Scan barcode
one_womanarmy's review
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Some stories cannot be told in just one lifetime. Harry August is a born again, born again, born again fellow - travelling always back to hai beginning no matter how often or in what manner he dies. North takes the classic time travel trope to dark and unique dimensions in First Fifteen Lives by exacting from Harry religious fervor, dreams of quantum world domination, poverty, wealth, academic fame, at least five marriages, 114 birthday parties, and most difficult, a range of quite graphic tortures by the CIA and close companions alike.
Unique, captivating, and filled with equal measures charm and oddity, I found this an excellently written book, compelling by the page and endearing as a first person travel. That said, this novel needs several serious physical and psychological trigger warnings.
Harry commits suicide repeatedly. As a child. As an adult. Harry is institutionalized and abandoned as an insane child, captured, and confined in long periods as an adult. The detailed, drawn out, and graphic torture scenes were so vivid and so accurately narrated in imparting their emotional trauma that I had nightmares many evenings. Harry's extreme, bitter loneliness as he relives life again and again was also a very keenly felt kind of emotional distress as a reader, North's analogy for the human condition turned up to painful high flame.
A stunning achievement, but not for the faint of heart.
Unique, captivating, and filled with equal measures charm and oddity, I found this an excellently written book, compelling by the page and endearing as a first person travel. That said, this novel needs several serious physical and psychological trigger warnings.
Harry commits suicide repeatedly. As a child. As an adult. Harry is institutionalized and abandoned as an insane child, captured, and confined in long periods as an adult. The detailed, drawn out, and graphic torture scenes were so vivid and so accurately narrated in imparting their emotional trauma that I had nightmares many evenings. Harry's extreme, bitter loneliness as he relives life again and again was also a very keenly felt kind of emotional distress as a reader, North's analogy for the human condition turned up to painful high flame.
A stunning achievement, but not for the faint of heart.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Toxic friendship, and Suicide
anitasbooks's review against another edition
5.0
Un uomo che, dopo la morte, rinasce costantemente nello stesso posto, mantenendo sempre tutti i propri ricordi.
Un libro che mescola vari generi: il fantasy, il sci-fi e il romanzo storico per arrivare a raccontare una storia meravigliosa, che mi è rimasta nel cuore. 🤍
Ho adorato la scrittura poetica di Claire North, che è riuscita a creare un libro unico, non soltanto per la sua trama particolare, ma anche per la struttura con la quale viene narrato: partendo in medias res, con un narratore che si dirige direttamente al lettore raccontando degli eventi, non in modo cronologico, ma per “tematica”.
Una storia che fa riflettere e di fronte alla quale è impossibile rimanere indifferente.
Un libro che mescola vari generi: il fantasy, il sci-fi e il romanzo storico per arrivare a raccontare una storia meravigliosa, che mi è rimasta nel cuore. 🤍
Ho adorato la scrittura poetica di Claire North, che è riuscita a creare un libro unico, non soltanto per la sua trama particolare, ma anche per la struttura con la quale viene narrato: partendo in medias res, con un narratore che si dirige direttamente al lettore raccontando degli eventi, non in modo cronologico, ma per “tematica”.
Una storia che fa riflettere e di fronte alla quale è impossibile rimanere indifferente.
vlookup's review
5.0
Wow. This book was amazing, the kind I am likely to re-read. I've never been happy to have accidentally come across this title in a bookstore. Highly recommended.
jcaballero0725's review
4.0
I thought this book was so good! The reason I am giving it 4 stars instead of 5 is because the first few chapters actually made me put it down. I was going to give up on Harry and write him off forever. After some coaxing from a few friends, I continued on and couldn't put the book (my phone I should say) down. Highly recommend this one, read past the first few chapters and you won't be able to put it down!
gerhardjoseph's review
3.0
Very interesting and original take on time travel. Claire North's The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August begins and ends very well. It's worth the read if you can get through the very dry middle section.
joeymc's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
trudy1963's review against another edition
1.0
I made it to 60% read and just couldn’t read any more. It was dull and although I didn’t dislike the main character neither did he engage me. The story is about a man who gets reborn into the same timeline each time he dies and remembers that he was alive previously. But none of his incarnations were interesting or meaningful.
joshuacaps's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
kalkn's review
3.0
Entertaining read, but glad it's one I was able to get from the library and didn't have to pay for. Premise was interesting. Would've liked to see more of a showdown between Harry and Vincent. The first third was good and the last third after Harry's first forgetting was good. Everything is between that seemed a little slow. Not the best book I've read, but not the worst.