Replay

by Sally Odgers

A love song, a mystery, a waltz through history. Aelfthryth and Harry were born in 11th Century Kent, so what are they doing in Sydney a thousand years later? Two girls in a locked room. One schnauzer dog desperate to find them. They all have secrets...

200 pages, paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Sally Odgers was born in Tasmania in the 1950s, went to school there in the 1960s, married there in the 1970s, and had her children there in the 1980s. Her first book was published in 1977.

Reviews

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have loved Sally Odger's fantasy works in the past. This one fell a little short for me. I think that the structure was confusing, and the end seemed a little contrived. If you like time travel/following your soul mate through time stories, give it a try.

[Andrea]

Shortly before the Norman invasion, Alefthryth and Hereweald's lives end, and begin again. Cursed/blessed to live on, they step through time in a manner similar to the children in E Nesbit's The House of Arden - a kind of possession/symbiosis of existing people - but Aelfthryth and Hereweald have no control over where they go or who they become, and remember their former selves only after meeting, inevitably moving on when they reach their former ages (14 and 16).

The poignancy of their repeated meetings and losses threads through a tour of the centuries, which is one of my favourite ways of learning about the past, taking a person from one time and having them become our lens to another. What gives the story an extra, bone-chilling edge is the where and when this story is told: an Alefthryth living in Australia in modern times has been kidnapped and locked in the dark with a fellow student, Saranna. Like a Sheherazade she is telling a tale to keep both their spirits alive. This device completely caught me up, and it's a story well recommended, especially for fans of E Nesbit.