Stealing Through Time: On the Writings of Jack Finney Read Online Free PDF Page A

come true, and once he realizes that this is the case he begins to use it to his advantage. Stephen King's comment about Finney's technique of presenting an unusual situation and not explaining it is recalled when Johnny remarks that, in any science fiction story, "'the dullest part is always the explanation...'" (186).
    This bit of fantasy or wish fulfillment features a small-town newspaper background reminiscent of science fiction/mystery author Fredric Brown, who was writing some of his finest novels at about the same time.
    Jack Finney published twenty-nine stories from 1947 to 1952, then turned to novels and did not publish another short story until 1955. In these early stories one can see him finding his voice and experimenting with the themes that he would continue to explore for the rest of his career. He wrote many stories with a comedic flavor, something that he would return to in Good Neighbor Sam. The suspenseful "Stopover in Reno" clearly sets the stage for his first novel, 5 Against the House, and his many fantasy stories dealing with aspects of time travel foreshadow Time and Again.
    Finney would not publish anything between November 1952 and July 1953, when "5 Against the House" began to appear as a serialized novel in the pages of Good Housekeeping.

THREE
    5 Against the House
    In 1947, when "The Widow's Walk" was published, Jack Finney was a 35-year-old married man without children who had been working in advertising for over ten years. By 1953, he had divorced and remarried, and he had a baby daughter. He had published twenty-nine stories in magazines read by millions of people, and he was well-known enough to have his name on the cover. He had moved from the East Coast to the West Coast, and it was time for him to take the next step as a writer and begin writing longer works.
    In July 1953, a big box on the cover of that month's Good Housekeeping announced, "The terrific suspense story of the year!" This was "5 Against the House," which would run as a serial in three consecutive issues of the magazine.
    The story is told by 19-year-old college junior Al Mercer, who lives in a fraternity house at a college in Illinois (where Finney had attended Knox College). It is early June and he and his friend, Guy Cruikshank, are bored. True crime buff Jerry Weiner arrives and, after seeing a Brinks truck out the window, relates an armored car robbery that happened years before in Brooklyn. Al thinks, "There's a handful of moments scattered through your life that stick in your mind forever" (159).
    A fourth fraternity brother then arrives — he is Brick Vogeler, older than the rest at twenty-two and an ex-football star. Jerry finishes his story and the four friends began to plan their own big crime as a way to pass the time.
    This is how Jack Finney sets up "5 Against the House," which features the youngest group of protagonists to appear in any of his stories. They are about a decade younger than the urban married couples who peopled many of his early short stories, and their youth plays a role in the choices they make.
    The foursome then drives to the Brinks office in town and observes the goings on while trading ideas for a robbery. They are interrupted and interrogated by the police, who provide a quick dose of reality that angers Brick but that the younger members of the gang take in stride, since they're still treating the idea of robbery as a lark.
    The fifth member of the title group is introduced as Tina Grey-leg, a beautiful waitress whom Al is dating. The story then shifts back to the four men, who recall working in Reno, Nevada, the summer before. Brick dealt cards at an ornate casino named Harold's Club, while the others merely had menial jobs. Brick suggests that they rob Harold's Club, arguing that they would have a better chance at success because they already know the place and its workings. Jerry (the true crime buff) explains that the real trick is getting away with the robbery, because one can