The Five Times I Met Myself

I'm gonna be honest: this is a time travel novel. Sort of.

Time travel is one of those concepts that either turns you off right away, or flips a switch and starts the gears in your head turning. I think the widespread interest in time travel is partially a function of regret in our lives. If we could go back and change one thing we did in the past, how would it change our future? Given the opportunity, who wouldn’t take it?

The basic premise of the book is the idea that a man can go to sleep, control his dreams, and meet himself in the past. Talk to himself. Tell himself to do/redo/not do something in the past which he thinks was a mistake. The main character does just that, and his life changes a little bit a first. And then he tries again, and again . . . you can guess how many times.

I love how the story bends the reader’s mind as it takes us through five iterations of changing the past and understanding the results of that change in the future. It’s sobering to consider the weight of our words and our actions in real life. That’s what I loved about this book – it made me think about my life and how I might change it, but also how I might live in such a way as to avoid regret and wishes for a “redo.”

James Rubart is an excellent storyteller. The pages turn quickly. It’s also a great novel for that man in your life. Written BY a man, ABOUT a man, FOR men (and probably women too). But what do you know? Father’s Day is around the corner. Just a thought!

If you could go back and make a change, would you? Yes or no? Leave your answer for a chance to win this week's prize drawing!