This is another re-read, picked up because I want to refresh my memory before I begin reading her follow-up title, A God in Ruins. But when it comes to Kate Atkinson one doesn't actually need an excuse; she is always worth reading multiple times. Life after Life follows the life of Ursula Todd, or more accurately the many lives and equally frequent deaths that Ms Todd suffers. In her first incarnation, she is born during a snow storm on February 11, 1910, and is instantly strangled by her own umbilical cord, failing to draw a single breath. But in her next incarnation, the doctor arrives at the house just in time and saves her. And so her story continues, but it constantly circles back to that snowy winter night.
The novel has a definite Groundhog Day quality, leaving the reader with the impression that, like Bill Murray's weatherman character, poor Ursula will be condemned to live this life over and over again until she finally "gets it right." But unlike Murray, she can not remember her past experiences, although they leave traces on her consciousness resulting in chronic deja vu. "And sometimes, too, she knew what someone was about to say before they said it or what mundane incident was about to occur--if a dish was about to be dropped or an apple thrown through a glasshouse, as if these things had happened many times before."
Reading it, you begin to think about your own life and the many small meaningless decisions and events that have shaped it. Like that time your friends dragged you to a party even though you didn't want to go, but you went and met the love of your life; or that time you stayed to chat with a co-worker at the end of the day, so you didn't arrive on the street during the drive-by shooting but 10 minutes after; or that one unacknowledged email that sent your career spinning in an unexpected direction. Thoughts like these can eventually overwhelm you with visions of possible futures and pasts folding in on top of each other endlessly, until you can no longer distinguish between what actually happened and what might have happened or what should have happened.
The story is served up with Kate Atkinson's signature wit and linguistic inventiveness. Atkinson has a brilliantly ironic voice that serves up terse observations with the aplomb of the Dowager Countess on Downton Abbey. Yet, even as the irony and absurdity builds, she forges deeply human characters whose individuality and authenticity shines through and touches the reader's heart.
Four and a half out of five smileys. 😀😀😀😀😶
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