Friday, February 8, 2013

Beginning ~ with the main character's death

"Jeff Winston was on the phone with his wife when he died."
Replay ~ by Ken Grimwood, 1986, fiction (Georgia)
The cover to the right is what my library copy looks like; the cover I showed for library loot last week was a current one I found online when I set up the post before actually seeing the library's copy; and the one above is an early edition of the paperback, maybe the first edition of the book, shown in this Emory University review.  Jeff dies, yes, but suddenly finds himself back at Emory as a very alive 18-year-old.

"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."

I'm curious about what will happen along the way.  Especially since I was studying for my Master's degree at Emory in 1986 when Ken Grimwood first published this book.  I wonder what I'll recognize about the campus.

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays. Click here for today's Mister Linky.

7 comments:

Linda said...

I picked this one up from the library after seeing it in your loot pile this week.

Sandra Nachlinger said...

WOW! What a beginning and what a fascinating premise for a story. I'll read this one for sure.
My Friday 56 / Beginnings post features DAKOTA BLUES.

Gilion at Rose City Reader said...

Great beginning! Although the plot sounds like a cross between The Time Traveler's Wife and Groundhog Day. :)

Thanks for participating in Book Beginnings!

Bonnie Jacobs said...

Linda, maybe we can discuss the book. You, too, Sandy.

Gilion, Groundhog Day should have given credit for the time-loop idea to Ken Grimwood and this book. Take a look at the Emory University article (linked in my post) and the Wikipedia article about Replay, found here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Replay_%28novel%29

Helen's Book Blog said...

Replay is a book I heard about a number of years ago. I really do need to read it as it's getting a bunch of reviews these days

Bev Hankins said...

Oh, I loved Replay when I read it many moons ago (long before Groundhog Day!). Hope you enjoy it!

Here's my Friday Post.

Beth said...

Wow, what an interesting concept for a book! I think I'll check for this one at our library---thanks, Bonnie.