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 provking premise well executed

First of all, the performance was terrific. Well done, Fenella. The premise of the story is evocative, however, in audible form, you WILL get lost in the story and wonder where the heck you are...perhaps ebookmarks could help, I didn't try them. Sometimes a rebirth droned on and some situations were uninteresting, others were quite good. I think the book would have benefited from more editing out, making it a shorter book with more impact. Then again, some lives are quite dull. I'm sure I would have enjoyed the book more had I not gotten lost so many times. It is a long book, so the potential to get lost is high.

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.

Good ending, it would probably be a better read

I found that this book, while well written, had me confused a lot of the time since it is not in any sort of chronological order. I enjoyed the stories and the ending, but it was not my favorite audiobook.

Strange & Fascinating

I am shocked by how much I ended up enjoying this book. It took about 10 hours--really about two thirds of the way through the story--before I was won over and caught up in it all. I was absolutely determined to finish the book and not give up. I will also admit that I was completely disappointed and confused up until this 10 hour point in the story. I have to stress that when other positive reviewers caution that you need to stick with the book and give it time--they mean it. I join them in this warning. This book takes lots of patience. The listener needs to keep an open mind and pay attention. To me, in the end, it was more than worth it. I grew to love the characters. I loved the exploration of concepts of time, war, and the impact of personal choice.

All that said, the story does require the willingness on the part of the listener to suspend disbelief. Also, be aware that the writing has a dark side and at times can be very dour. The experience of the horrors of the Blitzkrieg or "lightening war" waged on the United Kingdom during WWII--in all its gruesome detail is difficult listening.

I already have the next book in my library and unlike other reviews I do think that there is more to say with this story. I can't wait to see what happens next.

Recommended if you are willing to give the story time to unfold. A captivating listen.

Exhilarating, breathtaking book

I could not put this fascinating book down. I was breathless when I came to the end of it. I quickly downloaded the companion novel, A God in Ruins, and was moved to tears by it as well.

I'm now going back to listen to this novel again, something I never do so soon after the first reading. There is so much technique and so much heart, I need to experience it again.

It took several attempts

It took me several attempts to start this book, but at some point I ran out of other Audible books in my library and decided to push through - I was so glad that I did! It took getting used to the pace of the novel - it moves forward, she dies, it starts again at a slightly different place, moves forward, repeat. The periods between the back-tracking get longer, as we follow the protagonist through her life - from her birth to her ultimate death. Her life takes us through interesting periods of English history leading into and out of WWII, and the narrator is so facile with her accents that it made the story vibrant and real. I was not familiar with Atkinson's work, but I can understand why she has such fans. Her beautiful writing, unique style, and captivating story is done full justice by Woolgar's narration.

Very good, just hard to follow at times.

This book was really good, but difficult to follow at times. I feel like it may have been easier to just read it. The narrator was great, though. I'd definitely recommend it!

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.

Stick with it

Ursula's lives become engrossing - what small decision or trick or turn of fate will change the course of things this time round? As the book unfolds most characters take a place on center stage, and some are more endearing than others! The story is partly a reflection on the British social structure in the first half of the 20th century - always entertaining - but also a reflection on the journeys our lives take. It made me reflect on the small decisions I have made that have resulted in big changes in my world! I thoroughly enjoyed both the book and the narration.

Life after life after life after life after life..

The intriguing premise of this novel tackles some rather weighty existential questions. How much control do we have over our own fates? Would we, if we had some premonition of their significance, alter some of the seemingly inconsequential decisions and happenstances of our lives which later turn out to have tremendous impact on the courses our lives take? How much would it matter in the end even if we were able to make such alterations?

These questions are explored through the many lifetimes of the protagonist, Ursula Todd, each lifetime beginning anew on the same snowy day in February 1910. In succeeding lifetimes, Ursula retains some shadowy sense of major traumas from previous lifetimes and is able to take some steps to avert future tragedy, although she can hardly explain her own motives in so acting. All too often, these actions have little or no impact on the ultimate course of her history--and even when they do, it's hard to keep from wondering after a while if it really matters one way or the other.

The book starts out well enough and held my interest for some time but would have far better at about 1/2 the length. I had no trouble following the storyline (just remember that everything starts all over with each February 1910 "birth" although some events might repeat themselves), but the novel's conceit grows tedious in the extreme after about a dozen lifetimes (I didn't keep count, but my guess is that there were in excess of 20). Paradoxically, I grew to care less and less about Ursula's fate(s) and came to just wish for an end to the interminable cycle of rebirth long before the book itself ended. I'm not sure if it was the author's intention, but I have never before so much appreciated the Hindu desire for the end of samsara and the liberation of moksha.