 Harold Ramis (qv) has stated that the inspiration for this movie  was NOT the 1905 novel "The Strange Life of Ivan Osokin" by P. D.  Ouspensky, but many others think that it was. Ramis made this denial  within his contributions to a jacket blurb for one edition of the  Ouspensky book. In the book, Osokin is given the opportunity to live  his life over again by a magician... and Osokin takes him up on the  offer, only to make the same mistakes all over again. Eventually he  reaches the point in time where he met the magician, who explains to  Osokin that he cannot change the recurring wheel that is "this trap  called life"... and that Osokin must learn to sacrifice in order to  escape it, to find his salvation.