Replay

by Ken Grimwood

Book Overview

Jeff Winston, forty-three, didn't know he was a replayer until he died and woke up twenty-five years younger in his college dorm room; he lived another life. And died again. And lived again and died again -- in a continuous twenty-five-year cycle -- each time starting from scratch at the age of eighteen to reclaim lost loves, remedy past mistakes, or make a fortune in the stock market. A novel of gripping adventure, romance, and fascinating speculation...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 068816112X
• ISBN13: 9780688161125
• Release Date: July 1998
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.2"
• Age Range: 14 to 18 years
• Grade Range: Grade 9 to Postsecondary

Customer Reviews

Read This For Some Fun

I have read this book 3 times in the past 25 or more years. It is always fun to read & gives a person something to think about regarding their own years that are behind them. The character development was very good & the protagonist is very easy to like, as is most of the characters.

How many times does a person have to die?

I love time travel books and this is one of the best ones I've read. Some details in the character's lives are slightly dated because it was written in the 80s, but that doesn't make it any less interesting. Hopefully Grimwood will write a sequel in the future. Even though the ending was decent, I wondered what happened to the main characters after they returned to their normal lives and if there were any other people that went through the same ordeal.

An enjoyably enlightening read

Let me begin by stating that I'm not a huge fan of the science fiction or fantasy genres, but there are some books whose unique plots immediately draw my attention, and beckon to be read. This is one of those books. Jeff Winston dies, for the first time, within the first couple pages of the novel, and from there we go with him as he learns of his unique condition, or ability, if you will, to relive life over and over again. Jeff transcends time and space, taking his "aged" and experienced mind with him to his more youthful body, and he uses his wisdom and foreknowledge to exact changes in his life, and therefore the lives of those around him. He is given a second chance...and a third, and a fourth, etc. But what changes will he make, and are they really for the better? The plot thickens when Jeff learns that he is not the only one with this unique asset. Another person, a woman, is also living her life in "replays." Pamela is an artist and a housewife who wants to use her knowledge of the future to attempt to exact changes for the greater good, whatever that may mean. However, she finds that her intentions, though benevolent, bring with them a complex web of consequences. Together, the soul mates Pamela and Jeff share lifetimes of love and joy, an opportunity that many would eagerly vie for. They gather wealth and knowledge, they travel to various reaches of the globe, they form meaningful relationships with a wide variety of people, and they seemingly ascertain everything anyone could possibly want. But the lessons learned are still the same at the end of many lifetimes as they would be, it would seem, for one lifetime. This book will run you through a wide gamut of emotions, making you laugh one moment while you cry the next, and when you turn the last page you'll wish it wasn't over. Ken Grimwood forces his readers to evaluate their lives and ponder their existences. Though we may not all have the opportunity to live several lifetimes, we do have time to exact our own changes here and now. Replay is a novel I will be reading and rereading over again, and one I will be giving to friends and family to read as well. Don't pass up this brilliant, unforgettable work.

LIVING LIFE TO THE FULLEST...

This is a World Fantasy Award winning book that should appeal to those who are interested in alternate realities and time travel themes. This is the second time that I have read this book, and I love it as much the second time as I did the first. Time has not diminished the capacity of this book to entertain the reader.The book has a wonderfully intriguing plot. What would happen if one were to have the opportunity to relive one's life after death? That is exactly what happens to Jeff Winston, a forty- three year old man who is trapped in a stale and loveless marriage with a dead-end job as the icing on his personal cake. In 1988, Jeff has a fatal heart attack and wakes up in 1963 as his younger self, an eighteen year old college student. After his initial shock wears off, he realizes that he remembers what the future holds. Using that knowledge, he goes about trying to improve his life the second time around, only to die again at forty-three and have to replay his life, over and over.Along the way, Jeff tries to correct his mistakes in judgment and develops a new perspective on life. He also discovers that he is not alone in terms of the ability to replay one's life and finds a soul mate who shares a similar fate. Jeff ultimately discovers true love, romance, adventure, and a deep appreciation of life itself. This is a wonderful book that will keep the reader turning the pages. Bravo!

Make time to read this book

This is an indispensible book for anyone who has ever considered the possibilty of living their life over, and who hasn't? Jeff Winston, the novels middle-aged protagonist, is stuck in an unsatisfied career as a broadcast journalist with a marriage on the brink of collapse. Dying seemingly of a heart attack in 1988 he awakes back in 1963 in his old college dorm, to "replay" his life over again, with the foreknowledge of his previous life, and thus the potential to make amends for past mistakes. Yet when he reaches 1988 for the second time he again dies and has to live his life over and over.... His early replays are characterized by largely hedonistic pursuits; making unimaginable riches gambling on the sports events, sleeping with beautiful women, and driving fast cars etc. Feeling the dissatisfaction at these self serving activities, he takes on an altruistic stance in his later replays; preventing major accidents and wars, with, much to his dissmay, disasterous consequences. The novels break-neck speed sometimes stretches the credulity of the readers imagination and it's difficult at times, to fully garner the passing of centuries squeezed into it's three hundred pages. Still that alone couldn't prevent this reader from gulping down it's contents in two mesmerized sittings, when I myself, lost all concept of time. More than just a merely satisfying read, Grimwood here explores some profound territory with regard to time and aging, foolishness and wisdom. Themes from the book, even now three weeks ago having read it, reoccur in my daily thoughts. More than any pulpy self help book, or brow-scratching french novel, this book will make the reader sit up and more fully realize the precious sanctity of this life and the precious little time we have in which to live it.

Absolutely the best "alternate reality" book ever published.

This book unlike any other encourages the reader to really examine his or her life in a totally unique situation. What would you do if you got a second, third or fourth chance to live your life over. The heartbreak of losing children, wives, fortunes made and lost and ultimately of being bored with quite literally "nothing new under the sun". Even though I read this book when it was initially released in hardcover, have read it 8-10 times since, have 2 first edition copies and numerous paperback copies, I still find the concept of replaying your life one of the most fascinating and compelling ideas ever envisioned. Hardly a week goes by when I'm not thinking of this idea. This book brings home the reality of winning the "Grand Lotto", what would you do with all that wealth, and in this case a whole new life or series of lives. An outstanding read! This is the book you've looked your whole life to find