Ursula Todd is blessed (or cursed) to circumvent this, but the weight of her situation-in which the best-laid plans might take repeated lifetimes to pull off-is impossibly saddening, a series of long games in which mortality is both a punishment and an obstacle to be dodged. At the core of Atkinson’s book is a very primal anxiety: missing out on those lives we imagine but never get the chance to live. The surreal chronology of Life After Life has its antecedents: Ken Grimwood’s 1987 novel Replay and Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five use disjointed chronology to explore the dizzying potential within a human life. Other passages evoke Patrick Hamilton’s sharply drawn novels of prewar London Atkinson’s neatly drawn supporting characters and minor conflicts could power a suite of chamber dramas. Certain timelines, e.g., one in which Ursula is trapped in a nightmarish marriage with a violent academic, land with a sickening power.
Sometimes she is able to effect change within her own life via premonitions in others, a character new to the narrative alters Ursula’s history or our own. Some of Ursula’s lives are brutally short. Slowly, Ursula becomes aware of her unique existence from lifetime to lifetime, she endeavors to discover the reasons behind this condition. As Ursula is born and dies again and again, different lurking dangers present themselves: riptides, an influenza epidemic, the Blitz. The novel then repeats the event, but now Ursula’s birth yields jubilation rather than sorrow. However, she herself is killed-and the narrative returns to the moment of Ursula’s birth, in 1910. The year is 1930 Ursula Todd approaches Adolf Hitler with a gun and fires. Kate Atkinson’s new novel opens with a jarring display of violence. Have you read After You? What was your opinion?Īre you thinking of self-publishing your own book? Why not pick up a copy of Your Ultimate Guide To A Powerful Book Launch for just $8.By Kate Atkinson. How many other one-off books have we wanted a sequel for, just so we can see what our favourite characters ended up doing? Not all authors give in to this demand, and to be honest I actually found myself somewhat wishing Jojo Moyes had. Simply because it really is a good book! However, I would also strongly emphasise that I was somewhat disappointed by the author’s lack of a definite ending. Would I recommend After You to friends? Yes. I enjoyed the character developments, the novel was well written, and certainly by the end I had mixed feelings about a third installment in the series.
In fact, by the end I found myself thirsting for a third book! The plot was a little “out there” at times, and seemed to be a story for the sake of a story for the majority of the novel, however during the last third I began to properly follow our protagonist as I felt everything she felt. And the fact I had it read in the space of 2 days, well that just speaks volumes at how much I devoured with novel. I’ll be honest and say I never actually thought I wanted or needed this book until I started it. And if she’s going to keep it, she has to invite them in. What Lou does know for certain is that something has to change.īut does the stranger on her doorstep hold the answers Lou is searching for – or just more questions?Ĭlose the door and life continues: simple, ordered, safe.īut Lou once made a promise to live. Whether her close-knit family can forgive her for what she did eighteen months ago.Īnd will she ever get over the love of her life. Or why the flat she’s owned for a year still doesn’t feel like home. Like how it is she’s ended up working in an airport bar, spending every shift watching other people jet off to new places. It takes you on a journey as she accepts her past, struggles with the present, and ignores the future. Once I finished reading it and reviewed it (which can be found here) I discovered there was a sequel I just had to get my hands on!Īfter You tells of Louisa’s time after her employment in the Traynor household. Sorry for the delay! It has been sitting in my draft posts for a while, so it was about time I finished it off and clicked that publish button.Īfter You is the sequel to Me Before You, the book that took the nation by storm, even before it was made into a film in 2016 – a film I am still to watch! Back when the film was released, I swore I would not watch the film until I read the book. Wow this one took a while to get publishing. If you make a qualifying purchase through these links, I may be paid a small commission at no extra cost to you. Please be aware, this post contains affiliate links.
0 kommentar(er)
