Life After Life

A Novel

By: Kate Atkinson

Narrated by: Fenella Woolgar

Length: 15 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

What if you could live again and again, until you got it right?

On a cold and snowy night in 1910, Ursula Todd is born to an English banker and his wife. She dies before she can draw her first breath. On that same cold and snowy night, Ursula Todd is born, lets out a lusty wail, and embarks upon a life that will be, to say the least, unusual. For as she grows, she also dies, repeatedly, in a variety of ways, while the young century marches on towards its second cataclysmic world war.

Does Ursula's apparently infinite number of lives give her the power to save the world from its inevitable destiny? And if she can - will she? Darkly comic, startlingly poignant, and utterly original: this is Kate Atkinson at her absolute best.

©2011 Kate Atkinson (P)2013 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"A densely layered, century-sprawling work that is a formidable bid for the brass ring of the U.K.'s prestigious Man Booker Prize. Life After Life is a drama of failures and providential rebirths...High-concept premise...A deft and convincing portrayal of an English family's evolution across two world wars...Marvelous...Not only does she bring characters to life with enviable ease, she has an almost offhand knack for vivid scene-setting ...Her storytelling prowess is on fullest display in a gorgeous and nerve-racking novella-length chapter set during the Blitz...It's spellbindingly done." (Sam Sacks, The Wall Street Journal)

"Life After Life is a masterpiece about how even the smallest choices can sometimes change the course of history. It's wise, bittersweet, funny, and unlike anything else you've ever read. Kate Atkinson is one of my all-time favorite novelists, and I believe this is her best book yet." (J. Courtney Sullivan, best-selling author of Maine and Commencement)

"Life After Life is dark and funny and suspenseful and sad all at the same time." (Emily Ecton, NPR, Great Reads of 2013)

Not for my taste

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I didn't feel like I ever got into this. It was a series life possibilities but I never got to feel like I knew the characters. Way too far fetched in some instances.

What was most disappointing about Kate Atkinson’s story?

Got a bit old and was easy to see what was going to happen as each scenario unfolded. The change of outlook prevented the depth of character development. Some scenarios were very brief and others contained so much detail that the story line (lines) didn't seem to run fluidly.

What about Fenella Woolgar’s performance did you like?

She was an excellent narrator. Did a good job of differentiating the voices. I will see what else she has narrated and if the subject intrigues me, I would certainly enjoy listening to her again.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

no

Any additional comments?

Just not thrilled with this rendering of an interesting premise. I chose it based on other reviews - but we all don't have the same taste even if we read many of the same books.

What a surprise

Far more than any historical novel that I've read. Amazing. Imaginative. Addictive. I'm off to read her other books. Starting right away.

Worthy of all the kudos

What an astonishing writer Ms. Atkinson is. Paired with a marvelous and pitch perfect reader too. Found myself "rewinding the tape" - sometimes more than once - just to relish the prose and the performance. Three cheers!

I Think I Missed a lot...

I liked this book a lot, as it's extremely well written and tells interesting stories about a likable character who has a wealth of interesting experiences over a lifetime beginning in 1910. But the book's structure frustrated me. Not because I got lost as one after another of Ursula Todd's many lives (and deaths) morphed into the next and time shifted accordingly, but because I expected to see more obvious connections and threads in and between her many stories, as one does in Colum McCann's "Transatlantic", the best book I've read in a while. As in "Transatlantic", where real-life characters such as Frederick Douglass and Senator George Mitchell make more-than-cameo appearances, Eva Braun and Adolph Hitler figure in an interesting story line in "Life After Life", adding to its appeal to me. Don't be put off by my three stars, which would have been 3.5 if I'd had the flexibility; try this one for yourself. Having read a number of reviews after finishing the book (the "Most Helpful" reviews currently on Amazon.com are very helpful), I realize that I probably missed many of the literary, religious and other allusions which others say lie under the surface of "Life After Life". You might not.

Excellent Book - Love Fenella Woolgar

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This was a great book - Wonderfully told and kept me entertained the entire time.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Nothing. She was excellent!

thought provoking

The story was rich and complex. For those willing to go down the rabbit hole and ask "what if we could change the past?" it is both satisfying and infuriating. I only had a bit of difficulty keeping track of dates and where we were in Ursula's life, which would not have been a problem in a physical book. Yet the narrator was fantastic and her character voices made it as easy as possible to follow along in a time hopping story.

LIFE AFTER LIFE

Would you consider the audio edition of Life After Life to be better than the print version?

I ENJOYED THE STORY BUT SINCE I LISTENED TO IT WHILE WALKING AND STOPPED IS UNTIL THE NEXT WALK, I LOST THE CONSISTENCY OF THE STORY. I WOULD RECOMMEND THE STORY AS I DID LIKE THE SUBJECT AND THE CHARACTERS.

What did you like best about this story?

THE CHARACTERS WERE VERY INTERESTING

Which character – as performed by Fenella Woolgar – was your favorite?

MY FAVORITE WAS URSALA.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

THE PART ABOUT THE WAR.

Not for me

Life after life was an interesting story, but it wasn't interesting enough to keep me going. I loved the narrator though, very pleasant to listen to. I've been struggling with this book for over a year though, the story was not attention grabbing enough and felt like nothing was ever happening.

Interesting but...

interesting concept but really just annoying by halfway through and it has no resolution. Rough content for an audiobook maybe it would be less jarring if I read it in print.

Compelling story and beautiful narration

At the start I had a difficult time following the story, but a quarter of the way through I was hooked. This is the first novel I have read that made me stop and reflect on my own life's what-ifs. I liked the portions of Ursula' s life that described her role in the war. Good perspective from a woman's view.