A Life Spent Reading

I thought that I had read – or at least heard of – most of the classics in SF, but this one (published as a “Fantasy Masterwork”, no less) had somehow escaped my notice. And that’s too bad, because it’s a very good book. I won’t say that the writing is anything special, but much like Philip K. Dick’s stuff, the concept is so compelling that it doesn’t really matter.

The main idea is that Jeff Winston, a mediocre radio journalist whose midlife prospects aren’t all that great, has a heart attack and dies at age 43… but then wakes up back in time as his eighteen-year-old self, with all his adult memories and experiences intact. Essentially, he gets to replay his life from eighteen to 43 again… and again, and again. It’s a common what-if fantasy that all of us over the age of 30 have probably had, and author Ken Grimwood’s exploration of this idea is what gives the book its strength. It’s one that asks big questions: why are we here, what is the meaning of life, and so on. It doesn’t provide any real answers, of course, but the journey getting to those non-answers will definitely make you think.

One caveat: The younger you are, the fewer the historical/pop-culture references you’re going to get. Not really recommended for those under 30, unless you happen to have a lot of older friends.