R. E. Jones

Bid Time Return (the original title of this book) has been one of my favorite books for over 3 decades. I first read it when it was published in 1975 and I've read it many times since. In fact, I own 3 tattered paperback copies and treasure them all. Apparently after the lovely Christopher Reeve/Jane Seymour movie, Somewhere In Time, was released it was decided to change the book title to match the movie for future editions. That's okay. If familiarity with the movie title will get more people to read this very moving, gentle story, it gets my vote.

It is the story of a young man, terminally ill, who takes one last road-trip. He has no real destination in mind. He's just driving. On a whim, he stops at the Hotel Del Coronado for the night. While there he explores the hotel. In 'The Hall of History," he falls in love/becomes obssessed with the photographic portrait of an actress, Elise McKenna, from the late 19th century...and there the tale truly begins.

I am always hesitant to listen to a book I already love in the print edition. Seldom do they meet my expectations of how the voices should sound or words be delivered. However, Scott Brick gets 5 stars all his own for his narration. Somewhere in Time is a first-person story. It is utterly dependent on the reader/listener believing the narrator *is* the speaker. Don't believe the narrator, the story, no matter how well written, will fail. So you can only imagine how stunned I was when I started listening and realized I was actually hearing Richard Collier's voice the way I had imagined it for over 30 years. It took my breath away. Mr. Brick isn't narrating the book, he *is* Richard Collier.

I know that I will listen to this book again and again, once I stop crying over the ending. According to Scott Brick, he had to re-record the last 3 pages because he was crying, too. What more can you ask of a beautiful, romantic story than to be carried away by the emotions it invokes.