Stefen’s Bookclub – August

Replay
by Ken Grimwood

This was actually suggested as a possible bookclub book a couple of years ago, but at the time editions were not particularly easy to get. However, Gollancz recently did a reprint so I thought now would be a good time to incorporate it into our reading list. It’s a fairly familiar premise, particularly for modern readers. Someone relives the same life time again and again. In defence of Ken Grimwood, this version came out in 1986, long before Groundhog Day or The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August. While It does engage with the same character who lives the same life again, as he moves through the world it explores different ideas that the other two books I mentioned. This one is perhaps a little bit less relatable than some of the more modern stuff given that there are things in it that don’t really gel with the modern worldview. Nevertheless I think it is going to be a very interesting read and certainly one that people are going to want to discuss, whether for good reasons or bad.