A book that takes place over a character's life span

[Susan]

I just finished Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney. It's the story of a strong woman who reflects on her life as she takes a walk around Manhattan on New Year's Eve. She is 86 years old as she's reflecting on her life which has spanned living in NY from the late 1930's (the setting is 1984). Loved it!

[Tiffani]

Kristy wrote: "Les Mis
Picture of Dorian Gray"

Both of those are good, as well as Memoirs of a Geisha. I read that one and Les Mis last year and Dorian Gray in high school.

[Bronwyn]

I recently finished Music And Freedom by Zoë Morrison and loved it. I'm counting it for this category. It covers the main character's life from the age of 3 to when she dies at the age of 85, and the story jumps back and forward between past and present. This novel packed a huge emotional punch for me, and I practically devoured it. Recommended if you enjoy literary fiction, and especially recommended if you enjoy classical music (the central character is a pianist), but I don't think you need to be musical to appreciate it.

[Pat]

Sounds good to me-will reserve it now.(I own a copy of "Kristin Lavransdatter" but at nearly 1000 pages might leave it for a rainy month..:-)

[Tara]

Moloka'i (Alan brennert? I think that's his name) and snow flower and the secret fan are both fantastic books. I'm hoping Alice I Have Been can count. It goes from 6-7 to 80s when she's telling it sort of like in snow flower.

[Simant]

I will read The Secret Diary of Kasturba for this prompt

[Kirsten]

I read An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser and realized that it fit this prompt.

The character is shown from his early childhood through to his death. It is an excellent book and reads very well despite its age.

[Stephanie]

I recently finished Orphan Train. It was an excellent read and would fit several prompts including A book That Takes Place Over a Character's Life Span

[Pioup]

The Man Who Spoke Snakish works for this one (I didn't know and was reading it for something else, but oh well). It's an Estonian historical(ish) novel and while I didn't love it, it was an interesting read.

[Debbie]

I read The Hundred-Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais with my book club a while back, and it would work for this prompt. The book follows both the main character from childhood to late adulthood, and his father from childhood and death. I counted it for my book about food instead.

Thanks to whomever identified The Nightingale as a candidate for this lifetime category. My book club is reading that over the summer, and I was thinking I'd have to apply it to the book about wartime or book involving travel (although I already have titles planned for those categories). It looks like everything can stay put, though! Yay!

[Mary]

Nadine wrote: "I just finished The Lake House (wow it took me FOREVER to read!), and it definitely fits this category. The main character is Alice Edevane, a woman in her 80s in 2004. This takes p..."

Loved this book. Great suggestion - I'd forgotten that it did take place over her lifetime. A good reason to reread. Thanks

[Eujean2]

If you are looking for a graphic novel for this category, I highly recommend Daytripper.

[Keri]

Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bonsby Lorna Landvik, will fit into the advanced prompt of 'takes place over a characters lifetime'. I received the book through a monthly book club. I wouldn't typically pick this out for myself, but I am glad I got it and READ it. I may even keep it for my permanent collection.

[Emanuel]

I read Teu Para Sempre and Cândido, ou o Optimismo and O Senhor Ventura

[Toni]

If you're a Wally Lamb fan , I Know This Much is True is great. If you've never read Wally Lamb, you should!

[Lucia]

Hi! Do you think that One Day by David Nicholls would qualify for this prompt? Thank you in advance <3

[Angie]

I'm really struggling with this prompt. I'm thinking of reading Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal, since I think it spans most of Jesus's life (and maybe Biff's too?). Does anyone know if this would work?

[Mike]

Angie wrote: "I'm really struggling with this prompt. I'm thinking of reading Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal, since I think it spans most of Jesus's life (and maybe Biff'..."

It starts when Jesus (Joshua) and Levi (bar Alphaeus who is called Biff) are young boys, not newborns, and kinda sorta ends when you think it ends for Josh, but it would be spoilery to say any more than that.

If that's close enough for you, go for it. If not, try to find a prompt this would fit because I can't recommend it enough.

[Angie]

Mike wrote: "It starts when Jesus (Joshua) and Levi (bar Alphaeus who is called Biff) are young boys, not newborns (a..."

Thanks for the response, Mike. The book comes highly recommended, so I'm trying to slot it in. I think this will work for this prompt for me. We already have a lot of information on Jesus' birth. Hahaha.

[Ruth]

I read Island of a Thousand Mirrors for this prompt. It opens with "my father as a child" and mentions the birth of 3 characters.

There are two ways to cover a character's entire life. A character could die young, or there can be an epilogue that shows the end of a very long life. One of those things happens in this book.

[Barbara]

I'm reading Hidden Figures right now, and I think I'll use it for this prompt. It covers childhood thru old age for the three amazing women featured in the book and movie. It works for other prompts also, such as a book with a subtitle and a book by a person of color.

[Rachel]

Has anyone read And the Mountains Echoed? Khaled Hosseini's books often take place over a lifespan, but I couldn't tell from the synopsis.

[Chrissy]

I think The Gustav Sonata works for this, and I really enjoyed it!

[Nadine in NY]

I just finished Like Water for Chocolate. I didn't plan on it being a book for this Challenge, but it fits this prompt perfectly, so I'm checking off this box. The book opens with Tita's birth, and ends shortly after her death, so it exactly spans her lifetime.

[Tytti]

I once again needed something to listen to and had to choose from a small number of books that were free at the moment. I chose a book called "Alone" which is a kind of fictional biography in first person about the runner Paavo Nurmi who is often mentioned as one of the greatest Olympic athletes ever: 9 gold medals, 3 silver, and 22 world records at distances between 1500 metres and 20 kilometres. Later he became a successful businessman and one of the richest men in the country. Some might call him a difficult man who didn't talk much but I guess he had to be an exceptional man. When he carried the Olympic torch to the stadium in 1952, the national teams in formation broke ranks because the athletes wanted to see him run. Not sure if that has happened elsewhere. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRjHQ... So the book is pretty interesting but one can never know how accurate it is, so I think I think of "the book Nurmi" as a fictional character.

[Chris]

Rachel wrote: "Has anyone read And the Mountains Echoed? Khaled Hosseini's books often take place over a lifespan, but I couldn't tell from the synopsis."

Yes! That would work for this. And it is an absolutely wonderful book.

[Johanna]

I just started reading Commonwealth. Would it fit into this category? All the others I can put it in I've already read books for.

[courtney]

Johanna wrote: "I just started reading Commonwealth. Would it fit into this category? All the others I can put it in I've already read books for."

I think it would fit!

[Dani]

If you haven't picked a book for this topic yet Pachinko would most definitely work. It spans over several generations of a family.

[Megan]

Bethany wrote: "The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman follows the life of a woman who lives for 110 years. She is born a slave and lives to see the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s. One of the bes..."


This is the book I've chosen as well.

[Zoe]

I read The Giving Tree for this one. So sweet (and short).

[Chinook]

I just finished The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics for this prompt. Everything after the gold medal race is covered a bit briefly in the epilogue, but that sufficient for me. It's a fantastic book and I highly recommend the audiobook.

[Kara]

I'm counting The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo for this. The book has Evelyn Hugo telling her life story to a journalist.

[Jessica]

Eujean2 wrote: "If you are looking for a graphic novel for this category, I highly recommend Daytripper."

Thank you for this suggestion! This sounds good !

[Theresa]

Just a few suggestions:
Commonwealth - starts at Franny's christening and ends 5 decades later, her life story at center.

The Sellout

The Red Leather Diary: Reclaiming a Life Through the Pages of a Lost Journal - might be a stretch - better as 2 time periods or story within story

Miller's Valley

I have read and liked all these and recommend them highly.

[Arushi]

The Thorn Birds will also fit nicely for this prompt

[Lyndsay]

If you still need a book for this prompt, I highly recommend The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. I absolutely loved it!!!

[Chris]

Lucia wrote: "Hi! Do you think that One Day by David Nicholls would qualify for this prompt? Thank you in advance <3"

I loved this book, and I would think it would qualify. It starts when they're in college and continues over a couple of decades.

[Mike]

I'm reading Big Fish for Story Within a Story, but it would definitely work here too.

[Sam]

I've read a few books this year that I think qualify for this challenge:
Moloka'i, Margaret George The Autobiography of Henry VIII, and Imperial Woman.

[Rachel]

I did end up going for And the Mountains Echoed in the end, although I also strongly considered Moloka'i.

[Meghan]

Any graphic novel suggestions for this category? I'm having a hard time finding one that fits. :)

[Nadine in NY]

Meghan wrote: "Any graphic novel suggestions for this category? I'm having a hard time finding one that fits. :)"

maybe Amazing Fantastic Incredible: A Marvelous Memoir by Stan Lee? It's his autobiography, and it's not his WHOLE lifetime, obviously, but it covers a few decades of it.

[Chrissy]

Daytripper was great, if you want something a little different. Beautiful art too.

[Chinook]

It's been awhile but would Maus cover enough of a lifetime? It focuses in on the war period, but he's talking to his son as an old man in the present and i think I remember that it covers his childhood.

[Cornerofmadness]

Meghan wrote: "Any graphic novel suggestions for this category? I'm having a hard time finding one that fits. :)"

I used 5 Centimeters per Second which is at least from childhood til his 30s. It's not a prompt that interested me in the least so this seemed like a painless way to deal with it. (though honestly, contemporary stories like this one aren't my thing either but at least it was a quick read though it's a long manga over 400 pages.)

[Melissa]

Does The Goldfinch work for this? I'm about a third of the way through it, but can't tell how much of Theo's adult life is covered.

[Malaraa]

'Round Midnight, while divided into 4 parts, does form one story altogether. There is a time jump between each POV switch, for those looking at 2 time periods, and at least one character is present from about 20-21-ish until advanced old age, which I feel is close enough for this prompt. :)

[Siobhan]

Melissa wrote: "Does The Goldfinch work for this? I'm about a third of the way through it, but can't tell how much of Theo's adult life is covered."

It does not

[Tytti]

Kiki de Montparnasse is a graphic novel biography which, I think, covers her whole life, or at least almost. It's been some time since I read it.