Come Again by Robert Webb- Book Review
Title: Come Again
Author: Robert Webb
Publisher: Canongate Books
Publish Date: 2020
Rating: 3.5/5
Summary(blurb): Kate's husband, Luke --the man she loved from the moment she met him twenty-eight years ago-- died suddenly. Since then, she has pushed away her friends and lost her job, and her whole world seems to be falling apart. One day Kate wakes up in the wrong place and in the wrong body. She is eighteen again but remembers everything: This is her college room in 1992. This is the first day of orientation. And this is the day she meets Luke. Now Kate knows how Luke died, and she knows that he's already ill. But this Luke is not the man she lost: he's still a boy —the annoying nineteen-year-old English student she first encountered. If they can fall in love again despite everything, Kate might just be able to save him-but can she fall in love again?
**This book review may contain spoilers**
Come Again is quite the interesting novel-- it starts with a normal storyline, then there's a literal time skip after entirely ditching the original storyline, then a genre skip so huge the plot graph goes through the roof. I liked the characters, and I wasn't all that unhappy with that genre change either, but the ending was slightly confusing and the plot was all over the place.
Come Again follows Kate Marsden on one of the weirdest journeys of all time-- she initially has a highly sensitive file that contains something that can endanger the whole world, then gives it away. Then she sleeps her way into the past, meets all her friends in a day, then has a row with her future husband, then finds out she loves someone else, then has a Moment of Awakening where she realizes an Universal Truth (as in, the theme of the story), then sleeps her way into the present again, then gets into a massive chase concerning the aforementioned highly sensitive file, then breaks someone's arm.
Let me give you some context-- Kate is initially an alcoholic, devastated by her husband Luke's death (caused by a meningioma (brain tumor) that had been there for a long time). She is an excellent hacker/computer technician so she can get access to the obscure files of the company she works at, which is run by a college acquaintance of hers. The company specializes in ORM (Online Reputation Management), which basically means powerful people come here to have their online histories cleansed. Kate finds a sensitive, deeply concerning file from one of their clients, and has stolen it. Even though she holds a lot of power in her hands, she is feeling suicidal, with the loss of her husband and her ensuing lifestyle breakdown as well as her knowledge of working at an immoral company.
I initially liked the premise of someone going back in time to save her future husband, which is not especially original, but then again I knew this would be a mediocre read for me when I read the blurb. I was interested in how the time travel would work, and if Kate would actually save Luke. Judging by the blurb, I saw two possibilities of how the book would unfold:
1. Kate goes back in time via an intense desire to see Luke again. Back at 18 years old, she meets Luke again but sees something in him that she didn't know before. It is a slowburn with the past taking up most of the book. As they interact for the second time Kate slowly discovers things she previously didn't see in Luke, and Luke warms to Kate, building up trust. Then Kate reveals to Luke about his tumor, which is still in its early stages, so they can still take it out. The operation fails and Kate is back in the present, accepting that the past is what it is and she cannot change that.
2. Kate goes back in time via an intense desire to see Luke again. Everything is exactly as she remembers, and everything happens exactly as she remembers, except for one small thing which eventually creates a butterfly effect, completely changing the present world she lives in. after coming back to the present and seeing the massive changes, she learns a Life Lesson, goes back to the past (with another intense desire) and changes it back to what it had been before, accepting that the past is what it is and she cannot change that.
Interestingly enough, the actual book was a combination of the two timelines mentioned, with elements from The Midnight Library (by Matt Haig) scattered throughout. After Kate returns the Kate goes back in time by sleeping (which was honestly slightly underwhelming but good enough), then learns that she can't fall in love for the first time for a second time (if that makes sense). Basically, she sees that Luke at 18 is not the mature Luke she is used to, and finds that she loves Toby (who still loves her in the present time) instead. After the realization, as well as helping Luke find out about the tumor by failing to catch him as he tripped down the stairs (he had to have an MRI which revealed the tumor). She wakes up as her former self in present day-- except she's physically fit, with none of the alcoholic sluggishness. She then has a massive car chase (she is chased by the people who want to get back the sensitive file), and in the end (obviously) manages to not die, instead getting together with Toby.
As mentioned before, the trope and plot was the main component that held it back from being a great book-- similar to The Midnight Library, this felt like the novel was written for the Life Lesson. The surprise addition of the fun, action-filled chase scene did make it clear that this was more of a passion project book than a teaching medium, but the repeated emphasis on 'coming again' and Kate's realization certainly made it seem similar to the Midnight Library (the time travel and suicidal female lead character also helped with the similarities). Additionally, while the instant switch from a time-travel normally-paced novel to a high-action chase thriller was a fun point, the inconsistency and abrupt changes between the three parts (slow-paced present day intro--> time-travel to past --> chase action thriller) was another of the elements I disliked about the story.
All in all, Come Again is neither the best nor the worst-- the three divided parts are connected but wildly different, and the author repeated the central message too frequently, but the book as a whole is fairly pleasant and funny in many places. Like the quote on the cover says, it's adventure, love story, and comedy, but as a salad (not mixed into a consistent whole but in separate parts). It was overall quite enjoyable.
I would recommend this book for readers in grade 9 and up; although it starts slow (like many other books of its kind), the story is one worth following, and the gripping action scene is one you'll want to read. However there is some strong language within the pages, and discussion of mature topics including suicide.
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