Time and Again

📘 About This Book

The 50th anniversary edition of the beloved classic that Stephen King has called “THE great time-travel story.” Featuring a brand-new introduction by the New York Times bestselling author of Recursion, Blake Crouch. When advertising artist Si Morley is recruited to join a covert government operation exploring the possibility of time travel, he jumps at the chance to leave his mundane 20th-century existence and step into the past. But he also has another motivation for going back in time: a half-burned letter that tells of a mysterious, tragic death and ominously of “fire which will destroy the whole world.” Traveling to New York City in January 1882 to investigate, he finds a Manhattan teeming with a different kind of life, the waterfront unimpeded by skyscrapers, open-air markets packed with activity, Central Park bustling with horse drawn sleighs—a city on the precipice of great things. At first, Si welcomes these trips as a temporary escape but when he falls in love with a woman he meets in the past, he must choose whether to return to modern life or live in 1882 for good. “Pure New York fun” (Alice Hoffman, New York Times bestselling author), Time and Again is meticulous recreation of New York in the late nineteenth century, exploring the possibilities of time travel to tell an ageless story of love, longing, and adventure. Finney’s magnum opus has been a source of inspiration for countless science fiction writers since its first publication in 1970.

📖 Summary

Time and Again by Jack Finney is celebrated as a defining masterpiece of time travel fiction, blending meticulous historical detail with a deeply engaging narrative. The story centers on Si Morley, an ordinary advertising artist living in the twentieth century whose life is suddenly upended when he is recruited for a clandestine government project. The mission explores the theoretical possibility of time travel, offering Si a much-needed escape from his mundane modern existence. While the scientific and exploratory aspects of the project are enticing on their own, Si possesses a deeply personal motivation for making the leap into the past. Driven by a mysterious, half-burned historical letter that hints at a tragic death and warns ominously of a fire that could destroy the entire world, Si agrees to step backward through the decades. His destination is New York City in January 1882, a metropolis vastly different from the one he left behind. In this nineteenth-century setting, Manhattan is teeming with a vibrant, distinct kind of life. The waterfront remains unimpeded by modern skyscrapers, and open-air markets are densely packed with vendors, horse-drawn carriages, and citizens navigating a slower yet bustling era. As Si immerses himself in this bygone world, he must balance the secrecy of his government assignment with his urgent quest to uncover the truth behind the historical letter and avert the catastrophic fire it promises. Throughout the 512 pages of this beloved classic, Finney constructs a rich tapestry that examines the allure of the past against the realities of the present. The novel does not merely rely on the mechanics of time travel; instead, it uses the transition to explore human curiosity, historical preservation, and the unintended consequences of trying to alter the timeline. Celebrated by prominent authors like Stephen King, who famously called it the great time-travel story, the book captures the imagination by contrasting the concrete complexities of modern life with the romanticized yet hazardous texture of nineteenth-century New York. This anniversary edition invites both new readers and longtime fans to experience a gripping tale where personal stakes collide with global history, all anchored by a protagonist who finds himself caught between two entirely different worlds.

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