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The Clock of time
Contents:
The Third Level
Such Interesting Neighbors
I’m Scared
Cousin Len’s Wonderful Adjective Cellar
Of Missing Persons
Something in a Cloud
There Is a Tide...
Behind the News
Quit Zoomin’ Those Hands Through the Air
A Dash of Spring
Second Chance
Contents of the Dead Man’s Pockets
The Third Level
Such Interesting Neighbors
I’m Scared
Cousin Len’s Wonderful Adjective Cellar
Of Missing Persons
Something in a Cloud
There Is a Tide...
Behind the News
Quit Zoomin’ Those Hands Through the Air
A Dash of Spring
Second Chance
Contents of the Dead Man’s Pockets
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1948
47 people are currently reading
903 people want to read
About the author
Jack Finney
118 books472 followersMr. Finney specialized in thrillers and works of science fiction. Two of his novels, The Body Snatchers and Good Neighbor Sam became the basis of popular films, but it was Time and Again (1970) that won him a devoted following. The novel, about an advertising artist who travels back to the New York of the 1880s, quickly became a cult favorite, beloved especially by New Yorkers for its rich, painstakingly researched descriptions of life in the city more than a century ago.
Mr. Finney, whose original name was Walter Braden Finney, was born in Milwaukee and attended Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois. After moving to New York and working in the advertising industry, he began writing stories for popular magazines like Collier's, The Saturday Evening Post and McCall's.
His first novel, Five Against the House (1954), told the story of five college students who plot to rob a casino in Reno. A year later he published The Body Snatchers (later reissued as Invasion of the Body Snatchers), a chilling tale of aliens who emerge from pods in the guise of humans whom they have taken over. Many critics interpreted the insidious infiltration by aliens as a cold-war allegory that dramatized America's fear of a takeover by Communists. Mr. Finney maintained that the novel was nothing more than popular entertainment. The 1956 film Invasion of the Body Snatchers was remade twice.
Mr. Finney first showed an interest in time travel in the short-story collection The Third Level, which included stories about a commuter who discovers a train that runs between New York and the year 1894, and a man who rebuilds an old car and finds himself transported back to the 1920s.
He returned to the thriller genre in Assault on a Queen (1959) and tried his hand at comedy in Good Neighbor Sam (1963), a novel based on his experiences as an adman, played by Jack Lemmon in the film version.
In The Woodrow Wilson Dime (1968), Mr. Finney once again explored the possibilities of time travel. The dime of the title allows the novel's hero to enter a parallel world in which he achieves fame by composing the musicals of Oscar Hammerstein and inventing the zipper.
With Time and Again, Mr. Finney won the kind of critical praise and attention not normally accorded to genre fiction. Thomas Lask, reviewing the novel in The New York Times, described it, suggestively, as "a blend of science fiction, nostalgia, mystery and acid commentary on super-government and its helots." Its hero, Si Morley, is a frustrated advertising artist who jumps at the chance to take part in a secret project that promises to change his life. So it does. He travels back to New York in 1882, moves into the Dakota apartment building on Central Park West and experiences the fabulous ordinariness of a bygone age: its trolleys, horse-drawn carriages, elevated lines, and gaslights. This year Mr. Finney published a sequel to the novel, From Time to Time.
Mr. Finney also wrote Marion's Wall (1973), about a silent-film actress who, in an attempt to revive her film career, enters the body of a shy woman, and The Night People (1977). His other fictional works include The House of Numbers (1957) and the short-story collection I Love Galesburg in the Springtime (1963). He also wrote Forgotten News: The Crime of the Century and Other Lost Stories (1983) about sensational events of the 19th century.
Mr. Finney, whose original name was Walter Braden Finney, was born in Milwaukee and attended Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois. After moving to New York and working in the advertising industry, he began writing stories for popular magazines like Collier's, The Saturday Evening Post and McCall's.
His first novel, Five Against the House (1954), told the story of five college students who plot to rob a casino in Reno. A year later he published The Body Snatchers (later reissued as Invasion of the Body Snatchers), a chilling tale of aliens who emerge from pods in the guise of humans whom they have taken over. Many critics interpreted the insidious infiltration by aliens as a cold-war allegory that dramatized America's fear of a takeover by Communists. Mr. Finney maintained that the novel was nothing more than popular entertainment. The 1956 film Invasion of the Body Snatchers was remade twice.
Mr. Finney first showed an interest in time travel in the short-story collection The Third Level, which included stories about a commuter who discovers a train that runs between New York and the year 1894, and a man who rebuilds an old car and finds himself transported back to the 1920s.
He returned to the thriller genre in Assault on a Queen (1959) and tried his hand at comedy in Good Neighbor Sam (1963), a novel based on his experiences as an adman, played by Jack Lemmon in the film version.
In The Woodrow Wilson Dime (1968), Mr. Finney once again explored the possibilities of time travel. The dime of the title allows the novel's hero to enter a parallel world in which he achieves fame by composing the musicals of Oscar Hammerstein and inventing the zipper.
With Time and Again, Mr. Finney won the kind of critical praise and attention not normally accorded to genre fiction. Thomas Lask, reviewing the novel in The New York Times, described it, suggestively, as "a blend of science fiction, nostalgia, mystery and acid commentary on super-government and its helots." Its hero, Si Morley, is a frustrated advertising artist who jumps at the chance to take part in a secret project that promises to change his life. So it does. He travels back to New York in 1882, moves into the Dakota apartment building on Central Park West and experiences the fabulous ordinariness of a bygone age: its trolleys, horse-drawn carriages, elevated lines, and gaslights. This year Mr. Finney published a sequel to the novel, From Time to Time.
Mr. Finney also wrote Marion's Wall (1973), about a silent-film actress who, in an attempt to revive her film career, enters the body of a shy woman, and The Night People (1977). His other fictional works include The House of Numbers (1957) and the short-story collection I Love Galesburg in the Springtime (1963). He also wrote Forgotten News: The Crime of the Century and Other Lost Stories (1983) about sensational events of the 19th century.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
July 6, 2021
I'd been given this old battered paperback years ago and dismissed it because it had such a dopey cod surrealist front cover... and not in a "so-bad-its-good retro" 70s sci fi sort of way... maybe the contents of this book are so clever and miraculous that it went beyond the front cover artist's feeble mind and caused them to short circuit and realise their career was a load of bollocks and lies.
Anyway, I liked this. Great collection of stories. Most of them either a five star or four star, a couple of slightly less good stories that were still pretty good. I wonder why this guy isn't talked about much?
Anyway, I liked this. Great collection of stories. Most of them either a five star or four star, a couple of slightly less good stories that were still pretty good. I wonder why this guy isn't talked about much?
May 20, 2011
Worth the price of admission just for the stories "I'm Scared," and "Of Missing Persons." The latter was once a staple of high school literature textbooks (mid-1960s), and still holds up today. This collection was cited by Stephen King as having defined the boundaries of what later became Rod Serling's Twilight Zone, and that's a spot-on assessment. Anyone looking for stories that have that Twilight Zone feel could do a lot worse than picking up this collection along with Finney's I LOVE GALESBURG IN THE SPRINGTIME. Both these collections are long out of print, but well worth searching out; several of the best stories in each were included in the more recent selection of Finney's short stories, ABOUT TIME. Delightful stuff, not to be missed.
June 23, 2023
Another collection of short stories from Jack Finney and unusually one I hadn't come across before. I wasn't as keen on this collection as on the others. There was an overlap of stories but only one or two and the new ones didn't grab me. They were lacking something compared to his other stories. I loved The Third Level, which was also in another collection but it was very short. It had a brilliant twist at the end.
Had to read it though.
Had to read it though.
August 12, 2019
1. The Third Level: ★★★★
Read this for the first time in school. It caught my attention then and I stumbled across it again, many years later. A pleasant find was finding the rest of the stories that were published as a collection of short stories.
2. Such Interesting Neighbors: ★★★★
Just about sounds like the world we live in now.
"Life will barely be worth living. Everyone working twelve, fourteen hours a day, with the major part of a man's income going for taxes, and the rest going for consumers' goods priced sky-high because of war production. Artificial scarcities, restrictions of all kinds. And hanging over everything, killing what little joy in life is left, is the virtual certainty of death and destruction. Everyone working and sacrificing for his own destruction. Ted looked up at me. A lousy world, the world of the future, and not the way human beings were meant to live."
3. I’m Scared ★★★
Interesting. I liked the ending.
4. Cousin Len’s Wonderful Adjective Cellar ★★★ (3.5)
Amusing! Great placement of this story after "I'm Scared". Light-hearted and breezy.
5. Of Missing Persons ★★★★
Oooh. This one really sucked me in. I was in the mind of the protagonist. I whisper-shouted 'NO!' once. I liked this a lot.
6. Something in a Cloud ★★★
Predictable ending. Liked it nonetheless.
7. There Is a Tide...
Hmm. No rating for this one. Not that I disliked it. I simply don't want to rate this one.
8. Behind the News
The quality of the writing feels to have dropped after the first few. This was alright.
9. Quit Zoomin’ Those Hands Through the Air
These stories feel like a mild fever dream.
10. A Dash of Spring ★★★★
Haha. I definitely liked that one!
Notes
11. Second Chance ★★★ (3.5)
I like this one too!
12. Contents of the Dead Man’s Pockets ★★★★
There's a sense of respect for a story which alludes to the ending so simple as this. There's not much we'd have to work out so I'd be sitting there thinking, where's the story? Where's the idea that willed him to write it down?
'Contents of the Dead Man's Pockets'. A simple distraction that brings you face to face with the ledge you're standing on and the scribbles you've made on yellow paper.
~~~
There is one element that most of these stories have in common and it isn't the hints of time travel or as Finney likes to write, 'the big TT'. They all have this subtle feeling of longing for something. Usually for better days and mostly implying that those better days are in the past or future.
I'm going to borrow a line I read about Finney's work because I believe it fits perfectly. "You can disappear into a Jack Finney story and reemerge before anyone realizes you were gone."
Glad that I read this.
Read this for the first time in school. It caught my attention then and I stumbled across it again, many years later. A pleasant find was finding the rest of the stories that were published as a collection of short stories.
2. Such Interesting Neighbors: ★★★★
Just about sounds like the world we live in now.
"Life will barely be worth living. Everyone working twelve, fourteen hours a day, with the major part of a man's income going for taxes, and the rest going for consumers' goods priced sky-high because of war production. Artificial scarcities, restrictions of all kinds. And hanging over everything, killing what little joy in life is left, is the virtual certainty of death and destruction. Everyone working and sacrificing for his own destruction. Ted looked up at me. A lousy world, the world of the future, and not the way human beings were meant to live."
3. I’m Scared ★★★
Interesting. I liked the ending.
4. Cousin Len’s Wonderful Adjective Cellar ★★★ (3.5)
Amusing! Great placement of this story after "I'm Scared". Light-hearted and breezy.
5. Of Missing Persons ★★★★
Oooh. This one really sucked me in. I was in the mind of the protagonist. I whisper-shouted 'NO!' once. I liked this a lot.
6. Something in a Cloud ★★★
Predictable ending. Liked it nonetheless.
7. There Is a Tide...
Hmm. No rating for this one. Not that I disliked it. I simply don't want to rate this one.
8. Behind the News
The quality of the writing feels to have dropped after the first few. This was alright.
9. Quit Zoomin’ Those Hands Through the Air
These stories feel like a mild fever dream.
10. A Dash of Spring ★★★★
Haha. I definitely liked that one!
Notes
11. Second Chance ★★★ (3.5)
I like this one too!
12. Contents of the Dead Man’s Pockets ★★★★
There's a sense of respect for a story which alludes to the ending so simple as this. There's not much we'd have to work out so I'd be sitting there thinking, where's the story? Where's the idea that willed him to write it down?
'Contents of the Dead Man's Pockets'. A simple distraction that brings you face to face with the ledge you're standing on and the scribbles you've made on yellow paper.
~~~
There is one element that most of these stories have in common and it isn't the hints of time travel or as Finney likes to write, 'the big TT'. They all have this subtle feeling of longing for something. Usually for better days and mostly implying that those better days are in the past or future.
I'm going to borrow a line I read about Finney's work because I believe it fits perfectly. "You can disappear into a Jack Finney story and reemerge before anyone realizes you were gone."
Glad that I read this.
August 20, 2025
Back to the future railway.
Charley is a middle aged worker frequently taking the Grand Central train in NY to get to work and back home each day. Nothing out of the ordinary ever in his life, except one day when taking an unusual turn he ends up in the third level platform. An impossibly inexistent third level platform.
Meh, this was ok at best. I think the idea had great potential but somehow Jack Finney managed to give it an unimpactful delivery, a borderline boring context, and, on the whole, a feeling of something rather undeveloped.
-----------------------------------------------
PERSONAL NOTE :
[1948] [6p] [Sci-fI] [Not Recommendable]
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★★★☆☆ 50 Short Science Fiction Tales <--
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De vuelta alfuturo ferrocarril.
Charley es un trabajador de mediana edad que toma con frecuencia el tren de Grand Central en Nueva York para ir al trabajo y regresar a casa todos los días. Nada fuera de lo común en su vida, excepto un día en que dando un giro inusual termina en la plataforma del tercer nivel. Una imposiblemente inexistente plataforma de tercer nivel.
Bah, esto apenas estuvo ok, cuando mucho. Creo que la idea tenía un gran potencial, pero de alguna manera Jack Finney logró darle una entrega sin impacto, un contexto casi aburrido y, en general, una sensación de algo poco desarrollado.
-----------------------------------------------
NOTA PERSONAL :
[1948] [6p] [Ciencia Ficción] [No Recomendable]
-----------------------------------------------
Charley is a middle aged worker frequently taking the Grand Central train in NY to get to work and back home each day. Nothing out of the ordinary ever in his life, except one day when taking an unusual turn he ends up in the third level platform. An impossibly inexistent third level platform.
Meh, this was ok at best. I think the idea had great potential but somehow Jack Finney managed to give it an unimpactful delivery, a borderline boring context, and, on the whole, a feeling of something rather undeveloped.
-----------------------------------------------
PERSONAL NOTE :
[1948] [6p] [Sci-fI] [Not Recommendable]
-----------------------------------------------
★★★☆☆ 50 Short Science Fiction Tales <--
-----------------------------------------------
De vuelta al
Charley es un trabajador de mediana edad que toma con frecuencia el tren de Grand Central en Nueva York para ir al trabajo y regresar a casa todos los días. Nada fuera de lo común en su vida, excepto un día en que dando un giro inusual termina en la plataforma del tercer nivel. Una imposiblemente inexistente plataforma de tercer nivel.
Bah, esto apenas estuvo ok, cuando mucho. Creo que la idea tenía un gran potencial, pero de alguna manera Jack Finney logró darle una entrega sin impacto, un contexto casi aburrido y, en general, una sensación de algo poco desarrollado.
-----------------------------------------------
NOTA PERSONAL :
[1948] [6p] [Ciencia Ficción] [No Recomendable]
-----------------------------------------------
August 11, 2025
An illusive passageway in Grand Central Station leads to a third underground level from 1894 that allows access to other 1894 destinations. Enjoyable time travel fantasy.
June 24, 2020
In 'The Third Level' Jack Finney interweaves daydream and reality. The third level is nothing but a product of Charley's own mind. It is undoubtedly a medium of ESCAPE for him. Life in the modern world is full of diffidence, trepidation, conflict, worries and trauma. Man has to face up to them at all times. The harsh realities of life, make living quite obnoxious and even insufferable.
So, he wants to escape into a wishful world.
Charley talks to his psychiatrist friend about the third level at the Grand Central Station. His friend calls it 'a waking-dream wish fulfillment'. Charley possesses an escapist tendency. Even his stamp collecting is a 'temporary refuge from reality'.
Charley finds comfort and peace in a world of fancy and romance. His grandfather 'didn't need any refuge from reality'. Things were pretty nice and peaceful in those days.
The third level has been an exit, a way of escape for Charley. He finds himself into the world of 1894. It was a world of romance with wooden gates, derby hats, beards and sideburns.
The way Charley comes across Sam's letter is surrounded in mystery. Among his oldest first-day covers, he found an envelope. It 'shouldn't have been there'. But there it was, It was not addressed to him, It was mailed to the address of his grandfather. It was written on July 18, 1894. The postmark showed the picture of President Garfield.
Generally, the first day cover has only a blank paper in the envelope. But the paper inside wasn't blank. It was written and signed by Sam to Charley. Sam believed that Charley was right about the third level. He wrote that he himself had found the third level. He had been there for two weeks. He asked Charley and Louisa to keep looking for the third level.
It is strange how such a letter was never noticed before. It is even more intriguing how Sam Weiner, Charley's friend disappears. Nobody knew where. And a new mystery unfolds at the end.
Sam is none other than Charley's psychiatrist. In short, the letter is another of Charley's escapist fantasies. Clearly it is another 'waking-dream wish fulfilment' of Charley.
So, he wants to escape into a wishful world.
Charley talks to his psychiatrist friend about the third level at the Grand Central Station. His friend calls it 'a waking-dream wish fulfillment'. Charley possesses an escapist tendency. Even his stamp collecting is a 'temporary refuge from reality'.
Charley finds comfort and peace in a world of fancy and romance. His grandfather 'didn't need any refuge from reality'. Things were pretty nice and peaceful in those days.
The third level has been an exit, a way of escape for Charley. He finds himself into the world of 1894. It was a world of romance with wooden gates, derby hats, beards and sideburns.
The way Charley comes across Sam's letter is surrounded in mystery. Among his oldest first-day covers, he found an envelope. It 'shouldn't have been there'. But there it was, It was not addressed to him, It was mailed to the address of his grandfather. It was written on July 18, 1894. The postmark showed the picture of President Garfield.
Generally, the first day cover has only a blank paper in the envelope. But the paper inside wasn't blank. It was written and signed by Sam to Charley. Sam believed that Charley was right about the third level. He wrote that he himself had found the third level. He had been there for two weeks. He asked Charley and Louisa to keep looking for the third level.
It is strange how such a letter was never noticed before. It is even more intriguing how Sam Weiner, Charley's friend disappears. Nobody knew where. And a new mystery unfolds at the end.
Sam is none other than Charley's psychiatrist. In short, the letter is another of Charley's escapist fantasies. Clearly it is another 'waking-dream wish fulfilment' of Charley.
August 19, 2017
"The Third Level" seems like such a simple short story on the surface, but there is so much great material underneath that made me think for days. My imagination expanded exponentially after reading this as a kid, and it made me begin to wonder things I would have never thought of before. I definitely recommend The Third Level.
Want to read
July 16, 2011Stephen King recommended book and author.
Book noted as "important to the genre we have been discussing" from Danse Macabre, published in 1981. Author discussed in chapter 9.
Book noted as "important to the genre we have been discussing" from Danse Macabre, published in 1981. Author discussed in chapter 9.
October 9, 2018
Fantastic collection of science-fiction and fantasy short stories. I have become a fan of Jack Finney.
My favourite stories in order of likeability:
1. Of Missing Persons
2. There is a Tide
3. Such Interesting Neighbours
4. The Third Level
5. I'm Scared
6. Behind The News
7. Second Chance
My favourite stories in order of likeability:
1. Of Missing Persons
2. There is a Tide
3. Such Interesting Neighbours
4. The Third Level
5. I'm Scared
6. Behind The News
7. Second Chance
September 8, 2024
I LOVE SHORT STORIES
May 11, 2011
Though I'm not particularly fond of science-fiction, this one is my favourite! By means of 'The Third Level', Jack Finney shows the human tendency to escape into the world that doesn't exist because the real life is too hard to handle. The story shows the thin line that exists between schizophrenia and miracles!
November 13, 2019
The Third Level is a short story with the theme of escapism from the modern world (with the aid of time travel). If you're looking for similar themed short stories then you'll enjoy two more from this book - Such Interesting Neighbors and Of Missing Persons. I didn't find the remaining short stories nearly as interesting.
May 26, 2019
This was an awesome book! It made you want to stop and think about little unexplained interactions with people who seem either too knowledgable about current events or totally cluless on how to function.
May 25, 2012
So nice when a book you've waited for and looked for for so long turns out to be every bit as good as you hoped.
November 14, 2018
I adore Jack Finney.
December 12, 2024
Short story collections are always interesting for what they reveal of a writer’s perception of their best work. I write short fiction, and like many who do, when I’m honest I know some pieces are better—some much better—than others. This book was published in the heyday of 1950s science fiction, although not all the stories fall into the genre. Sci-fi was still a somewhat uncertain genre in those days and “weird stories” were often slotted into it.
As I noted in my blog post on the book (Sects and Violence in the Ancient World), it bears comparison with early Ray Bradbury material. The unchallenged assumptions of the forties and fifties always make me glad for the sixties, but even so, as period pieces, these stories make sense. The book contains a dozen stories, some of them quite good. The majority I found okay, and some were difficult to remember by the time I’d finished.
I only learned of Jack Finney by reading Stephen King. At least where I grew up his name wasn’t as well known as Bradbury’s was in the seventies. Still, there are some very nice pieces here. For my money, the best are “Behind the News,” “Second Chance,” and “Contents of the Dead Man’s Pockets.” The last one was so evocative that it was hard to read. Not my favorite collection, but I’m glad to have read it.
As I noted in my blog post on the book (Sects and Violence in the Ancient World), it bears comparison with early Ray Bradbury material. The unchallenged assumptions of the forties and fifties always make me glad for the sixties, but even so, as period pieces, these stories make sense. The book contains a dozen stories, some of them quite good. The majority I found okay, and some were difficult to remember by the time I’d finished.
I only learned of Jack Finney by reading Stephen King. At least where I grew up his name wasn’t as well known as Bradbury’s was in the seventies. Still, there are some very nice pieces here. For my money, the best are “Behind the News,” “Second Chance,” and “Contents of the Dead Man’s Pockets.” The last one was so evocative that it was hard to read. Not my favorite collection, but I’m glad to have read it.
April 8, 2019
Mindwebs audiobook 65, this is the second mini story. Excellent 5 star story about a portal back though time (Hogwarts style) at Grand Central Station. A great description of a romantic 1894 from the perspective of a stamp collector. Turns out this story was a precursor to his breakthrough novel “Time and Again” with a similar theme. He went to write (Invasion of) “The Body Snatchers” which became a film.
(The first story in Mindwebs audiobook 65 was “Dry Spell“ by Bill Pronzin,i originally from Amazing Science Fiction Stories September 1970. [Can’t find a reference on Goodreads]. It’s about writers block causing the author actual hunger, so much so that when he finally postulates an idea for a tale involving alien mind control of all humanity he is self-referentially nevertheless unable to recall it when he tries to put it down on paper! 2/3 stars as it was rather predictable).
(The first story in Mindwebs audiobook 65 was “Dry Spell“ by Bill Pronzin,i originally from Amazing Science Fiction Stories September 1970. [Can’t find a reference on Goodreads]. It’s about writers block causing the author actual hunger, so much so that when he finally postulates an idea for a tale involving alien mind control of all humanity he is self-referentially nevertheless unable to recall it when he tries to put it down on paper! 2/3 stars as it was rather predictable).
April 4, 2020
issac asimov who? these are some truly great stories in par with the illustrated man and some of asimov's short stories. shocked I had not read about them before. the running theme of escapism and fear typical of the post war literature reached meta levels in this collection and I love it.
'of missing persons' is going to be everything rounding my head for the next week. brilliant.
'of missing persons' is going to be everything rounding my head for the next week. brilliant.
October 26, 2021
Sandsynligvis nogle af de mest elegante og velskrevne scifi-noveller, jeg har læst. Enormt morsomt også, at det er Arne Herløv Petersen, der har oversat.
Udover at give mig lyst til at læse I Am Legend, kom jeg også til at tænke på vores egen hjemlige tusindkunstner, A. Silvestri og hans meget anbefalelsesværdige novellesamlinger.
Udover at give mig lyst til at læse I Am Legend, kom jeg også til at tænke på vores egen hjemlige tusindkunstner, A. Silvestri og hans meget anbefalelsesværdige novellesamlinger.
July 7, 2022
the third lvl is an interesting story.From the outside it would look like the story of psychologically ill person, and how in today's world the general standards of mental health are degrading.But from another prospective the story could turn upside down,and if we agree with the narrator, then the story become a mystery thriller
September 14, 2022
‘The Third Level’ is a collection of science fiction shorts from the man who wrote ‘The Body Snatchers’. It has the feel of the old twilight zone series of fairly short set ups ending with a twist. All the stories were pretty much readable but none actually stood out for me. They are mostly short and therefore need little investment, so are OK for ten minute reads before falling asleep.
September 11, 2025
I've read a couple of his time-travel novels, and like them more than these short stories. All are interesting, though. Must be even more so for people from NYC with all the attention to details of that city. I didn't finish this one, but will continue to pick up his books as they become available to me as I believe that most of them will be a pleasure.
August 7, 2017
Started reading this afternoon and I'm glad i finally got my hands on a copy.
I'm especially pleased with Cousin Len's Wonderful Adjective Cellar! Brilliant, Fun and Zany!
(Is that too many adjectives?)
I'm especially pleased with Cousin Len's Wonderful Adjective Cellar! Brilliant, Fun and Zany!
(Is that too many adjectives?)
August 20, 2021
Great collection of short stories. It reads like the novelizations of unreleased Twilight Zone episodes. The stories are brief and each has a singular point they're driving towards, and they all get there spectacularly. I was not expecting this to be as good as it was.
December 30, 2022
Read it many times and I do wish this story were a little longer, love the details about the story.
June 28, 2023
Can’t believe I found this. One of my absolute favourites as a kid
August 19, 2024
There are some real gems in here.
March 28, 2023
the third level: one of those rare school textbook stories that i actually enjoyed 7/10
October 29, 2016
Noted sci fi author Jack Finney's first short story collection isn't quite what I expected from the writer most famous for "Invasion of the Body Snatchers". Throughout the entire collection, the tone is one of aching nostalgia, an elegiac desire to go back to "the good old days," and the stories reflect this, many involving time travel back to a seemingly nostalgic, "better" past, only to be confronted with the bittersweet nature of constantly looking backward instead of ahead, of wanting something you can't have. When these elements all work together, it's surprisingly effective, as in "I'm Scared," a horror story of time displacement that takes the collection's theme of lost time to an incredibly dark place. Overall, however, while I enjoyed Finney's understated, straightforward style, too many of the stories simply felt antiquated, overused, and derivative. Oftentimes I could see the twist coming from a mile away, and felt that many ideas in the collection had been explored elsewhere by better writers. "Such Interesting Neighbors" is almost identical to C. L. Moore's "Vintage Season," and "Behind the News" explores much of the same territory as Charles Beaumont's "The Devil, You Say?" although on a much smaller scale. Also, sometimes his penchant for the bittersweet and elegiac can tip over directly into saccharine sweetness, leaving the story so "twee" as to be unbelievable. But there are some good stories here. Aside from "I'm Scared," I really enjoyed "There is a Tide..." a cautionary tale of personal greed and crossed timelines. To be sure, Jack Finney is a decent writer, but not a great one, and though I enjoyed the collection overall, I wouldn't consider it essential.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews