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Life After Life (Todd Family, #1)

Kate Atkinson

Start date: September 15, 2013

Finish date: October 15, 2013

Discussion: Reading List

Discussion leader: Sherry

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Reading List

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What Members Thought

Jul 13, 2013 Jenny (Reading Envy) rated it really liked it

Shelves: read2013, orange-prize, tournament-of-books, around-the-world, location-uk

This book got a lot of acclaim this past year, making the shortlist for the Women's Prize for Fiction (formerly known as the Orange Prize), had a postive review in the NY Times and Publishers Weekly, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was included in the Man Booker Prize this year. After all, the story is very English in subject matter and philosophy.

I really loved the first 2/3 of this novel, about Ursula Todd, who dies shortly after birth in 1910 but gets the chance to live and die a multitude ...more

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Aug 03, 2014 SooYoung rated it it was amazing

Definitely a solid book through and through. The premise is that this woman, Ursula, keeps being born and dying into the same life in England in the early 1900s. Now, the idea of being re-born and the different turns life can take is not a new plot line by any means--but Atkinson keeps it fresh, reviving this plot device in compelling ways that'll keep you reading, and questioning the meaning of life.

It's been a while since I've read a book that has both quality writing, a captivating plot--and ...more

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Jul 27, 2013 Joyce rated it really liked it

Shelves: favorites

This is one of those books that you could probably chew over with friends for hours. I very much enjoy Kate Atkinson's work. In "Life After Life," however, I started out a tad bit annoyed. Perhaps this is because I am always in search of meaning and I couldn't see where the author was going with the endless killings of Ursula Todd. But once I reached the section on the Spanish flu, I started to get with the program and just enjoyed the ride. This is probably a book that bears reading more than o ...more

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Apr 11, 2013 Jennie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: europeans, women, listened-to

Atkinson tells a beautiful story. She uses reincarnation as a literary device to show the reader different facets of the novel's events and characters. These facets fit together to form a riveting mosaic involving lovable characters and vine like plot lines. ...more

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