Life After Life is the story of Ursula Todd, born to an English banker and his wife in 1910. Ursula dies at birth, before she can take her first breath, yet she is born again on that same snowy night in 1910. This is the first of many deaths and reincarnations that Ursula will experience throughout her turbulent life, spanning the young century as it marches towards the first cataclysmic war. As the book progresses, Ursula seemingly has an infinite number of lives to change the destiny of the world surrounding her.
This is the first piece of fiction I’ve read in a long time due to the fact that I briefly went through a memoir craze. Life After Life was a refreshing departure from reality that was brilliantly original and captivating.
At roughly 477 pages, I found the novel a bit of a long read for the storyline. Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed the overall plot and am still thinking about it days later. Atkinson created a storyline that makes you think long and hard about the meaning of life and question what you would do differently given the chance to change your own life’s outcome.
I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys imaginative fiction and doesn’t mind a long read. Here’s hoping Kate Atkinson’s novel is picked up for movie rights. In my opinion, Life After Life would translate wonderfully on screen, similar to the Benjamin Button adaptation.
