1. Life After Life

Rating: ☆☆☆☆

Recommended by:   Tina Hirshland

Author: Kate Atkinson

Genre: Fiction, Historical Fiction, World War II

Info: 560 pages, published March 14, 2013

Format:  Audio Book

Summary 

Every time Ursula Todd dies, she is born again. Each successive life is an iteration on the last, and we see how Ursula’s choices affect her, those around her, and the fate of the 20th-century world.

 

Quotes

“What if we had a chance to do it again and again, until we finally did get it right? Wouldn’t that be wonderful?”

“He was born a politician.  No, Ursula thought, he was born a baby, like everyone else. And this is what he has chosen to become.”

“No point in thinking, you just have to get on with life. We only have one after all, we should try and do our best. We can never get it right, but we must try.”

“Do not tell secrets to those whose faith and silence you have not already tested.”

My Take

Life After Life was the first book that I read as part of my Reading Quest and it was a good one to start off with.  While a bit slow and repetitive at times, it holds your interest all the way through and brings World War II London during the blitz vividly to life.

The central plot device is take on the “Sliding Doors” theme, i.e. how the different choices we make can completely alter the trajectory of your life.  This was especially poignant when we see the main character Ursula choose to marry the wrong man, a bully and a wife beater, after her confidence is undermined by an unforgiving mother.

While I enjoyed Life After Life, I liked Atkinson’s sequel A God in Ruins even better.