Time and Again

By: Jack Finney

Narrated by: Paul Hecht

Length: 17 hrs

Publisher's summary

One of the most beloved tales of our time!

Science fiction, mystery, a passionate love story, and a detailed history of Old New York blend together in Jack Finney's spellbinding story of a young man enlisted in a secret Government experiment.

Transported from the mid-20th century to New York City in the year 1882, Si Morley walks the fashionable "Ladies' Mile" of Broadway, is enchanted by the jingling sleigh bells in Central Park, and solves a 20th-century mystery by discovering its 19th-century roots. Falling in love with a beautiful young woman, he ultimately finds himself forced to choose between his lives in the present and the past.

A story that will remain in the listener's memory, Time and Again is a remarkable blending of the troubled present and a nostalgic past, made vivid and extraordinarily moving by the images of a time that was... and perhaps still is.

©1970 Jack Finney (P)2011 Simon & Schuster

Critic reviews

"Go back to a wonderful world and have a wonderful time doing it." ( The New York Times)

Best time travel novel; my very favorite audiobook

At the end of Stephen King's 11/23/63, the author thanked Jack Finney for writing the Time and Again, the classic of the genre. That planted the seed in my head to check out the audiobook. Stephen King was right. I liked 11/23/63, but it does not compare to the great Finney novel. I have read Time and Again twice, and loved the audiobook just as much as I enjoyed reading and rereading that novel. This story makes New York City in the 1880's totally come alive. I felt transported in a way that no other time travel story has done. Si Morley is the man who travels back from 1970. He is an artist, and describes 19th century NYC as only an artist can do. This novel is also a mystery and love story, and has an action-adventure element to it. The only weakness with this story is the very flimsy science that this time travel experiment is based on. Don't let that ruin this otherwise amazing and wondrous novel. I have listened to many audiobooks in the past few years, and Time and Again may be my very favorite. I already know that this will be one I will listen to again. The reader is great. It's a first person narrative, and the voice fits perfectly with the narrator, Si. He also sounds like he is from 1970. One other good feature - there are few details from modern life, and the "present" could be 2012 as well as 1970. The author clearly wanted to write a novel that would not be dated in a few years. He succeeded.

You won't like it

Incredibly, this book was recommended by Stephen King in the epilogue of 11-22-63 (a book I HIGHLY recommend). He called it a "definitive time travel story". How could I admire his writing so much and HATE what he liked?

I'll just flat out tell any sci fi junkies, the time travel is completely incidental to the story and very badly designed. Think faster-than-light spaceships using a really really powerful solid rocket. He even violates his own "physics" at one very important point.

As for the story, it could have been told in an hour. He spends so much time explaining and detailing the scenes and people, you will fight the urge to skip forward. I did it routinely and marveled at how he was still droning on after minutes of skipping. His descriptions and ponderings are inane and do nothing to either further the story or develop the characters. The narrator has a deep, authoritative voice which stands in contradiction to the sophomoric writing. He is obviously an artist. He spends a good deal of the book discussing art.

As for the review that calls it a "love story"... well it's much more that than "time travel", but if you're looking for a good love story, DO NOT listen to this. As I mentioned: character development is non-existent. There is no chemistry, no feeling. The story is simple, predictable and extremely shallow unless you are into him going on and on about how incredible it is that he is really in another time and how amazingly different New York is in the 19th century. And art. Incessant discussions of art -- drawing, photography, carving
...

A great book, read humorlessly.

This is Jack Finney's iconic book about time travel. It easily cuts around physics, relying on the power of the mind. Well. Some minds. It's a very long thing and is written with a lot of light places to keep the reader happy and engaged.
Unfortunately, though the book is expertly narrated by Paul Hecht (who has a truly wonderful voice), Mr. Hecht neglects the humor, the grief, the human nuances. His read sounds very much like a documentary. Beautiful, but little to connect with.
If that doesn't trouble you as a listener, then I highly recommend this audiobook. Otherwise, read it instead.

For lovers of Time travel

Im a sucker for just about anything related to time travel so I had to get this. I actually heard about this book from a Stephen King interview. He said this was his favorite time travel story so I looked it up right away. I really liked the story and wished there was more of them. Great escapism. well narrated.

A book from the past about the past

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I, too, found this book through Stephen King's recommendation in 11-22-63. I also noted that Jack Finney was a master of sci-fi

What did you like best about this story?

I enjoyed the historical glimpses of the 1880's

Which character – as performed by Paul Hecht – was your favorite?

Julie

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Not really - but I looked forward to listening to it.

Any additional comments?

This book was written a long time ago about a time even longer ago...writing has evolved as we have evolved...so don't expect an action packed book. Look for a slow read that takes you to a different time and place...it's an easy and enjoyable read.

Loved It!

Great book, loved it! It all seemed so vivid; like I stepped into a painting!

(Perhaps it’s because I got back from New York City just yesterday and it’s still fresh in my mind that I was able to visualise the story so well!)

Finney takes his time “painting” scenes and doesn’t rush so don’t read it if you’re in a hurry – I wasn’t and just loved it! I plan to dive into Book 2 right away.

Finally, the Unabridged Version on Audible!!

I listened to this book years ago on cassette tape from the library and was excited to find it here on Audible only to be disappointed that it was abridged. I wrote to Audilbe asking for the unabridged, but received no feedback. Just as I was about to give in and get the abridged version, I discovered that the unabridged had just been added. : )

The combination of science and historical fictions makes for an engrossing tale the details of which I don't recall exactly, but which I look forward to rediscovering!

Tired, dated and dull

I forgot how sexist the 70’s were. Calling Admin personnel “girls,” checking out every single female and eating their looks, it’s a bit too much.

Led to this by Stephen King

Would you listen to Time and Again again? Why?

Yes, I believe so. It certainly pales in comparison to the Stephen King story that led so many of us to it, but it's an interesting tale in it's own right. I'll agree with other reviewers that the detail in the story drags on forever, and it definitely could have been told as well or better in half the words, but overall it was an intriguing story and I enjoyed it.

What does Paul Hecht bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Unfortunately, the narration also suffers when compared to Craig Wasson's performance of

Any additional comments?

For anyone who is considering this based on the afterword in King's

An Inspired Performance Worthy Of A Masterpiece

What did you love best about Time and Again?

Although the book started slowly, this is typical of time travel books. Finney spent a lot of time explaining how time travel would work, the story does not really begin until the character actually travels to the past. From there on, this is the audio equivalent of a page turner!

What did you like best about this story?

The detailed and charming recreation of New York in the 1880s was consistently fascinating! The characters were well drawn and the plot engrossing.

What about Paul Hecht’s performance did you like?

Excellent perormance.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

YES!

Any additional comments?

Great novel, excellent reading!