

When Finney does finally get around to the meat of his story, things get very exciting very quickly. There's a devastating fire, a police chase, a sweet romance, a conspiracy, a mystery to be solved and, of course, leaps about in time. I just wish those events had made up more of the meat of the novel.
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LibraryThing member ladybug74
This was exactly the type of book that I love to read. I have neglected everything around the house because I could not get my nose out of this book. It was great! I loved the pictures and illustrations that went along with the text. This made it more realistic because I could picture the people
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and places that Si described as he told his story.

The only part that dragged just a bit for me was the section about the fire. It seemed like it had a bit too many details and wasn't very interesting to me.

I also did not like that things were so neat and easy with Si and Kate near the end of the book. I can't say more because I don't want to spoil it for anybody else. It just didn't seem realistic to me.

I loved what Si decided to do at the theater at the end. After the way he was treated by the board members, I thought this was his own way of serving up justice.
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LibraryThing member jburlinson
Truly a classic. The only thing holding this book back from full 5-star glory is a certain leisureliness in the tale-telling, which, to a certain extent, might be justified by its vision of the past. What I particularly applaud, though, is Finney's almost cavalier treatment of the physics of time
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travel.
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LibraryThing member jenforbus
Jack Finney's Time and Again is a science fiction novel originally published in 1970. The book's protagonist, Simon Morley, is invited to be part of a "top secret" government experiment. He cannot be told what the experiment entails unless he agrees to partake in it, but agreeing to the experiment
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means giving up his present job, home, life, etc, for an indefinite amount of time.

Simon agrees to be part of the experiment, which turns out to be time travel. The first part of the project involves being immersed in the culture of the time "Si" is going to visit. He needs to be aware of what exists in this time and what doesn't, what types of clothes people wore, what books and newspapers they read, etc. Once he has completed this phase then he is ready for actual transport to New York City in 1882.

I have to admit up front on this review that I have never been a fan of fantasy fiction. In many ways you can call me a "doubting Thomas" because I have problems with plots that expect you to just "believe." I tend to be very logical and scientific in my thinking, so I require rational explanation in order to "buy in" to the concept of time travel. Time and Again's plot, however, requires the reader to just "believe."

Simon's character is directed to "observe, don't interfere" when he travels back in time. And he regularly reminds himself of this, yet so many of his actions I would classify as "interference" and I couldn't understand how he felt he was justifying his behaviors.

And at one point in the novel, the scientists indicate that another participant's time travel resulted in a man not being born. However, they felt this was inconsequential as the man was inconsequential. I found that extremely bothersome. I was also a bit doubtful about their approach to confirming that the time travel trips didn't alter history, but again, the novel is expecting the reader to simply "believe."

I did find Finney's treatment of the scientist group very interesting. They initially start out with the goal of just observing. But as they achieve success with each trip, they want to push the envelope to see how far they can go with the experiment. And this of course calls into question ethical boundaries.

Simon is a likable character, and the plot includes a minor mystery that Simon finds himself wrapped up in during his trips to 1882. And the element I enjoyed the most about the novel was its historical look at New York City in 1882. The book is definitely not without merit. But for this "doubting Thomas" there was too much I just had to "believe" and too much I questioned to make it a real winner.
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LibraryThing member mzonderm
Time travel through self-hypnosis is definitely one of the most creative methods I've ever read about, and definitely one of the more bizarre. The idea is that if you are able to find a place that is virtually identical to what it was (or will be) in another time, you can hypnotize yourself into
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actually transporting to that other time. Not everyone can do it. But if you're good enough at it, you can apparently take someone else with you.

To all of which I say: whatever. It's an outlandish theory, but I suppose not a whole lot more so than other time travel theories. At any rate, Si Morley can do it, and repeatedly goes back to New York in 1882 with the idea of observing a certain event. Naturally, he is only supposed to observe, and not get involved in any way with any of the people of that time. Of course, that doesn't work out so well.

And the story itself becomes much different from what you think it will be as it goes along, which is always appreciated. Dealing with the ethics and possibilities of time travel, Si must make a decision that could effect the course of American history. In the end, though, he makes what seems to be a different decision.

Finney deals with these complexities in a subtle, interesting way, saving this book from becoming just another "Connecticut Yankee".
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LibraryThing member BooksCooksLooks
This book was such a trip - no pun intended. I really enjoyed it on two levels; I found the story interesting. Time travel books are among my favorites even though this is a bit different from the usual. The second level of enjoyment came from reading a book written in 1970. It was like another
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layer of time travel albeit one not intended by the author. This is a book that takes place in a world of locks and keys, dial up telephones and typewriters. I suspect for a generation who did not grow up in that world it must seem very alien. For me it was like a touch of nostalgia and I suspect it added to my enjoyment.

Si Morely is an artist who is working for an ad agency (where he draws with a pencil!). He's approached by a man to join a government program but he can't know what it is until he knows if he qualifies. It's all very mysterious but Si is bored at his job and he really has no connections so he figures, what the heck. Si passes the test and he learns that the program is about time travel.

Si has a girlfriend who's adopted father had a sad history part of which included a letter mailed in New York in 1882 so using the "method" Si wants to go back to that period to watch the letter being mailed. Of course he is not allowed to change history. As Si learns what he needs to know things are not all as up and up as they seem and he needs to figure out whom he can trust and he has to figure out where he belongs.

I truly enjoyed this story. It held my interest 'til the end. It was so very different from books written today and I don't even know if I can tell you why. It really was like stepping back into another world. I'm keeping it to read again because I suspect I'll find something on a second read through that I missed on the first. The characters are well developed and diverse and the plot is full of fun little twists and turns. The addition of the old photos and drawings only adds to the fun of the book.
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LibraryThing member coloradoreader
I enjoyed this book...mostly. I usually like time travel books and this one was particularly interesting and well written. I found myself "buying" the scheme and the success of the project. I was excited by Si's visits to New York City of 1882.

Without giving too much away, I was disappointed by
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the "adventures" near the end of the book, following the fire. What had been so beautifully written suddenly began to feel like a bad movie.

The "visual aids" in this book added to the ambiance.
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LibraryThing member ablueidol
Classic time travel story that evokes the era with drawings and photos so that its real. The time travel is based on the notion of a gestalt switch of seeing/feeling the era. Exploration is corrupted by a Political attempt to manipulate the past to suit USA interests(so what's new!) This is stopped
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but at a cost. One of the most memorable SF books read and as far as techie action as you can get
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LibraryThing member cbl_tn
After New York advertising artist Si Morley accepts an offer to join a secret government time travel experiment, he winds up in New York in January of 1882. Why then? Si's girlfriend, Kate, had a family mystery to solve centered on a letter mailed then. Si goes from observer to participant in
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subsequent events, facing great danger and finding unexpected love. The new relationships he forms in the past will require him to make a difficult choice. Which ties are stronger – the past or the present?

I loved this book until the last few pages. The author had a point to make, and he did it explicitly to make sure readers don't miss it. For me, a lot of the fun in reading time travel books is in wondering how things will resolve. The removal of uncertainty at the end of the book left me feeling disappointed.
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LibraryThing member AlexTheHunn
A surprisingly fun tale combining history, science fiction, and mystery. Finney deals with romance, crime and time travel. A good read.
LibraryThing member dbsav
Ever since I read this book, I have been fascinated with both time travel and history. Jack Finney has a way of describing the past in such a way that you really believe you are there. Unlike period books, his main character (Si Morley) descriptions of the people and places are from the eyes of a
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man who sees things from a present perspective. He points out the way people talk, and walk, and spend time together on frosty day.
Some people have commented that the way Si Morley travels through time is hokey, I agree. But why devise some clever means, when we all know from the get go time travel is impossible? (isn't it?)

Another time travel book that is written in the same spirit is "If I Never Get Back" by Darryl Brock . If you liked Jack Finney and baseball, you will love this book. Let me know.
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LibraryThing member dbsovereign
Fun time travel novel in which our hero travels back to January of 1882. The way he goes, via self hypnosis, strikes me as improbable, but I suppose as a mechanism it functions as well as any. Essentially a historical novel rather than sci-fi, the book not only takes us back with a story, but also
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shows us pictures and drawings from around the time - adding to the verisimilitude.
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LibraryThing member pennsylady
"In November 1970, Simon Morley, an advertising sketch artist, is approached by U.S. Army Major Ruben Prien to participate in a secret government project.
He is taken to a huge warehouse on the West Side of Manhattan, where he views what seem to be movie sets, with people acting on them. "
It seems
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this is a project to learn whether it is feasible to send people back into the past.
Si travels by what appears to be self hypnosis to NYC 1882.The past holds blackmail, subterfuge, romance among other things.
Initially, his activities in the past are making no difference to the present.
Dr Danzinger (originator of the project) resigns when it appears that time manipulation has occurred in another wing of the project.
The plot evolves............
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Bear in mind that the book was written over 40 years ago
Things may appear simplistic and not very challenging to the reader
While not an engrossing tale, it's an enjoyable tale.

3.5 ★
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LibraryThing member csmith0406
This was a really fun read, deserving of it's status as a classic. While clearly a product of its time with sexism and dated references, there was still something quite fun reading a novel about time travel contrasting the 1970s with the 1880s, from my pov in 2015. My husband laughe out loud when I
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read him the description of the miraculous tv you could turn on using KNOBS! And it had SIX channels! . The end was a nice twist too.
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LibraryThing member corgidog2
Time travel back to 1882. Good read.
LibraryThing member Cheryl_in_CC_NV
There's something magical in the writing style of this book. Something that makes there seem (to me) to be less plot, less drama - but makes the subtlety, the emphasis on place & time, to be more than enough to make up for the lack of excitement. I don't know exactly how I feel about this book -
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it's not SF but I can't seem to view it clearly through a lens of literature either - all I really have is a fuzzy sense of goodwill towards it. And this is the second time I've read it. Maybe I'll get more as I discuss it with fellow fans of Time Travel in our Group Read, this June 2014.
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Language

Original language

English

Original publication date

1970

Physical description

399 p.; 5.25 inches

ISBN

9780684801056
Page: 5.7585 seconds