Welcome to 1882
February 22nd, 2007 Emily - Lakeview
Simon Morley (called Si), an artist, is approached by a government agent one day and told he has been selected to participate in a new program. The catch is that he has to agree before finding out exactly what he’s agreeing to. Time And Again by Jack Finney revolves around the adventures taken by Si. Although Si resists the program at first, he does quit his job and seek out the agency. Once he signs up he is told that there is a group working on time travel and based on his military exam records, he has been selected. He begins a sort of training and eventually ends up in New York City in 1882.
Much of the novel takes place in that time period and the descriptions by Finney are rich and well done. The novel is illustrated and includes both pictures and illustrations of the past. I both liked and didn’t like this. It was interesting to see photographs of people farming in the middle of New York City, but I also wanted to use my imagination to come up with the scenes being described in the book. That said, the illustrations certainly did not cause the author to skimp on description. I loved the way that Si, who was coming from the 1970s when the novel was written, described how things were different in 1882. For example, the shiny copper arm of the Statue of Liberty is in Madison Square at this time and the author tries to stay true to history.
The character depth was the best part. A lot of the plot is spent by Si trying to figure out what a letter means that his 1970s girlfriend, Kate owns. The letter belonged to Kate’s grandfather who eventually committed suicide. Si lives in a boardinghouse in 1882 for a while and falls in love with Jake Pickering’s fiancée, Julia. Jake is trying to blackmail Andrew Carmody, who is Kate’s grandfather. Si describes Jake to Julia as a true villain and Si is correct in this description. The characterization is very well done and Si’s relationship with the women in this novel is also well written. Check out this classic novel if you’re looking for a bit of historical fiction and a bit of science fiction.
Entry Filed under: Historical Fiction, Science Fiction
4 Comments Add your own
1. AgentXpndble | February 22nd, 2007 at 1:11 pm
I consider this a favorite book but to be honest, it’s been 15 years since I read it last and have forgotten a lot of detail.
What I remember absolutely *loving* about the book was the photographs, etc… Years before I discovered historical research and genealogy and that I had a passion for it, I would spend hours in the local antique store staring at Victorian photographs - Wondering like mad what the people were doing, what they were like, what they were smelling or seeing or feeling there on the busy street, or in the dark parlor. The thing that absolutely enthralled me about this story was that the author followed that very idea - Taking photos and fleshing them out and weaving them into the story. There is also something in this idea that appeals to me in Nick Bantock’s work - It’s very fleshed out and meshes with reality.
I also remember liking the pace of the book - It felt a bit slow and at times the author might have gone into just a bit too much detail for the average reader - Not so much a fast rollercoaster as a slow buggy ride through the park. I personally read books more for atmosphere and character exploration than I do for any clever plot, so while I really liked this book for that reason, I’ve shown caution in recommending it to friends. It’s encouraging to hear that you felt it was a strongly written novel - I might put it back on my general recommendation list.
2. Kathy | February 23rd, 2007 at 4:43 pm
I liked this book a lot too, Emily, but then I’m a sucker for time travel stories. Outlander, The Time Traveler’s Wife, The Doomsday Book, Kage Baker’s Company series that begins with In the Garden of Iden…I’ve read ‘em all. Did you know there’s a sequel to this, called From Time to Time? Si continues his time traveling adventures, and gets mixed up with the voyage of the Titanic.
3. Emily - Lakeview | February 26th, 2007 at 9:20 am
It’s good to see that this book is well liked and seems to have stood the test of time (pardon the pun). Thanks for mentioning the sequel Kathy, I’ll have to check that out.
4. Carla | February 28th, 2007 at 4:11 pm
I’ve considered Time and Again a favorite also, since I first read it when it was new and recommended by the fiction librarian at MPL at the time. What’s really fun is to take the book to NYC, if and when you go, and retrace SI’s tracks.
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