What if you had the chance to live your life again and again, until you finally got it right? That’s the premise of Life After Life – the new novel from Kate Atkinson. When the central character, Ursula, dies, she doesn’t really die; life continues, but not in the way that it was happening. This is not a ‘Sliding Doors’ premise where there is one possibility or another – every choice in Ursula’s life has possibilities. One reviewer I heard talked about Ursula’s lives as like the fingers on a glove. It sounds sort-of ridiculous when you say it like that but in the masterful hands of Atkinson, it’s utterly plausible.
I’m liking
I used to be a bit unsure about Kate Atkinson – some of her earlier books were, er, kinda odd, and often left me feeling like I hadn’t quite ‘got it’. But this book has me utterly convinced. Atkinson takes a ‘what if…’ scenario and makes you totally believe in it. The characters are so well-drawn that I felt like they were my own family Ursula, the central character, stayed with me long after I finished the book.
The book covers about 40 years and Atkinson moves seamless between time, country, place and character. At times, the sense of time and place is so fluid that I didn’t notice the transitions until I was well-established in a new place.
The conclusion
This was the best book I’ve read in… a long time. Atkinson is an astonishingly good writer and I was utterly absorbed by Life After Life. Beg, borrow or steal this book. It’s awesome!
