Book Review: Replay by Ken Grimwood

341735What would you do if you could relive your life upon your death, but still remember all that has happened up until your death?

Jeff Winston 43 is the news director at news radio station, feeling unfulfilled with his career, marriage and life. All his unhappiness and discontent is brought to a halt as he suffers a heart attack and dies only to wake up in his college dorm room 25 year earlier. Given a second chance Jeff leaves college and with the help of a upper class man places a bet on the Kentucky derby making a small fortune. He then leaves college heads to Vegas and with the help of his new business partner becomes a millionaire. While in Vegas he meets Charla and spend the next several year living a lavish life style of sex, and privilege around the world. Finally growing tire of this Jeff makes the most of his knowledge of the future betting on long shots that are sure he knows to sure things to bring him great wealth and create a vast financial investment firm Future Inc, saving his college room mate from a future failed marriage and eventual suicide. He even goes as far to try to change history by trying to prevent JFK’s assassination only to see Lee Harvey Oswald arrested and the at carried out by another. Finally settling down Jeff tries to make the most of the life he has left by marring and having child, only to see that life taken away from him again of a heart attack at age 43.

Jeff continues to replay his life over, each time reawakening closer and closer to the date of his death. Taking each chance to try to live his life to the fullest and to find happiness, Finally he meets Pamela another “replayer” who has spent her previous replays trying to enlighten others. They soon become friends and eventually lovers and spend several of their next replays searching each other out and spending there lives with each other until each of there replays pushes them further in to their original live’s time line. Separating them more and more each replay,