Mitch Albom is an American author and journalist known for inspirational books that explore life, faith, and human connection. His breakout book, “Tuesdays With Morrie” (1997), was based on the real-life conversations he shared with his terminally-ill former college professor, Morrie Schwartz. The two discussed life’s greatest lessons—love, work, family, aging, and, of course, death. It became a modern classic. On Oct. 7, his latest novel, “Twice,” was released.
Breaking Rules
In a Bahamian casino, Vincent LaPorta, the head of security, learns that a player has won three consecutive times at the roulette wheel, taking the house for $2 million. The odds are impossible for this to be legit, so Vincent arrests the winner; he plans to trick him into confessing to a scam. What Vincent finds isn’t anything he expected.Alfred “Alfie” Logan is an ordinary-looking man in his 50s who tells Vincent that he’s dying. He’s carrying a composition book that is to be sent to Alfie’s current employer, addressed as “Boss” in the book, upon his death. The book, Alfie says, details his life story and how a unique power has affected his life.
Second Chances
Vincent isn’t buying it. He knows Alfie wired almost all the money to some woman named Gianna Rule. Vincent figures that she’s probably his partner in crime, but Alfie refuses to confess to any wrongdoing by himself or Gianna. He steadfastly insists that the composition book will explain everything. It’s not a confession, he says, it’s “a love story.”
At least his guy is more entertaining than most scam artists, Vincent thinks. While they wait for the Bahamian police to finish their investigation, Vincent encourages Alfie to read the story aloud to him.
Power and Responsibility
For a “love story,” the first quarter of the novel has an almost Stephen King-like feeling of “creeping dread” that plays in the background like an expertly crafted soundtrack. Alfie exudes regret and fatalism from the start, so you know it won’t be all sunshine. His time is short, he emphasizes, and he has many regrets that cannot be undone.At 8 years old, Alfie discovered his “power” when he learned his mother had died. Devastated about missing her last moments, he fervently wished he could change the past. Then, incredibly, he found himself there.
On her deathbed, his mother told him about the strange time travel ability that their family seems to inherit. Alfie fearfully asked, “Are you going to die again?” She paused and replied, “Let me tell you all the things I love about you.” His first lesson about his “gift” was that it cannot change mortality. “If someone’s time is up, it’s up.” Nothing he can do will alter this.
While growing up, Alfie often chose to go back in time because he couldn’t stand his own cowardice after failing to rise to a challenge or opportunity. All he has to do is say “twice,” and he’ll get one extra try, this time knowing what’s coming. Sometimes he repeats an event just because it’d be more fun to do things a different way, or he’ll yank himself out of a certain death scenario for kicks.
The results are mixed: hilarious, unexpected, banal, or sometimes exactly what Alfie was aiming for, yet not quite what he wanted. All of this changes with Gianna.
Despite his jaded and cynical nature, Vincent finds himself drawn into the story. Readers, too, will likely find the slow yet steady reveal of Alfie’s life irresistible. The book has the makings of another modern classic in the same caliber as “The Princess Bride—thrilling, heartbreaking, elating, tear-inducing, and just plain wonderful.
