Just finished reading ‘Life After Life’ by Kate Atkinson. My first book of this year….
Special one, as it is a fiction by a writer other than Paulo Coelho. Prior I used to read his stuff mostly and of course all of Dan Brown. This is the first time I have read fiction seriously by any other writer. This is the first book by Kate that I have read and yes the experience was pretty good.
First and for most I liked the idea/thought behind this novel. Life after life till we get things right. However who knows how to define it because it varies from person to person,
situation to situation and every experience count. The best part about this story is that the protagonist is a female because only a woman’s journey can have so many twist and
turns. So one star for that surely….
Throughout the book the central character ‘Ursula’ , goes through various circumstances at different ages over and over till she gets through them ‘right’ and how her instincts
which are actually based on her past life experiences guards her and guides her through.
It is a story not only based on any particular experience but a series of them. It is story of a life time. How a person goes through similar kind of circumstances over and over unless
s/he learns the lesson it has to offer. This was a point I could relate to at the very first instance. As I read through I was able to connect with the happenings. The only part where I lost my interest was about World War. At times I thought it was dragged too much. rather I would have liked to read about other aspects of her life in further detail. Also I thought
towards the end there was a haphazardness. Lots of things were wrapped up in a hurry and for me it failed to give a clear picture. I was expecting a better end.
So all and all….
A very good start of my reading list for 2014..
