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)

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.

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.

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.

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.

climax was not a climax

I liked the book in general though the ending wasn't satisfying. Not enough plot devoted toward the awareness and then execution of the heroine's special abilities, especially considering that's a main talking pound about the book. But I did enjoy the leadup and slow subtle reveals of the details of her lives as they unfolded and refolded. Beautiful writing, nuanced characters.

A skillful what if it had happened this way

A very different book presenting a life that could have been different-and the alternate life was then presented! Confusing at first but then I couldn't wait to hear another alternate life.

Better read than heard

I suspect that reading this story would have made the jumping around in time a little easier to follow. The premise was very interesting, and though the actor's voice was easy to listen to, I kept getting lost in which part of the story we were in.

nope

I started it and tried to like it. I gave it 13 chapters and couldn't take it anymore. frustratingly laborious.

love it!

this book has captivated my attentions several times! I truly enjoy listening and reading this book, I do wish it would go on!