When Does "The Big Rewind" (2016) Take Place?
"The Big Rewind" is a crime novel written by Libby Cudmore and released January 15th, 2016.
It takes place in the year:
We know this because, when Jett Bennett confronts George, he says, “the last thing I need is you digging up some ex-girlfriend I haven’t thought about in twenty-five years” and then, when talking about being dumped by Cassie (the ex-girlfriend), “that was the nineties”. This establishes, at least, a range. That loose timeframe is confirmed earlier when Jett learns that Cassie was interviewed about her music by a self-published magazine (zine) called "Minnie Underground" in 1993 AD.
2018 AD
We know this because, when Jett Bennett confronts George, he says, “the last thing I need is you digging up some ex-girlfriend I haven’t thought about in twenty-five years” and then, when talking about being dumped by Cassie (the ex-girlfriend), “that was the nineties”. This establishes, at least, a range. That loose timeframe is confirmed earlier when Jett learns that Cassie was interviewed about her music by a self-published magazine (zine) called "Minnie Underground" in 1993 AD.
1993 + 25 = 2018.
Natalie says, “now that Gray’s Papaya has fucking closed” and, while the real-world fast food restaurant Gray's Papaya only completely closed during the famous and tragic 2020 worldwide COVID-19 pandemic shutdown, she is possibly referring to the Greenwich Village location. That spot closed in January of 2014 AD. Also, Cassie complains about the loss of the real-world video store Kim’s Video, which closed its doors on April 21st, 2014. This confirms we are in or after 2014 AD.
When we're introduced to Sid early in the novel, he's meeting Jett at the Happy Days Diner in Brooklyn Heights. This diner opened in 1991 AD and closed in November of 2022 AD, slimming our hard time range somewhat. There is no mention of the famous and tragic 2020 worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, strongly encouraging a February of 2020 AD cutoff.
