Then Again

by Elyse Friedman

When Michelle Schafer receives an invitation to "A Blast from the Past" party to be held in the suburban home in which she and her siblings were raised, she wonders if her brother Joel, an obscenely wealthy Hollywood screenwriter, has finally crossed the line from amusingly eccentric to disturbingly weird. She and her sister Marla arrive at the peculiar reunion to discover that the family home has been restored to look as it did in the 1970s, and that Joel has hired two actors to play their parents who died almost twenty-five years ago. Then Again unlocks the door to the blackly comic history of the Schafer family - with some explosive results.

Genres: Fiction

208 pages, Paperback

First published September 21, 1999

Reviews

[Brianna Davies · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a cheesy teen novel with an interesting an glitzy premise. Lord knows the school library knew what it was doing when it slapped on the "mature readers only" sticker on the cover of Then Again. I don't know how it managed to end up on the shelves on my catholic high school, but thank god it did. And thank god it was nothing like the cover and snippet on the back made it out to be.

This book doesn't need a long explanation. Just read it. The storytelling is amazing- I don't want to bother with long examples of the prose or anything. I am still shocked at how deep I was into Michelle's world. The brown basement. McCollum. The greasy doughnut dive. Marla's voice. And that god damned ending.

There are no chapters and this whole thing reads like some sort of drug-infused, devastatingly real and provocative step in Michelle's shoes. This has got to be one of the best books I have ever read.

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not one to read books over and over again...but this is one of my exceptions. I've lost count of how many times I've read it. It's an odd little gem about a super average woman named Michelle and her relatively average life (her brother aside) and her retracing the steps of a failed relationship. I LOVE IT. If you can get your mitts on a copy, please do give it a go.

[Kristen Bounds Thomson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this book from a book swap under the description: “A book for an introverted book lover! Character-driven and a bit odd at times, it’s sort of an adult “coming of age”. There’s growth and healing, unconventional love, strained family dynamics, and an ending you don’t really see coming. I fell in love with this book after finding it in a bargain bin as a teen. I come back to it whenever I’m in a reading rut.”

I’m a sucker for a coming-of-age story. Of little vignettes of scenes and character building. This book is a quiet triumph. Of its time and still ultimately relatable in 2024.

Then Again follows the protagonist, Michelle Schafer, who is quiet, self-absorbed, and deeply emotionally traumatized when she’s invited by her brother, Joel, to join him and their sister, Marla at their childhood home in the Torontonian neighbourhood of the Annex for his “Blast From the Past” party. What follows is a series of vignettes that go back and forth in time portraying the Schafers’ troubled but oftentimes relatable family dynamics, Michelle’s self-destructive, liquor-induced form of coping, and a lovely and weird tale of love as the details emerge of the bizarre party Joel has planned. The story is blanketed in self-deprecating humour and sharp references to the pop culture of its time and I enjoyed every second of it.

[Candy Boisvert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title: Then Again
Author: Elyse Friedman
Copyright date: 1999
Publisher: Vintage Canada
How many pages: 190 pgs
How long it took me to read: 10 days
Category: Fiction
I learned about this book from: scanning the table at the used bookstore

This book was purchased at: My favorite used bookstore
This book is: very funny and quirky
Other books by this author: n/a
Favorite characters: n/a
Least favorite Characters: Marla
When and Where the story takes place: Toronto, Winnepeg
Plot in a nutshell: Michelle Schafer gets an invitation to her old childhood home for a blast from the past party from her quirky rich brother, Joel. She goes through her head during the time from when she leaves Winnepeg until she gets home to Toronto of all the things in her past that lead up to this point. All the key points.
Main characters: Michelle, Marla, Joel, McCollum
What I liked best: It was based in Canada, so I could relate to it more than any other book.
What I liked least: How it related too much to my life.

Overall rating: Very intriguing book. Very good read.

[TD · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourite books. Screwball and sassy with a wide pop-cultural repartee of music, movies, and crackerjack wit.

Michelle, the protagonist, is uncompromisingly antisocial and a keen observer of feigned humanity. The book paints a clear picture of growing up in suburban Toronto in the 1970s with a loudly emotional family and her eventual path to becoming a near-recluse bookstore operator, reunited with her dilettante, people-pleasing sister and Howard Hughes-level film exec brother who stages a weird attempt to recreate their allegedly halcyon childhood days. However, Michelle remembers it differently, and her retelling is contrasted with the events that follow as their brother becomes increasingly desperate to live in the past.

[Ducky Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Our main character, Michelle, is misunderstood. Both by readers and characters of the book alike, showcasing Friedmans ability as a creative writer.
In a story told by a character who doesn't like themselves, you see them as they see themselves. Michelle dwells on her mistakes, having run from a life filled with trauma and never having come to peace with it.
Her inner monologue gives us a view into the world of a person with anxieties, and her raw perspective drives a story filled with insane twists.

this book fell into my lap at a time when I myself was filled with teenage angst and anxieties. I found a comfort in a character who struggled to breathe; who sought out to feel nothing over feeling too much.

[Blair Savage · Rating 5 out of 5]

my second time reading this book and i still think it’s incredible

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

That was 5 days I'll never get back. It could have been read in much less time if I had been able to stand the incessant inner monolog of the main character for longer periods at a time. Much like her, I had to step away and enjoy my peace and quiet for a bit before picking it back up. Unfortunately, my need to know what the brother had planned kept me coming back. And now, into the donate pile it goes.

[Lyddie · Rating 3 out of 5]

My hands are tied. Friedman is a fantastic writer. She’s quick and unique and immediate. The main character, Michelle Schafer, is a fast-talking drinker, unapologetic “fornicator,” and generally messed up girl. I really, really didn’t like her. At all. Like, not for a second. I didn’t enjoy being in her self-obsessed world, where apparently everyone else is annoying except her. Please. But, as I said, the writing is top notch. How can I separate the two? Is it possible to love the writing but hate the book? Ouch, hate is such a strong word. I didn’t mean it to come out like that. I couldn’t help it. No, I didn’t hate the book. To be more precise, I intensely disliked Michelle. There, those words are a bit softer, less brutal.

Full review here: http://theliterarylollipop.wordpress....

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read. Somewhat unbelievable premise, but very well written. Elyse Friedman seemlessly flips back and forth between the past and present to weave Michelle's story. Michelle's character is well developed. I think her brother and sister's character could have been delved into slightly more, but it didn't detract too much from the story since it revolved mostly around her. She manages to tell what could have turned into a sappy story with wit & cleverness, turning it from sappy to snappy.

[Vicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

An infectious, compelling read ... Interestingly, I thought the characters were vibrant and very believable, but the plot premise was rather improbable. At the same time, it was kind of a cliffhanger to see how it would all resolve.

[Dar R · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of my favorite books in 1999, the year it came out. It has teeth and heart. I haven't felt the same about subsequent books of Friedman's.

[Meg Kerr · Rating 5 out of 5]

love the story, love the writing

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a pretty weird book, and yet ultimately relatable in terms of family relationships, the unpredictable shapes that love takes, and the price of hope. Read it.