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Life After Life

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Life After Life

By: Kate Atkinson
Narrated by: Fenella Woolgar
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About this listen

What if you had the chance to live your life again and again, until you finally got it right?

During a snowstorm in England in 1910, a baby is born and dies before she can take her first breath. During a snowstorm in England in 1910, the same baby is born and lives to tell the tale.

What if there were second chances? And third chances? In fact an infinite number of chances to live your life? Would you eventually be able to save the world from its own inevitable destiny? And would you even want to?

Life After Life follows Ursula Todd as she lives through the turbulent events of the last century again and again. With wit and compassion, she finds warmth even in life’s bleakest moments, and shows an extraordinary ability to evoke the past. Here is Kate Atkinson at her most profound and inventive, in a novel that celebrates the best and worst of ourselves.

©2013 Kate Atkinson (P)2013 Random House Audiobooks 20th Century Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Women's Fiction Romance Heartfelt England

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Editor reviews

Life After Life is the latest release audiobook by master of contemporary fiction, Kate Atkinson and narrated by English actress Fenella Woolgar. The story follows that of Ursula who is given infinite chances at life. Most would believe that the value of life would be lost should the chances to live it were endless but it is with this profound gift that Ursula sees how desperate the need is to protect Earth from human destruction. This is a story that is so cleverly constructed in its plot and deep in its meaning you will be enchanted from the opening words. Available now from Audible.
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What did you like most about Life After Life?

Wonderful book! Moving, thought-provoking and original. It's just my sort of novel. I highly recommend it.

Listened to this twice

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Nothing like the description… very straightforward narrative. Quite light reading. I was expecting something more complex and deep

Misleading description

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Great narration (kept me listening).
Disappointing ending. I couldn’t wait to finish it, and very nearly never.

Tedious.

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raised some interesting philosophical and spiritual questions. great character studies and immensely skillful use of structure. didn't always hit the emotional mark for me. more head than heart, though I'm sure others will disagree on that. particularly enjoyed the attention to detail in storytelling, the visual of the fox lit like a photograph in time during a lightening strike further evidence of the breadth of Kate Atkinson's storytelling arsenal - the ability to pain visual narrative with startling clarity when she wishes.

compelling structure and narrative

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I finished listening to this today on a long drive and, without thinking about it, immediately started listening again. It wasn't until I read other reviews that I relised the irony of this action.

This is a definite "listen twice" book; maybe more. It will take that to properly understand the clever variations and deviations of all the threads.

I'm a great fan of Kate Atkinson's writing and her skill in weaving stories based on family and other relationships that we can all recognise in our own lives and with an ability to make one smile and wince in the same sentence. This is no exception and arguably takes the art to a new level. KA has also never shied away from describing sudden, violent and tragic death (in an often slightly dissmissive manner). Here she affords herself multiple opportunities to indulge this apparent passion and carries it off with style.

This book is about more than that though. Much more astute people than I have written very insightful reviews of this book so all I need to say is that any fan of KA's work to date surely can't be disappointed by this.

Again...

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It is a good story with some gruesome and at points upsetting content!liked the concept but a little confusing at times to listen to because of the nature of the story!i will probably listen to it again in the future!would recommend it to read rather than listen!

Very good

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What made the experience of listening to Life After Life the most enjoyable?

The twists and turns of Ursula's life and the understanding it gave me of WW2.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Teddy, I adored him and wished he was my brother.

Have you listened to any of Fenella Woolgar’s other performances? How does this one compare?

No, but I would do.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No, but I certainly had an emotional reaction at many of the more harrowing moments in the book.

Great Read, Gave Me a Real Feel For WW2

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This is one of my most favourite audio books, its the one on my list that I am most likely to listen too again and again. I found myself completely hooked in this engaging story and I became quite attached to the characters to the extent that I missed them when I was finished.

Outstanding

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Although I got lost a few times because I didn't know which incarnation she was in, I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Enjoyable

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Profound, moving and simple. It makes the most of its idea of a life lived over and over as a witness to the twentieth century.
Its not much of a constructive critical review to say this is one of the favourite books I’ve ever read.
i love the voice of Fenella Woolgar. I could listen to her on my deathbed; there is something so reassuring and kind about her voice.
What a story. Thank you Kate Atkinson.

Rather wonderful

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