Time and Again is a 1970 book with pictures written by American author Jack Finney. The pictures in the book are real, but as explained in a note at the end, not all of them were created in 1882, the year when the main events of the story happen. A follow-up book, From Time to Time (1995), was published in the last year of Finney’s life. The first book allowed for a third story, which was never written. In the afterword of 11/22/63, Stephen King says that Time and Again is "in this writer’s humble opinion, the great time-travel story." He originally planned to dedicate his book to Jack Finney.
Plot
In November 1970, Simon Morley, an artist who creates sketches for advertisements, meets U.S. Army Major Ruben Prien. Prien asks Simon to join a secret government project. Simon is taken to a large warehouse on the West Side of Manhattan. Inside, he sees what look like movie sets with people acting on them. The project aims to test if people can travel back in time through self-hypnosis—by convincing themselves they are in the past, they might actually be there.
Simon, often called Si, wants to travel to the past because his girlfriend, Kate, has a mystery tied to New York City in 1882. She has a letter from that year, sent to Andrew Carmody, a fictional person connected to Grover Cleveland. The letter appears to be about a meeting to discuss marble, but a burned note suggests the letter caused "the destruction by fire of the entire World," followed by a missing word. Carmody wrote the note, admitted guilt, and then committed suicide.
Si agrees to join the project and asks to travel to 1882 to watch the letter being mailed. Dr. E.E. Danziger, the project leader, agrees and explains he cannot go because he wants to see his parents’ first meeting, which also happened in 1882. The project rents an apartment in the Dakota building, which did not exist in 1882 (it was completed two years later). Si uses the apartment as a base and for self-hypnosis, as the building’s style matches the 1882 era and faces a part of Central Park unchanged from that time.
Si successfully travels to 1882, first briefly, then with Kate. They watch the letter being mailed by a man at the post office and follow him to 19 Gramercy Park. They return to the Dakota apartment and return to the present.
After each trip, Si is examined, and the project organizers find no changes in the present. Si is encouraged to return. He visits 19 Gramercy Park and is accepted as a boarder. He learns the letter’s sender is Jake Pickering. Si sketches the city and discovers Pickering is blackmailing Carmody. He becomes close to Julia Charbonneau, the landlady’s niece, but Pickering, who is also interested in Julia, causes a scene by tattooing her name on himself. Si leaves and returns to the present.
In the present, another project participant caused a change in the past, leading to a friend’s nonexistence. Dr. Danziger resigns, urging the project to stop. After talking with Prien, Si decides to return to the past.
Back in 1882, Si and Julia confront Pickering, who blackmails Carmody. Carmody brings only $10,000 instead of the demanded $1,000,000. After a struggle, Carmody burns the blackmail files, causing a fire that destroys the New York World building, a real historical event. Si and Julia escape the fire and learn the missing word in Carmody’s note was "Building."
They are later arrested by Police Inspector Thomas Byrnes, who sets up a fake escape to prove their guilt. They flee but have no money or home. They hide in the unfinished Statue of Liberty’s arm in Madison Square, a real event. Si explains the time travel to Julia, who initially thinks it is a fantasy. When they return to the present, Julia is shocked by the changes in 90 years.
They stay in Si’s apartment, where he is ashamed to share the horrors of the past. Julia must return home, but she realizes the man at Carmody’s house was Pickering, who died in the fire. She returns to 1882 without Si’s help.
Si reports to the project, hiding Julia’s visit to the present. The military leaders want him to change the past to prevent Pickering from influencing Grover Cleveland, which might have avoided Fidel Castro’s rise. After talking with Danziger, Si refuses. He returns to 1882 and prevents his parents from meeting, altering their history.
Reception
In 1978, Carl Sagan criticized science fiction stories that included unrealistic ideas. However, he praised the book Time and Again for being well-built and containing detailed descriptions of a society that feels real. He said these details make the story so engaging that he forgets to be critical before even noticing them.
Audio version
In 1995, Simon & Schuster published shortened audio versions of the books Time and Again and From Time to Time. The audio versions were read by Campbell Scott and each lasted 4.5 hours.
Related films
Although there has never been a movie made of this book, a 1980 film called Somewhere in Time uses a similar time travel method. The movie is based on the 1975 novel Bid Time Return by Richard Matheson. It tells the story of a young man named Richard Collier, who is unhappy with his life as a playwright. He travels back in time using hypnosis, with help from his former college professor, Dr. Gerard Finney.
On July 25, 2012, Lionsgate Studios announced that they bought the rights to make a movie of the novel. Doug Liman was chosen to direct and produce the film.