Life After Life
Kate Atkinson, 2013
Ursula Todd is a unique individual. On a snowy night in 1910, with the doctor unable to get there in time, Ursula enters this world stillborn. But let's try again. On a snowy night in 1910, Ursula enters this world not breathing, but is brought back from the brink of death, only to die as a young child. But let's try again. On a snowy night in 1910... And on and on and on. Every time she dies, Ursula Todd is born once again, given the chance to make different choices and see where it takes her. While she might not know exactly what is going on, her previous lives hit her like a particularly strong sense of deja vu. This scenario leaves us with the question: what could you accomplish if you were given the chance to start over until you got it right?
When I started this book I wasn't sure what to think of it. It was actually a little confusing at first, and then was just a lot of stories about Ursula being a kid with not a whole lot of stuff happening. Not that it wasn't good or interesting, but it wasn't exactly knocking my socks off. Once Ursula survived to reach World War II, though, it really picked up for me and I was sucked right in.
There are still a few things that left me a little confused, and it's definitely a book that will stay on my mind for a long time. Not only in a "what just happened?" kind of way, but also because it's a topic that really leaves you questioning your own life. If you had the chance to go back and make different choices, would you take it? And is the idea of re-living your life over and over again, making different decisions, something that excites you or chills you to the bone? This is one of those books that, while not perfect, will certainly stick with me.
When I started this book I wasn't sure what to think of it. It was actually a little confusing at first, and then was just a lot of stories about Ursula being a kid with not a whole lot of stuff happening. Not that it wasn't good or interesting, but it wasn't exactly knocking my socks off. Once Ursula survived to reach World War II, though, it really picked up for me and I was sucked right in.
There are still a few things that left me a little confused, and it's definitely a book that will stay on my mind for a long time. Not only in a "what just happened?" kind of way, but also because it's a topic that really leaves you questioning your own life. If you had the chance to go back and make different choices, would you take it? And is the idea of re-living your life over and over again, making different decisions, something that excites you or chills you to the bone? This is one of those books that, while not perfect, will certainly stick with me.
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