Strange Life of Ivan Osokin - (Dover Literature: Science Fiction/Fantasy) by P D Ouspensky (Paperback)

About the Book

"A brilliant fantasy." -- Manchester Guardian. The occultist author expands upon his concept of eternal recurrence, telling of a man who travels back in time to correct the mistakes of his youth, including his romantic misadventures.

Book Synopsis

"The feeling for the suspense of the present moment, which hangs like a drop of rain upon the window, containing a whole world in itself." -- V. S. Pritchett

Ivan Osokin is in utter despair. He's failed at school, he's broke, and the woman he adores has just abandoned him. If only he could live his life over again and avoid all his mistakes! A chance encounter with a magician provides Ivan with that precise opportunity, and he's sent back in time to correct his wrong turns. But even with a fresh start, he's helpless to fix the errors of his past.
This intriguing novel by P. D. Ouspensky, one of the most important and influential figures in twentieth-century occultism, inspired the movie Groundhog Day. Set in the final years of czarist Russia, the tale unfolds in Moscow and Paris and offers an imaginative exploration of one of the chief themes in Ouspensky's works: the concept of eternal recurrence, which proposes that our endless repetition of missteps only can be halted by the kind of change that comes from within.

About the Author

Along with Aleister Crowley, Madame Blavatsky, and George Gurdjieff, P. D. Ouspensky (1878 -1947) ranked among the most important and influential figures in the occult movements of the 20th century. With such books as A New Model of the Universe, The Fourth Dimension, Tertium Organum, In Search of the Miraculous, and The Psychology of Man's Possible Evolution, he earned a loyal following among those seeking a deeper knowledge of themselves and their lives, and of the meaning of human existence. Strange Life of Ivan Osokin was his only novel.