Consequences

A Novel

By: Penelope Lively

Narrated by: Josephine Bailey

Consequences is a love-story-times-three that opens on the eve of the Second World War with a chance meeting in St. James' Park, London. Wholly in love, Lorna and Matt leave the city for a cottage in a rural Somerset village. Their intimate life together is shattered when the war begins and by Matt's tragic death in action.

Twenty years later, their daughter, Molly, happens upon a forgotten newspaper - a seemingly small moment that leads to her first job and, eventually, a pregnancy by a wealthy man who wants to marry her but whom she does not love. But it is her own daughter, Ruth, who begins the journey that will take her back to 1941 and a redefinition of herself and of love.

Told in Lively's incomparable prose, Consequences is a powerful story of growth, death, and rebirth and a study of the previous century: its major and minor events, its shaping of public consciousness, and its changing of lives.

©2007 Penelope Lively (P)2007 Tantor Media Inc.

Critic reviews

"Intricate, heartbreaking, and redemptive." ( Publishers Weekly)
"[Lively's] greatest gift...is her ability to...grasp the unchanging essences of life....A writer like Ms. Lively [is] worth treasuring." ( The Wall Street Journal)
"[Lively's] characters are beguiling, and her blend of romance and stinging social commentary is tonic." ( Booklist)

Panoramic family history

Lpved this. Wonderful generational novel with women as central characters. Didn’t want it to ever end. Such good writing with the ironical twist of Penelope Lively’s pen. Narrator excellent

Great love story

Would you listen to Consequences again? Why?

Probably not because I don't listen to many books a second time.

What other book might you compare Consequences to and why?

It is much like other books by that author.

What does Josephine Bailey bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

She had a gorgeous brit accent ( I love that)!

Who was the most memorable character of Consequences and why?

I loved the original love story between Lorna and Matt.

Lovely book but not a classic

I've been reading through some of the great English authors: Trollope, Dickens, etc. Penelope Lively is not in their league. But she creates a lovely story here, and it is worth reading.

Captivating

What a terrific novel, beautifully narrated by Josephine Bailey.
I had a tough time not racing through it, savoring it instead like a box of chocolates.
My first Penelope Lively novel.
I can't wait for the rest.

Could have been so much more...

This was an easy listen and good performance but just as I was getting into each characters story, it jumped ahead. Could have been so much more about the people and the eras it moves through but the author just seemed to want to skip ahead to the end and tie it all neatly together. It's ok