Life After Life: A Novel [B1919]

2013 HCDJ in nice clean condition. From the award-winning author of Behind the Scenes at the Museum, the novel that asks the question, '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.

From MIXED recent Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "What a beautiful, odd, fascinating book. Was this novel about a life lived multiple times or the ability to glimpse into parallel realities? Regardless, this novel demonstrates how one minor detail can impact your life's trajectory. The life of Ursula, the protagonist, is told through looping timeframes spanning 1910 through to the late 1960s. Various vignettes are pieced together with back stories and side comments scattered throughout. Complicated? A bit but largely this story unfolds with a careful fascination - I was happy to slowly read and absorb this unique tale."; "It was just an okay read for me. A little repetitive and lengthy. I did appreciate the uniqueness."; "I enjoyed this historical fiction foray with an interesting take. Key takeaway....live in the present!"; "I ended up loving this book. I found the beginning to be slow and it took me some time to get in to the concept of it but I realized when I got towards the end that I didn't want it to end. Beautiful writing."; "I got about a third of the way through this book and nearly stopped reading, finding the structure a bit repetitive and depressing. But then the narrative stretches started to get a bit longer and more interesting and it really picked up in pace for me. From then on I quite enjoyed the book and I liked the end which was quite unexpected."