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Summary: One of the Best Books Ever Written
Review: I first read Jack Finney's Time and Again about a year ago. Never really a science fiction fan, I was unsure if I would enjoy it. Although I must admit the beginning was a bit slow, it helped set up the rest of the fast-paced novel that would follow. Despite the cliche, once I started reading Time and Again, it was very hard to put down. I love the accurate descriptions of old New York, and although some of the novel takes place in the seventies, it does not feel at all outdated. When I read it for the second time, I still couldn't help but to be amazed yet again by Finney's wonderful writing style that is so realistic you could actually believe that Simon Morley, the main character, went back into time. I have yet to read Jack Finney's other novels (I was surprised to learn that he wrote Invasion of the Body Snatchers), but I am anxious to read them. I would truly recommend this book to anyone, because even people with little or no interest in history and time travel will be able to appreciate Jack Finney's remarkable novel Time and Again. I really do believe that this is one of the best books ever written, and I hope that more people can read it, enjoy it, and realize what a great author Jack Finney is.
Rating:
Summary: unforgettable
Review: The first time I tried to read this book I got frustrated and quit. Gave it another go later on and then it clicked with me. It is a tremendous book and it is the detail that makes you feel you're taking the trip in time yourself. Instead of having Si Morely meet up with famous people, he interacts with the ordinary people of the time and it really brings the era to life. I'll be honest, I thought that the sequel, "Time After Time" was a terrible and a waste of time. Finney spent pages going on about 19th century vaudeville. But "Time and Again" is just a terrific, warm and thoughtful book. I thought I read once that Robert Redford owned the film rights. It is a book that deserves to be made into a picture, no doubt about it.
Rating:
Summary: best book ever written in English
Review: This is my favorite book ever. Reading it for the first time was one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life. Take out a few days, a snowy winter time is best, and prepare to read it straight through.
Rating:
Summary: Almost there.
Review: This is by far my favorite book. Finney's description of Old New York, made me feel as if I had gone back in time. I loved it there. It seemed so realistic, not science fictionish. This book is intriguing. You won't want to put it down, and you won't want it to end. I have lived near New York City my whole life and after reading this book have never looked at New York in the same light. Standing in front of the Dakota now, brings me back to scenes in the book. I almost want to go inside, I almost believe if I do I too will go back in time. If you need an escape from today's busy, stressful times, go back. Let Jack Finney take you back as only he can.
Rating: 
Summary: Original concept bogged down by poor editing & lack of plot
Review: As with many other reviewers, I found the concept of this book - time travel back to NYC in 1882 - intriguing. Unfortunately, the actual reading of this book was a disappointment.Here's my guess on what happened. Take a New York writer, a New York editor and a New York publisher. Someone forgot that some of the readers might not know or care about every last corner and building in New York City. Hence, many incredibly detailed descriptions were allowed to stay in the book that should have gone to the cutting room floor. The first 250 pages of this book were painfully slow for me. At least the final 100 pages had both action and philosophy and read smoothly. Bottom line -- probably a good book for those who know and love Manhattan. As for the rest of us, I'm sure better books of time-travel and mystery and romance are out there.
Rating:
Summary: Be Taken Away
Review: If at all possible, find a quiet room and a friend who will read this to you. Close your eyes, travel through time and get lost in this wonderful adventure.
Rating:
Summary: The best (only) book I read this week...
Review: I've recently been on an old New York kick... especially architecturally from the 1880's-1930's... so this book I lucked upon in a dontation pile, and it could be contemporary instead of published in 1970... Strangely enough, this would be a perfect movie vehicle in the age of computer-recreations of backdrops and architectures... especially that of old New York city... So I hope that someone (Speilberg comes to mind; or James Cameron) makes a film using this book and its plot... since it is very cinematic in its delivery... Let's see... Leonardo DiCaprio could star, reprising his 'stowaway artist' role from Titanic... this time as a time-travel refugee... And Julie Delphy would be perfect as Julia Charbonneau... Danny Devito as Ruben Prien... I liked how the book has all kinds of sinister plot twists, especially at the end... and how Si's adventure ultimately goes beyond questions of years and centuries, examing the eternal-preponderance of What-now forever and why?...
Rating: 
Summary: What a waste of time......
Review: I have to agree with reviewer "Michael D. Ward." This book was such a disappointment!! I read the back cover and was so excited to read this because the concept was so unique. As I always do when I buy a new book, I logged on to Amazon.com and read the reviews. I must admit because the reviews were so outstanding I chose to ignore Michael's review. Too bad! He was right. The author went into way too much detail about the most boring and trivial things! I actually read the entire book but would literally skip pages at a time to get through it. What a waste of time, the ending was just as boring as the beginning and middle. Don't waste your time!
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Summary: Magical Book..turned me on to new literature
Review: This book is a wonderful blend of historical fiction, science, fiction, mystery, and romance. Two genres I have always shyed away from, ironically, are historical and science fiction. Most historical fiction books I've read have been so boring they've put me to sleep. Often times science fiction books have horrible plots, very contrived and phoney. After reading this book, I realize that there is good and bad in each genre. This is the best. The plot moves along quickly, and always keeps you guessing at what will happen next. The details capture the moment perfectly, so you find yourself actually placed in the setting, experiencing Si's feelings. It's very magical. You can almost hear the gentle snow falling on the lamp posts and Si's heart pounding when Finney describes it. The best thing about this book, however, is that the storyline is original. You won't recognize this plot from another book...it's very creative and unique. Not at all typical of time travel, or historical fiction novels. The mystery and adventure make it exciting, the historical aspects are a bonus for someone interested in historical settings, the time travel makes it facsinating, and the romance is great for a romance lover. The only thing you should know is that the first few chapters give a base for the novel, and are not as interesting as the rest of the book. So don't throw down the book dissapointed if you've only read a chapter or two..you haven't really begun reading yet!(It can be a little confusing at first, since you won't really understand anything until a little later on..but when you begin to understand it, it's a WOW book.) All in all...an extremely satisfying, captivating read. Believe me, you'll never forget this book! A must for anyone who enjoys reading.
Rating:
Summary: Romanticized but Highly Entertaining
Review: Si Morely is a late twentieth-century artist who spends his days in the comfortable but non-creative pursuit of drawing boring illustrations, and his nights in an equally comfortable but not-so-great relationship with an interesting (but definitely not hot) antiques dealer. It's the type of relationship where you might get married someday, but then again, you might not. Si's girlfriend, however, is a lady with a secret: a burned, blue envelope that appears to warn of the the end of the world by fire. The government interrupts Si's comfortable but mundane life when they make a proposal. The only problem is, Si has to agree before he can learn any of the details. As nothing particularly spectacular is happening in Si's life right now, he agrees and learns the government has been experimenting with time travel. They are now searching for the perfect people to send back in time, i.e., people who love history, who can recreate the past in their imaginations. As it turns out, Si has a very good imagination and is the first to make the trip. He crosses time's threshold and enters New York in 1882, a place where he will encounter an old mystery and a future love. Finney's Old New York is both magical and romanticized, a little like Mark Helprin's in Winter's Tale. Horses trot down the city streets, skyscrapers are only a dream and snow transforms the city into a winter wonderland. The streets are cobblestone, the men are gentlemen and people live in boarding houses whose windows reflect the light from the gas lamps lining the streets. It's an idealized version of New York, to be sure, and Finney doesn't tell us about the child labor, the rampant racism, the myriad of problems that were portrayed in Caleb Carr's The Alienist, for example. That's okay, because Time and Again is so good, and such wonderful entertainment, that we easily forgive Finney his historical inaccuracies. While visiting the past, Si investigates his girlfriend's family secret, the secret of the blue envelope. Although a little contrived, this is a mystery with many twists and turns, at times sinister, at times amusing, but always engrossing. Finney wisely presents no new earth-shaking ideas here and only briefly touches on themes such as the paradox and angst associated with fooling around with the course of history. Si is a man who interacts with the past in much the same way you or I probably would, and, ultimately, this is what makes Time and Again so very believable and so very good. Gratefully, Finney eschews gimmicks and high-tech solutions to the problem of time travel and gracefully relies on plain old-fashioned will instead. That is part of why Si is able to accomplish it so easily. For him, history is more than names and dates in a book, it's something that's happening right now, something that can be recreated, if only one can get into the right frame of mind. Time travel is a wonderful and entertaining genre if only it's handled correctly and handling it correctly is something Finney never fails to do. In Time and Again Finney gives us the complexity of a murder mystery wrapped in a Russian enigma. It's a wonderful book with wonderful characters that never fails to entertain.
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