Review of ‘Twice’ by Mitch Albom

For those who may not know the book, Twice is about a boy named Alfie who has the ability to go back in time to any event and undo what he had previously done to change the outcome and what follows it. 

There are a few catches though, one being that he can only undo an event or a specific time period only once. If he makes any mistakes the second time, or the result is something he doesn’t like, he’ll have to live with it for the rest of his life.

Another one is that he’s the only one who can remember the first event or time period before he changes it. No one else. 

Specifically for true love, Alfie learned from his grandma, who also possesses the power, that if he undoes events too many times, the love from the other person may fade, and things will never be the same again. 

And, finally, he can’t change anyone’s death, as it’s written in fate. They have to die at that time.

The book summarizes his life from when he first discovered his power at eight right to when he had the stroke that would end his life. The book is mainly about a woman he loves, Gianna, and how he goes back in time to improve every moment with her, but also includes Alfie’s love for his dad and his friend.

I like the idea for the book, as we go around in our lives thinking, ‘If only I had done this differently’ or ‘What if I had done this instead?’. This book shows the result of redoing an event, how we end up satisfied with one event, right until we find out what the redone results would lead to. We’d have no one to blame for what has happened except ourselves, as we would be the only ones aware of the change.

What Alfie does throughout the book with his power is very human, especially when he faces defeat. One example was when he broke up with Gianna and she got a boyfriend, he went back to the time when he was in an elevator with an actress, and pleased himself. He convinced himself that Gianna leaving him was bound to happen and that she had done the same when they had broken up, so why doesn’t he get that same chance.

But this backfires completely. And Alfie had to pay the price.

The ending is what puzzles me though. At the end, right when Alfie has his stroke, he transports Gianna back in time, right to their first date. And Gianna is aware of that. And so, she continues with her life starting with that event, rekindling things with Alfie.

But won’t Gianna’s awareness of the future affect her decisions moving forward and alter the timeline? For better or worse? And Alfie still has his ability as well, so wouldn’t he still make decisions that would affect the couple? What would happen, with all these factors in place?