HALF-PAST TOMORROW

by Ruth Christoffer Carlsen ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 2, 1973

When Jimmy Nelsen plunges into the side of the swimming pool instead of the water, he's concussed into a very specialized kind of ""gift of prophecy"" -- he sees tomorrow's newspaper superimposed over today's. The predictability of the ensuing action is as painful as the headaches Jimmy keeps getting: the ""practical joke"" accusations and incredulity from the family, the ESP expert from the university eager to explore and ex-ploit Jimmy's gift (why are these people invariably portrayed as patronizing and self-serving?) and the question of what to do with/about the gift/curse. There's also a lot of sibling rivalry between Jimmy and older brother Stan to ""normalize"" the situation. Faithful pal Beetle is the only true believer, but his and Jimmy's attempts to alter the future have inconclusive results -- did they really change things, and if so, for better or worse? In the end a second (foreseen) accident knocks Jimmy's talent out of his head -- and provides Beetle with hindsight (an ability to relive the past) instead. It's all rather deadly and the adults (supposedly all intelligent people) lack not only Jimmy's foresight but insight as well. Even Claro's I Can Predict the Future (KR 1972) is one step past this.

Pub Date: April 2, 1973

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1973

Categories: FICTION