kimu's review
5.0
I was absolutely crushed by this book. I actually had to set it aside for a month or so because it was just too much for me. That is a really unusual event for me.
I loved the narrative style that Atkinson developed in this book. Flipping back and forth between different time periods so frequently and rapidly could come off as a gimmick or be incredibly confusing. Atkinson deploys her time shifts so masterfully that it was never confusing and it consistently added strength to the story. It was like a trail of breadcrumbs that kept me going deeper and deeper into the story. Beautiful work.
The book wasn't without a few things that bothered me. I found the daughter to be an incredibly irritating character throughout most of the book, but then she came full circle for me towards the end. Sometimes I just wanted to shout at Teddy for being so very passive, but then Atkinson would reveal some detail that made his actions make sense for the character. I found the ending to be a bit uncomfortable. These are all minor quibbles though, and mostly about how I reacted rather than to the book itself.
Fabulous book. Highly recommend.
Note: I haven't read Life After Life yet, so no basis of comparison to that book.
I loved the narrative style that Atkinson developed in this book. Flipping back and forth between different time periods so frequently and rapidly could come off as a gimmick or be incredibly confusing. Atkinson deploys her time shifts so masterfully that it was never confusing and it consistently added strength to the story. It was like a trail of breadcrumbs that kept me going deeper and deeper into the story. Beautiful work.
The book wasn't without a few things that bothered me. I found the daughter to be an incredibly irritating character throughout most of the book, but then she came full circle for me towards the end. Sometimes I just wanted to shout at Teddy for being so very passive, but then Atkinson would reveal some detail that made his actions make sense for the character. I found the ending to be a bit uncomfortable. These are all minor quibbles though, and mostly about how I reacted rather than to the book itself.
Fabulous book. Highly recommend.
Note: I haven't read Life After Life yet, so no basis of comparison to that book.
futurememory's review
5.0
I'm gutted. Completely and horrifically gutted by this beautiful, beautiful novel.
Life After Life was my favorite book of 2014. It contains everything that I love - slightly science-fictional elements wrapped around a thoroughly English wartime novel. Characters that are believable and difficult and wonderful. When I heard that Kate Atkinson was writing a companion novel, I had to prepare myself to read it. Life After Life is a heartbreak of a thing, and I figured that Teddy's story (Teddy! One of my favorites from LAL) would be equally as emotional.
It might have been worse.
Life is such a tenuous, wisp of a thing. It's so fragile. I've been feeling that a lot lately in my everyday life. My grandmother has been slipping away from us day by day, taken by dementia, and the futility of things can sometimes just be overwhelming. This novel embraces that darkness, the horror and the ambivalence, and it puts a magnifying glass on the messiness of life - and death.
The last 20% of so of this book is wrenching in ways that are too spoiler-filled to put in here. Every final twist, every last reveal, just twisted the knife a bit more.
But I loved it, I loved every bit of it, and this one is going to be in contention for my favorite book of this year.
Life After Life was my favorite book of 2014. It contains everything that I love - slightly science-fictional elements wrapped around a thoroughly English wartime novel. Characters that are believable and difficult and wonderful. When I heard that Kate Atkinson was writing a companion novel, I had to prepare myself to read it. Life After Life is a heartbreak of a thing, and I figured that Teddy's story (Teddy! One of my favorites from LAL) would be equally as emotional.
It might have been worse.
Life is such a tenuous, wisp of a thing. It's so fragile. I've been feeling that a lot lately in my everyday life. My grandmother has been slipping away from us day by day, taken by dementia, and the futility of things can sometimes just be overwhelming. This novel embraces that darkness, the horror and the ambivalence, and it puts a magnifying glass on the messiness of life - and death.
The last 20% of so of this book is wrenching in ways that are too spoiler-filled to put in here. Every final twist, every last reveal, just twisted the knife a bit more.
But I loved it, I loved every bit of it, and this one is going to be in contention for my favorite book of this year.
ledashah's review against another edition
5.0
I VERY rarely cried at the end of novels, and found myself in tears at the end of this book. I'm not ready to pick up my next book -- I want this one to stay with me for a while.
lgiegerich's review
5.0
I loved this book. Loved it, even more than Life After Life, which I also greatly enjoyed. I think I liked this better bc it didn't have to follow the constraints of the dying/coming back to life format, & while it did treat time more fluidly than your average novel, it totally made sense in the world of this novel. The RAF sections were tense, suspenseful, & sad, & the rest of the novel was gorgeously drawn. Cannot recommend it enough.
maureenmcc's review
4.0
Wow. I am going to be thinking about this book for a long time. Again, Kate Atkinson has written another beautiful book with so many many layers of meaning. Teddy, the main character, exemplifies her whole concept of how war causes men (and women) to lose their innocence. How Teddy copes with a future he can't quite accept that he has makes for another heartbreaking story --with a twist at the end. I received an ARC from Goodreads and really appreciated it as I could not wait to read this after enjoying Life After Life so much. This story doesn't have the same wonderful pacing that Life did but by the final pages I was moved to tears. Well worth reading.
wendoxford's review
3.0
Can't do a book club spoiler but...Liked but not sure if I loved this. Tight, carefully considered writing which moves back and forth in time and generations, and perspective making the narrative and interplay of characters work very cleverly, so from crumbs, a whole picture is drawn. Whilst the obvious focus is Bomber Command - the fallout from the war seems to seep through the generations, all bearing its scars in some form.
helenm64's review
5.0
Initially I thought I’d find the flitting backwards & forwards in time confusing but it really works and you feel fully immersed in this family’s past and present.
Beautiful prose and very effective references to other classic works, including, I think, Naming of Parts
Beautiful prose and very effective references to other classic works, including, I think, Naming of Parts
jenna_cross's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 Stars. I did not love this book as much as Life After Life but I did love a lot of it. All of the parts that included Teddy were wonderful. His child and grandchildren were tough to take early on and his daughter never redeemed herself in my opinion. Teddy was a lovely person and reminded me of my own grandpa. I feel they had the same outlook during and after the war.