The quotes that preface Life After Life by Kate Atkinson set the stage for an epic, heart wrenching, beautifully written novel. Seriously, there are a bevy of superlatives I can use here. The book is that good.
Life After Life revolves around
Ursula and follows her from birth as she lives, breathes and dies
again and again and again. For Ursula, dying is a reboot and her
chance to make corrections. At the beginning, this concept is a bit
confusing for the reader (and for Ursula, as well) but Atkinson lets
you learn and understand the loopy life of Ursula’s just as Ursula
learns and understands.
The reader is privy to the many causes
and consequences that shape a person’s life and also the different
outcomes of change. It’s an amazing way to pose the question, “If
you knew then what you know now, what would you change?”
The story begins in 1910 with Ursula’s
birth and spans decades. Ursula and her family deal with the many
changes that occur during that time in England, the most prominent of
which is WWII, which is perhaps the second major character in Life
After Life.
In truth, so many
changes were happening in Europe, and England had a front row seat in
the beginning, then declaring war as Hitler invaded Poland. What I
appreciated here is Atkinson’s skill to infuse so much historical
fact but it’s done so sneakily the reader is none the wiser. It’s
all told as Ursula lives out her lives in various places of Europe.
Her experiences and roles are as varied as the imagination. What an
amazing ability to give the reader multiple assessments of the same
horrible war and all told from the same person so there are no
variances of opinion! Ursula is Ursula, through and through no
matter where she is and what situation she’s in this lifetime.
My only complaint is one that would
spoil the book so I won’t write it. Let’s just say that I wish
the book was longer than its 529 pages so we can get a bit more lives
out of this brave girl.
Ursula and her story together are
unforgettable. I’d like to say that her character was
unforgettable on her own, but without her rebirths she would not be
as interesting as other characters I’ve read. She definitely has
depth and as a reader I empathized with her over and over again but
of course, her lives are told repeatedly so I couldn’t get too
wrapped up in a good or bad lifetime. There’ll be another.
Atkinson has created a real gem here
and I would love to give this book 5 stars, but again, the emotional
connection was a bit lacking. Therefore, I am giving Life After
Life a very strong 4 stars. Please read this book!
This book is available on Amazon,
Barnes and Noble and most retail stores. If you’re lucky, you can
score one from your library like I did
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