Life After Life

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Average customer rating 5 (6 comments)

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This is my first book by Kate Atkinson and it certainly won't be the last. Ursula is the main character in "Life after life," and with the help of a facile pen Atkinson keeps us wondering if Ursula is dead or alive. Likewise, is Teddie her brother dead or alive... Atkinson keeps us guessing as to what turn the Todds' life will take, in particular Ursula's The novel starts in 1910 and proceeds till the sixties. The best part however would have to be the description of the London Bombings of WWII. The characters describe the bombing as a "good show," and as "The gods throwing a party!" Definitely an interesting read and if it's a precursor to Atkinson's other novels it bodes well for us her readers.

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If you already have a house full of books and you're part of a long-term book club, you probably are accustomed to using your public library for most of your "contemporary fiction" needs. After all, who knows if ten years from now you'll really want to OWN the book, much less whether you'll remember even the basic outlines of the story. Well, Life After Life is a book you will remember and one you'll want to have on your own shelves. It's a keeper, so buy any copy you can find and READ IT! It's a remarkable book, so innovative in terms of its structure! Don't believe reviewers who say it's just like Groundhog Day. Yes, the main character's life begins several times, and sometimes it even goes all the way back to the snowy night in February when she's born, but each "life" plays out differently, and we step onto the path of that life at different points; we only follow the path of that life until - due to fate or choice or karma or ??? - it ends as the darkness falls. The story is beautifully written, too. Amazing book, very readable, very thought-provoking and exciting.

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I'm actually somewhat surprised how much I've enjoyed this book. I'm one of the few people who saw the movie Groundhog Day and thought that the main character's reliving the same day over and over was really tedious. However, Atkinson makes it work, perhaps partly because at some point in the book, Atkinson stopped going through Ursula's whole life again upon being reborn. Instead, she just picks up somewhere around the point where Ursula dies or else at some pivotal point in her life. I think early on I was interested to see how she was going to die next. As the book progresses though and as her character becomes more fleshed out, the reader gets to know her better, and, for me at least, it becomes easy to forget that she would probably die again at some point. I found it to really be an interesting concept - being able to continually hit the reset button until you get it right. What have you learned from your life and how can you make it better for both yourself and for those around you? This seemed to be the big question the book explores.

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Stunning. Totally non-linear, always surprising, occasionally frustrating, absolutely compelling. It's as though Kate Atkinson wanted to answer the question "What if Hitler had never come to power?" and found, instead of one answer, a dozen possibilities. I might describe this book as "The Time Traveler's Wife" meets "Groundhog Day," set in England from 1910 to 1945. But that wouldn't really tell you anything useful about this fantastic novel. Go read it!

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I stayed up into the wee hours to finish Life after Life last night, and I must say this is one of the most interesting, original and intense books I've read in a very long time. Suffice it to say that Ursula is born over and over again, with the path of her lives taking more twists and turns than any roller coast ever invented, including an opportunity to kill Hitler before he could launch World War II. I will say no more because I don't wish to give too much away. Atkinson, as I had already discovered by reading several of her early books, is a marvel and should be recognized as one of the very best modern novelists.

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There is whimsy and humor laced throughout this novel and it makes for a beautiful contrast to the more serious components of tragedy and war. Life is a farce after all; if you can't find the humor in it you've been doing it wrong or have missed the point entirely. Atkinson has not missed the point. As readers, we are in capable hands. She has one helluva story to tell you, and trust me, you don't want to miss it.