Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
Life After Life by
Kate Atkinson
Ursula Todd was born with the umbilical cord wrapped around
her neck, blue, with no life in her body. Ursula Todd was born in the presence
of a doctor who was able to cut the cord around her neck, saving the life of
the baby already turning blue. Ursula died when the waves collapsed over her
and her sister. Ursula was rescued on the beach by an artist who observed the
two young girls in the water and was able to rescue the younger from a horrible
fate. Countless births, countless deaths for Ursula. Ursula has no idea why she
has these feelings of dread. She has no idea why she has memories of things
that never happened. Dreams of a future she has yet to experience? From her
birth in the winter of 1910 through her numerous deaths, Ursula experiences
life and all the different roads one may take through history.
Life After Life was an extremely
engaging, original novel about Ursula Todd, an English girl born to a middle
class family in England. She is the third child born to the Todd family and
referred to as an inquisitive old soul. Therapy at one point was considered
necessary by her parents, to find out why she was having these bouts of what
they considered déjà vu. Certain unprovoked events that happened throughout Ursula's life also assisted in her parents decision to seek help. She couldn’t explain what she didn’t understand. She
wasn’t trying to kill the maid when she pushed her down the stairs. Ursula just
had a horrible feeling that if she left tragedy would fall on the family.
Instances where she was filled with this overwhelming fear haunted her most of
her life. How can one gain understanding in this situation?
Atkinson delivered with this
novel. I heard great things about this novel before I finally gave in and decided
to give it a go. I was not disappointed. The concept of someone continuously
reliving their life was extremely interesting and I was very curious how it
could be executed. Ursula dies and yet she lives. The circumstances that allow
her to live change through each life experience. The ages and lifespans she
experiences changes. The storylines were full of depth and continually changing to reflect the change in Ursula's life. How her life changes impacts everyone around her and
changes the course of their history as well. This novel was all about how one
life can impact others. How everyday decisions change the lives of many. The
imagery used to describe her life was amazing and extremely vivid. I was
instantly invested and intrigued by the story. There were a few things I wish
had been done differently mostly because my curiosity definitely got the better
of me and I wanted answers to all the questions I had. Overall, I really
enjoyed this novel and give it 4 out of 5 stars. If you want to read an
interesting novel with a historical element and original concept give Life After Life a try.
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