Scan barcode
tamracielle's review against another edition
5.0
I liked this even more than Life After Life. It was interesting to have another perspective on the Todd family. This is an amazing book.
tombennett72's review against another edition
5.0
Very clever, very well written.
She writes complete, real characters - who have very vivid, and private, inner worlds.
A brilliant ending. More Ursula and Teddy may have been interesting - or perhaps the enigmatic glimpses of both characters added to their appeal.
She writes complete, real characters - who have very vivid, and private, inner worlds.
A brilliant ending. More Ursula and Teddy may have been interesting - or perhaps the enigmatic glimpses of both characters added to their appeal.
sunny3730's review against another edition
5.0
Wow, wat een heerlijk boek. Niet alleen zijn alle personages prachtig beschreven, zodat ik echt het idee had dat ik iedereen persoonlijk kende, maar is het verhaal ook interessant. De manier waarop de auteur speelt met de tijd en perspectief maken dit een onvergetelijke roman, helemaal door het bijzondere einde.
jlsjourneys's review against another edition
5.0
Beautiful, heartbreaking, inspiring, sweeping, devastating, redemptive .. all at once. The most extraordinary journey through the 20th century. For my tastes, this is the perfect novel. I do recommend reading Life After Life first.
marisacarpico's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Not as satisfying or thrilling an act of fiction as LIFE AFTER LIFE, which is perhaps the modern novel that has most impressed me in adulthood, but does pull a trick at the end there that I found quite satisfying. Rhetorically, it's a strong choice, as this is more about the cost of the World War than I anticipated going in. Still, it does feel like an aggressively pre-2016 book in a way that some thing that are pre-9/11 can also feel a bit slight in their concerns.
Still, Atkinson touches on threads here in the later timeline that would become more relevant in our lives. I likely would have gotten more out of this reading it in hard copy, but I do think nothing could match the first novel for me. An unfair comparison perhaps, as Atkinson herself says she doesn't think of this as a sequel so much as a parallel narrative, but inevitable. that reminds me, though, that one thing that didn't really work for me was how narrow Ursula's perspective felt here. I suppose we could have caught her early in the cycle of her lives, but there are perspectives on the war, on the Germans especially, that felt bizarrely ahistorical for someone who would likely have a better understanding of the atrocities that occurred during the war than her contemporaries.
Still, Atkinson touches on threads here in the later timeline that would become more relevant in our lives. I likely would have gotten more out of this reading it in hard copy, but I do think nothing could match the first novel for me. An unfair comparison perhaps, as Atkinson herself says she doesn't think of this as a sequel so much as a parallel narrative, but inevitable. that reminds me, though, that one thing that didn't really work for me was how narrow Ursula's perspective felt here. I suppose we could have caught her early in the cycle of her lives, but there are perspectives on the war, on the Germans especially, that felt bizarrely ahistorical for someone who would likely have a better understanding of the atrocities that occurred during the war than her contemporaries.
fiona_callinan's review against another edition
informative
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
shippers1983's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
smikem's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5