Time and Again by Jack Finney Review

Review of Time and Again

By: Jack Finney

Simon Morley is not satisfied with his life, and he gets the opportunity to travel back in time to New York City 1882 for a government sanctioned project.  He goes back in time to investigate a mysterious note that refers to a great fire and a blackmail scheme.  While in the past, he meets and falls for Julia, who might be caught in the crossfire.

Like all time traveler stories, it begs the question of us interfering with the past.  Can we altar the past just by being there and can a small change in the past effect the present?  Simon must decide what to do and if his choices will have dire consequences.  It also becomes personal when he falls for Julia and she’s involved with the antagonist, unaware he could be committing a dangerous crime.  I felt Simon was relatable in the sense that he desired a simpler time, and he just appreciates this unreal experience he’s privileged to have.  Julia is kind and a strong woman.  She’s brave and tough, but still a woman of her time.  I feel like there are two antagonists, but the main one is Jake Pickering, Julia’s boyfriend, and he’s a bit weird.  He’s also desperate making him dangerous.  The execution of time travel is done in a unique way by using hypnosis instead of a machine or device, though Simon also must make sure he immerses himself in knowledge of the past.  Simon is an artist, and he sketches some of the places he sees in the past, and another character receives a camera as a gift and Simon uses it allowing us to get photographs of the people and places, as well.  There’s a chapter of Simon walking around the city and taking various photographs.  This is more of a literally novel with long chapters that allows the reader to get to know the character and isn’t fast paced, but still intriguing.