How It All Began

By: Penelope Lively

Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren

Length: 7 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

A vibrant new novel from Penelope Lively - a wry, wise story about the surprising ways lives intersect.

When Charlotte Rainsford, a retired schoolteacher, is accosted by a petty thief on a London street, the consequences ripple across the lives of acquaintances and strangers alike. A marriage unravels after an illicit love affair is revealed through an errant cell phone message; a posh yet financially strapped interior designer meets a business partner who might prove too good to be true; an old-guard historian tries to recapture his youthful vigor with an ill-conceived idea for a TV miniseries; and a middle-aged central European immigrant learns to speak English and reinvents his life with the assistance of some new friends.

Through a richly conceived and colorful cast of characters, Penelope Lively explores the powerful role of chance in people's lives and deftly illustrates how our paths can be altered irrevocably by someone we will never even meet. Brought to life in her hallmark graceful prose and full of keen insights into human nature, How It All Began is an engaging, contemporary tale that is sure to strike a chord with her legion of loyal fans as well as new readers. A writer of rare wisdom, elegance, and humor, Lively is a consummate storyteller whose gifts are on full display in this masterful work.

©2012 Penelope Lively (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Katherine Kellgren is an agile, appealing narrator who navigates the many characters with ease. Whether voicing a native Londoner or an English-language learner from the Continent, Kellgren exudes effusive and consistent energy…This is a well-paced, fun recording of an entertaining novel.” ( AudioFile)

Wonderful novel, beautifully read

Where does How It All Began rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is one of the most enjoyable books I have listened too this year.

What did you like best about this story?

The characters are fascinating, and the novel combines both an interesting story that captifates the attention with some fascinating reflections on age, love, memory, the changing times, and family relationships.

Which character – as performed by Katherine Kellgren – was your favorite?

All of the characters are well drawn, but the immigrant accountant is particularly well done, one can hear his English improve through the novel.

Any additional comments?

This is a book, in other words, that is easy to listen to and that grabs you from the first minutes, and yet has some real depth that sticks with you. First rate.

A wonderful story

Penelope Lively writes beautifully and creates real people. I wanted to know what happened next and did not want the experience to end, a tribute to the writer and the narrator.

pleasant read

It's a sweet read with a standard theme: Our lives happen in accorance with chaos theory.

Quite English, quite entertaining of its kind

I suppose it is chicklit, but more sophisticated and a man can enjoy the many plot lines as they pass by at a rapid clip. PL really has a sharp wit, and the reader is good and not obtrusive.

A decent distraction on a long drive

What did you like best about How It All Began? What did you like least?

I enjoyed the fact that there were different storylines with intersecting characters.

Would you recommend How It All Began to your friends? Why or why not?

No, it was just average.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

The narrator used a very strange voice for the foreign character, Anton. It was a distraction and made him sound somehow less intelligent than the words would indicate.

Do you think How It All Began needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Heavens, no. There is nothing I need to know about any of the characters.

Very engaging book!

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

I would recommend if the friend was interested in the English setting and genre. The narrator is absolutely fantastic and the story ties up beautifully. It is a very believable story set in contemporary times which appeals to me a lot lately.

What was one of the most memorable moments of How It All Began?

I don't think about most memorable moments. Instead I judge the novel as a whole. If I am interested from hour to hour that is what matters.

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

Just a fantastic narration on all levels. One of the best narrators I have heard.

Mundane chaos

The apparent premise of this story was how chaos theory could apply to ordinary lives based on a single event - the mugging of an elderly lady by an unknown (and throughout the story anonymous) assailant. We meet a fairly common cast of middle class characters whose lives are altered to some degree by this event, but the changes are pretty mundane. I was hoping to see something of real interest happen, but was disappointed. Jobs and relationships experienced various stresses, but I I got tired of the self centeredness of all but one of the characters. The one character who earned my sympathy was Anton, the Eastern European immigrant struggling to learn English in order to apply for meaningful work. The reactions and thoughts of the other characters were predictable and usually annoyingly selfish. I found my thoughts frequently drifting off in the middle of converstions in which the participants were also allowing their thoughts to drift from each other - life immitating art. The author states in the final chapter that "endings are an arbitrary device" because of course the characters' lives presumably continue onward beyond the pages of the book. In spite of that thought, all is resolved in very tidy (and predictable) fashion.

The reading by Katherine Kellgren was enthusiastic, energetic, and successfully differentiated the characters. It probably helped to keep some interest going in the story that I would not have been able to muster if I had read it in print.

Entertaining listen

This is a light, likeable, well read story. A random action and the effects throughout related lives.

A Lively Tale by Lively

This is a contemporary, fantastically humorous look at the philosophy of the butterfly effect. Can the flapping of a butterfly's wings cause a tornado after all? Charlotte Rainsford, a retired schoolteacher, is the butterfly. The butterfly is mugged. From there begins a cascade of events joining people, places and outcomes that without the mugging may never have happened. The reader can't help but laugh at some of the situations the characters find themselves in. But what is more funny is their reactions to these same events.

It's a delightful, easy to read novel well read by Kellgren. It doesn't require notecards to keep track of complex intricacies within the subplots. They're easy to follow and understand. And most of us can recognize ourselves and laugh at what comes next.

I highly recommend adding this book to your library. Well done.

takes some time to adapt to english storytelling

overall, i liked this book ... better the second listen, once i'd adapted to english storytelling style. charming, with good characters. the narration, however, could have been much better.