Jack Finney (1911-1995)

For a review of Stealing Through Time: On the Writings of Jack Finney by Jack Seabrook, click here.

As I write this (February 2, 2007), the temperature hovers about 9° Fahrenheit. Weather report tells us that for the next week or so, our high temperatures will be in the single digits, with wind-chill factors below zero. Am I sad? No – I’m ready for a cozy weekend. And nothing is more cozy than going back to some old favorites. So, here’s Jack Finney. I have always thought of him as a fantasy writer – his topics include time travel, parallel universes, etc. But his Time and Again showed up as one of the 20^th Century’s favorite mysteries. When I first read Time and Again in 1970, I thought it was a lovely blend of mystery, romance and fantasy. Since then, I’ve re-read it several times. (Mr. Finney should get an award for the longest time span between two books in a series; From Time to Time came out a mere 25 years later.) Even if you’re not a sci-fi/fantasy reader, Jack Finney is one for whom you should make an exception. Today, I’m also adding a page for Connie Willis, a very-much-alive writer of sci-fi that transcends genre labels. Many of Jack Finney’s books are still in print – and others fetch a nice price from collectors.

Books:

Fiction

• (1995) From Time to Time
• (1987) Three by Finney
• (1986) About Time: Twelve Stories
• (1977) The Night People
• (1973) Marion's Wall
• (1970) Time and Again*
• (1968) The Woodrow Wilson Dime
• (1965) I Love Galesburg in the Springtime (short stories)
• (1963) Good Neighbor Sam
• (1960) Assault on a Queen
• (1957) The Third Level (short stories)
• (1957) The House of Numbers
• (1955) The Body Snatchers -- Republished as Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1961); revised as The Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1973)
• (1954) Five Against the House

* Selected as one of the 100 Favorite Mysteries of the 20th Century. For complete list, click http://www.mysterybooksellers.com/favorites.html

Non-Fiction

(1983) Forgotten News: the Crime of the Century and Other Lost Stories

Plays

• (1956) Telephone Roulette 
• (1966) This Winter's Hobby

Media Adaptations:

• The Body Snatchers was filmed as “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” in 1956, again in 1979, and again in 1993 (Warner Bros.);
• Assault on a Queen was filmed in 1966;
• Marion's Wall was filmed as “Maxie,” 1985;
• Five against the House, House of Numbers, and Good Neighbor Sam have also been filmed.
• The 1998 television movie “The Love Letter,” was based on Finney's short story of the same name, which appears in the collection I Love Galesburg in the Springtime.

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Finney

Fan Sites: http://members.aol.com/leahj/finney.htm and http://www.alteich.com/tidbits/t010104.htm (has lots of links to sites about Mr. Finney and time travel. Well worth a visit!)