Evison performs writing magic; despite its implausibility, I committed myself fully to Eugene’s 1,100-odd years of life, immersed in tales of adventure and passion that are almost too good to be true ... I was gripped ... The power of the author grows with his ability to suspend disbelief. Writers do this through a combination of specific details, sensory descriptions of a world that comes to life in the reading or listening. But all authors are by definition unreliable narrators, imposing meaning and structure on a world full of chaos and miscommunication. A skilled one can reach inside us and widen our emotional worlds ... I would gladly have spent many more pages with the magical tapestry of Again and Again. In revealing the tricks of his trade, its author exposes the tender heart of his craft.
The story sometimes lacks depth as it favors chase scenes over history, and it skates over tragic difficulties that should provide the novel’s tension. But hiding underneath it all is a yearning meditation on the nature of love, fate and how our past(s) might determine our future ... Readers may not warm to Eugene, but they will fall for Angel.
I have good news and bad news: No one will feel particularly excited to ban Again and Again. But, alas, no one will feel particularly excited to read it either. Despite the promise of its premise, the high-concept plot of Again and Again never manages to rise above its lax execution and clashing intentions ... Evison has a big heart for sad-sack characters, and his former experience as a personal-care attendant informs his writing about the special relationships that can develop with people whom society has written off. But moving erratically between several different times and settings puts enormous pressure on the quality of these various tales ... Eugene’s affection for Angel finally reaches a saccharine crescendo that reads like a bake-off between Mitch Albom and Nicholas Sparks.
Evison imbues his big-hearted narrative with sumptuous mystery and intrigue tracing Eugene’s quest for love amid undiminished hope. Though Eugene has traversed multiple lands and time lines in different forms, his path is ultimately a map of the human heart.
A touching fantastical tale ... Though the ending feels unresolved, Evison evokes genuine emotions from the connection between cheery Angel and sour Eugene, and he keeps readers wondering whether Eugene is a misunderstood hero or an unreliable narrator. This touches the heart.
Eugene’s efforts to slay his past demons is affecting. But that plotline is subsumed by some cloying prose. Emotionally robust but structurally cumbersome.