a unique concept that appeals at least partially because it’s a what-if question we all wonder about our own lives.Having read more than one hundred reviews, I can point to three elements of success: Not surprisingly, most comments deal with the novel’s central structural element – the life-and-death-and-life-and-death-and-life (well, you get the idea) of the protagonist. “I’m less mad at Atkinson, who thought she had a good idea, than I am at the idiotic book critics slobbering all over this nonsensical novel.” “It has an unmistakable old-fashioned Englishness about it – all tea time and ‘goodness gracious’ – which works very well with the time and setting.” “It is exhausting to read about a woman dying over and over again only to be reborn right back where she started…” “The author captures Ursula’s moments of life-to-death-to-life enchantingly, yet poignantly, and the cycles nourish the theme of the story.” “I’m embarrassed to say I didn’t really understand this book.” “Is there a word that simultaneously means achingly lovely & frustratingly confusing?” But never have I read one with more immediacy than this one.” “I have read many books about England during wartime, whether it be I or II. “Her research was also superb, truly giving you a feeling for the times, especially London during the Blitz and Berlin at the end of the Second World War.” Atkinson’s ability to capture the essence of life and its many forks in the road, however obvious, makes for an extremely compelling story.” “… wonderfully readable, beautifully written, and immensely thought-provoking.” “It’s beautiful literature with sentences so poetic you read them more than once.” Let’s have a look at readers’ comments to illustrate this novel’s strengths and shortcomings. What leaps out immediately is the divergence of opinion on Atkinson’s novel – a huge number of 4 and 5 star ratings (63%) mixed with many 2 and even 1 star ratings (12%). With the notion of seeing what ‘ordinary readers’ rather than professional reviewers think, I looked at Goodreads. Let’s have a look at what readers say about Life After Life by Kate Atkinson as an example of successful historical fiction. The recent post Books Books Books, included a long list of award-winning historical fiction.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |