You Should Read: Replay by Ken Grimwood

Sometimes a person can describe something with such dead on accuracy, the only thing you can manage to say is, YES!  Like the first time Heather tried a mojito, after taking a sip she commented "It tastes like a spa".  A mojito does indeed taste like a spa.  To describe it any other way would not only be unfortunate, it would be a lie.   In reviewing the book Replay by Ken Grimwood, NPR contributor Brad Metzler commented that it was the book least like Chicken Soup for the Soul.  Brad Metzler, like Heather, is not a liar.  

Metzler's review and the book's association with one of my favorite Bill Murray movies (Groundhog's Day is based off of this book) were what originally peaked my interest.  After reading Replay, I can say that this is easily in my top 5 favorite books of all time.  

The premise is fairly simple, after leading a mundane life, Jeff Winston drops dead at the age of forty-three.   Moments after his death, he awakens to find himself eighteen again and in the dorm of his old college.  He has been given the chance to do it all over again.  With full knowledge of the future, Jeff begins by placing a series of bets on sporting events that he already knows the outcome to. He eventually amasses a considerable fortune and personal success beyond anything imaginable in his former life. Then, at the age of forty-three, Jeff Winston drops dead, again. He awakens at the age of eighteen, again.  And yet again, he has lost everything he loved.  This is the first of a series of "replays" Jeff experiences (some of which are just plain heart wrenching). Ultimately, Jeff must figure out why he is replaying and in the process examine happiness, loss, progress, his moral obligations and the meaning of existence.   

Although in the realm of science fiction, to me the books is more philosophical than anything else.  Wonderful on so many levels, I would highly recommend this as a read to anyone with even a passing interest in philosophy, science fiction or Bill Murray.