I’ve neglected writing full book reviews for a while now – life gets busy, and I’ve had precious little time to read, let alone write. But I wanted to specially note a fantastic little book I finished last week called Replay. It was written in 1987 by Ken Grimwood (who passed away in 2003), but apparently our library just got a copy since it was on the New Arrivals shelf. It was well worth picking up.
Replay is a little fantasy novel with a time-travel or time-replay twist. The basic ground rules of the Replay world go something like this:
- You retain your memories of each replay.
- Your date of death remains the same for each replay.
- Major historical events cannot be changed between replays.
Within that framework, Replay’s protagonist Jeff re-lives life, from college in 1963 through his death in 1988, multiple times. And while at the facial level it’s just a cool little fantasy story, it really goes deeper than that, exploring one of the most basic questions of human existence: what will make you happy?
Jeff’s replays start similarly to what most of us would do in his situation – betting on a few sporting events (hey, he already knows who’s going to win) to provide his initial bankroll, then investing heavily in the companies he knows will succeed. And each replay he’s trying to find happiness some particular way. First he tries the path of fabulous wealth and meaningless sex. Then there’s the attempt to actually have children and a family with his “original” wife. (Too emotionally painful – didn’t try that again.) Then he tries altruism – can he prevent JFK’s assassination? (Nope, he can’t.) And on and on. Each replay provides more opportunities to find fulfillment, each ends mostly unfulfilled in the same inevitable death.
Without giving too much away, Replay does a great job at illustrating the truth that we find in the book of Ecclesiastes – that trying out everything under the sun, even multiple times, in the end still sums up to meaninglessness, and death is inescapable. Furthermore, it recognizes that hope is found in life – the chance to move forward through time, to experience the unknown.
If you get a chance to pick up Replay, I’d highly recommend you do so. It’s well worth the read.