Oh my. I frankly am having a hard time figuring out what to say for this review. (Our readers probably think we are super picky given our recent reviews. Sorry, guys. I’m just not hitting home runs lately on my book selections. We’ll find something good soon; stick with us!).
Time After Time by Kate Atkinson was a novel I stumbled across after finishing the Mortal Engines Quartet. It hadn’t been sitting in my To-Read list on Goodreads, but as soon as I saw it, I thought to myself, “This looks like a really interesting read.” It draws pretty good attention on Goodreads with over 195,000 ratings and over 24,000 reviews; apparently, it belongs to just about every book club in the US right now. So I snagged it with high expectations. Unfortunately, for me, it didn’t satisfy.
Like I said, the premise is super interesting. Time After Time is the first of two books about the Todd Family. The synopsis reads as follows: “On a cold and snowy night in 1910, Ursula Todd is born to an English banker and his wife. She dies before she can draw her first breath. On that same cold and snowy night, Ursula Todd is born, lets out a lusty wail, and embarks upon a life that will be, to say the least, unusual. For as she grows, she also dies, repeatedly, in a variety of ways, while the young century marches on towards its second cataclysmic world war.”
I felt rather confused throughout the book and had a difficult time following all of the storylines. I couldn’t keep track of the number of times Ursula died and was reborn. There were numerous time jumps that hurled you around the story. We followed so many of her lives that I was simply lost most of the time.
Additionally, there was little actual plot, and the story merely meandered until the end. With so many lives with lots of room for different storylines, I would expect some concrete plot – perhaps even circulating around why she was being reborn or linking the lives together or learning from previous lives to do something powerful, like (spitballing here) saving somebody or playing a key role in the war. But there was nothing. We only watched Ursula’s various (unpleasant) lives unfold with their bad relationships, family drama, and a few World War II themes thrown in, including a random friendship with Hitler’s long-time mistress Eva Braun.
I also expected each life to be very different. On the contrary, Ursula’s character, qualities, and habits didn’t change no matter how many lives she lived. She had the same personality, as did each of the supporting characters. I noticed that one of the only things that really changed per life was who she married/was in a relationship with and where she lived. Even still, many of the love interests stayed the same throughout the story. It made it difficult to track the life-switching because the only telltale sign was the date at the beginning of each chapter.
Another negative for me was how long we fixated on some of Ursula’s lives but not others. She was reborn and died in one chapter sometimes. Other times, we tracked one life for multiple chapters, which seemed to wander aimlessly. Perhaps that was Atkinson’s goal, but it just left me feeling directionless.
Finally, I found myself disliking most of the characters. Initially, I liked Ursula’s mother Sylvie. But as soon as Ursula was a teenager, Sylvie seemed to turn into a monster. Ursula herself was overly complex. After following so many of her lives, I expected to know her and her layers, but I ended up just being sick of her and her horrible perspectives and choices.
Now, there were some positives (I did read the whole book, people). Atkinson is a very lyrical writer. She has an excellent writing style that really draws you in. I could never deny that she is gifted. In fact, it was her beautiful writing that kept me hooked and hoping for more, even though I didn’t ultimately get what I had hoped for – like more plot and a conclusive ending.
Perhaps Atkinson’s book was just over my head. Perhaps it was her goal to leave you feeling empty, for the book to have this lifeless element even as the main character lives multiple lives. If so, she definitely achieved it! However, I believe she could have had more success with the average reader if she had eliminated some of the complexity, developed an overarching plot, and maybe revealed a few answers. It was just too clever in my opinion.
A few last thoughts:
- I was annoyed to get through 77% of the book without any swearing only to get bombarded with the F word about eight times in a single chapter. Some readers are okay with that language; I am not.
- Some of Ursula’s storylines are heavy and deal with rape and domestic abuse. They’re not graphic; but it’s there, so be forewarned.
- There were some WWII plots/elements in one of Ursula’s lives that I did find interesting. That particular story was different from other WWII fiction I’ve read before.
So there you have it! If you’re looking to get philosophical, this might be a read for you. Personally, I prefer to just read. For that reason, I wish Life After Life had been a little less complex and read more like a typical book because I think it could have been a really neat story. I don’t think I’ll pick up the sequel.
Jessica
Copyright Kate Atkinson and Reagan Arthur Books. Image from Amazon.com.
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