Life After Life - Wyrms.de

Paperback, 560 pages

Published Jan. 7, 2014 by Back Bay Books.

ISBN:: 978-0-316-17649-1

(1 review)

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.

7 editions

Kadomi reviewed Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

Review of 'Life After Life' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Based on other reviews of this book, you either love it or you hate it. I loved the crap out of it.

Covering the time from 1910 to post-WWII, we follow the life of Ursula Todd, born on a snowy night in 1910. We follow her birth and deaths many times, because Ursula lives life after life, dying in various different timelines and getting reborn on the same wintry night, with a vague premonition of previous deaths.

While the story of the Todd family is full of some sardonic humor, the story is ultimately very bleak, as many of Ursula's deaths are incredibly depressing or a bit gruesome. The one that probably hit me the hardest was Ursula being raped as a 16-year old, getting an abortion, then later marrying a guy who ultimately beats her to death. There's a lot of time spent in London during the Blitz.

I …

Based on other reviews of this book, you either love it or you hate it. I loved the crap out of it.

Covering the time from 1910 to post-WWII, we follow the life of Ursula Todd, born on a snowy night in 1910. We follow her birth and deaths many times, because Ursula lives life after life, dying in various different timelines and getting reborn on the same wintry night, with a vague premonition of previous deaths.

While the story of the Todd family is full of some sardonic humor, the story is ultimately very bleak, as many of Ursula's deaths are incredibly depressing or a bit gruesome. The one that probably hit me the hardest was Ursula being raped as a 16-year old, getting an abortion, then later marrying a guy who ultimately beats her to death. There's a lot of time spent in London during the Blitz.

I was a bit puzzled by the end, but was okay with it, as I enjoyed the book all in all. So what if it doesn't really go anywhere in the end? I think I would like to re-read it, to see all the different hints from previous lives in each part. I'll just say that I never want to eat Veal à la Russe.