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Life After Life

By: Kate Atkinson
Narrated by: Fenella Woolgar
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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)

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What listeners say about Life After Life

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Fascinating!

Filled with memorable characters and fascinating accounts of life during World War II in England and Germany.

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A best seller for good reason!

Any additional comments?

I did not find this hard to follow, and I listen while exercising. But you do need to pay attention. It was a very compelling story and unlike any I have read before. I highly recommend it!

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Loved this book!

It took a while to get used to the "return to yesterday" story construction, but it was worth it! I suggest you not listen to it before you fall asleep as you do have to pay attention.

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My book of the year!

I'm curious to see if someone else can come up with a more original, more engaging premise for a book in 2013. Praised by Gillian ("Gone Girl") Flynn as the book she herself wished she had written. Can't wait to listen to it again.

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Beautiful story, beautifully written and narrated

Don't miss this gem. Kate Atkinson's use of the language is marvelous. The narration is perfection. It isn't a mystery novel, so you know what's coming, so what... it arrives beautifully.

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Life after Life

Outstanding literature. Fascinating and unique story line. I cried and laughed in equal proportion. Recommend for anyone who lived through or anyone interested early 20th century life.
This s book touched my soul.

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Loved it

A unique story with rich, interesting characters beautifully told.
Kate Atkinson is a gifted author. Can’t wait to read more.

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Great original book

I really enjoyed this book. I thought it had originality it’s different from what I normally listen to.

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Difficult for me to follow along.

I realize story is meant to begin again, but I was lost most of the time and it went on forever!

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Extremely Well Done

"Life After Life" is both the examination of one woman's life, experiences, and destiny, and also a larger vision of how our lives can take substantial turns based on very small decisions or actions. It's beautifully written, and the narration is excellent.

I had a surprisingly easy time following the time jumps and re-sets; if you note in the beginning that Ursula is born in 1910, it's a nice even number to judge the years and her age by, as the story goes along. Every time jump/reset is prefaced by a a clarification of exactly when and where you are.

Along with everything else the book has to offer, it's set in a fascinating time that covers both the first and second world war, and the story highlights what a woman's life was like during that time in England. Ursula's character was extremely well defined and presents you with an authentic, genuine person with a full family life, history, and personality. I enjoyed spending time with her.

There's one sub-plot that the book starts out with and picks up again towards the end that could be considered a bit of an overreach, and in my opinion the book would have stood up will without it. I found it's sensationalism at odds with what was otherwise an intimate and believable portrayal of a woman that could be any one of us, dealing with the extraordinary situation of repeated lives. If I had a vote, I would have left it out; but it did not ultimately hinder my deep enjoyment of the story and the people found within it.

As has been noted by another reviewer, this is not the story of a grand adventure; it instead takes your hand and allows you to step in and view the story of a family, and one member in particular; Ursula. I loved the relationships they all had with each other; they were true to life; an authentic family.

I recommend this book.

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72 people found this helpful