In Ken Grimwood's Replay, the protagonist, Jeff Winston, dies on page one--only to reawaken back in 1963 with full knowledge of what will happen over the next ?? years. Using his foreknowledge, Winston lives his second life a wealthy man--but then he dies again and finds himself once more back in 1963. Soon it becomes clear to Winston that he is a replayer, doomed--or blessed--to go through his life over and over again, with all the promise and constraint that replaying entails.

The best thing about Grimwood's brief novel is that he focuses on his characters rather than his premise. Throughout the story, all of the characters act and react plausibly to the completely implausible phenomenon of replaying. During the course of his many lives, Winston does what might reasonably be expected any person in his situation would do--from a lifetime as a sybaritic playboy, to a poignant attempt to raise a family. Except for one deliberately halfhearted attempt, Grimwood makes no effort to explain how replaying is possible--and his story is stronger for this restraint.

But Replay's chief strength is also its greatest fault. The characters act so believably, so humanly, that the story ends up being a little too quiet, too flat. Part of the problem also lies with the concept of replaying itself: it's hard to sustain tension when there exists a phenomenon that will inevitably erase any old problems and offer the protagonist a chance to start anew. But for a good, quiet tale that is honestly told and decently written--if not very exciting--Replay is worth a read.

Copyright © 2002 Steven Wu