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 on the nature of time, Replay asks the question: "What if you could live your life over again?"

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!


One of the Few Books I ever Read Twice   December 28, 1999
 22 out of 26 found this review helpful

I first bought & read a hardcover copy of this book back in the early 90's. Within the year I read it a second time just to see if my very real initial enjoyment of it was just a fluke, decided it wasn't, loaned it to a friend, and never saw it again. Two years ago when I loaned & later gave my copy of "Jumper" by Steven Gould to my teenage stepson, he enjoyed it so much he asked me to recommend any other books I could think of that were even slightly similar in theme. Replay immediately came to mind but I wasn't sure it was still available & didn't take the time to find out. Needless to say, I've just rediscovered it & plan to order two copies shortly. If you're looking for lots of technical complexity in a novel you should move on; if you want a hard to put down, easy to read, thought provoking parable of how we all can take the simplest things in life for granted, it's a great book. I'm looking forward to reading it a third time and getting an extra twist this time by hearing my stepson's comments.


How many times does a person have to die?   October 18, 2006
 21 out of 22 found this review helpful

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.


A GREAT book   July 27, 2000
 19 out of 21 found this review helpful

I read a great deal; it's part of my job as a historian, but I have loved to read since I was a child. Of the hundreds (thousands?) of books I have read, this ranks among my all-time favorites.

The book, which won the 1988 World Fantasy Award, is the story of a man who dies of a heart attack in 1988 and awakens to discover he is in college in 1963. The plot chronicles his multiple lives (he continues this process of "replaying this portion of his life) and the many personas he assumes for himself--financial wizard, author, family man, and farmer--and indulges in every man's fantasy: knowing the future and taking full advantage of it. As the story progresses, however, the excitement and novelty of the replays wears on his psyche and he seeks escape and relief in drugs, but even that pales after years of meaningless life. The conclusion (which I won't give away here) is thoughtful and gives new meaning to the idea of a second chance in life.

Ken Grimwood has written an extraordinary book that not only is an outstanding story but that also makes the reader think about their lives, the choices we make, and what is truly important to us in the long-run. He does so with humor, tragedy, and insight into human nature and leads the reader on a journey of introspection and reassessment without being preachy. I have read it at least five times and will certainly return to it several more times. My fervent hope is that if and when they make this into a film (the rights have already been purchased) that they do justice to the remarkable narrative Grimwood has created.

If you haven't read this book, DO IT. If you have, read it again or give it to a friend. They will thank you for it.