Life After Life

Life After Life (2013) by Kate Atkinson. The brilliant author has produced a masterpiece about alternate realities, following the lives of a 20th century woman named Ursula Todd who, born in 1910, dies at birth, the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck. But -- and this is a big but -- she is also born and goes on to live a varied and eventful life. Through the course of the book, she dies a dozen different times, at different ages, but is always reborn in an alternate reality in which she somehow avoids her fate. This is an original book with original ideas, beautifully written, fascinating, absorbing and also deeply moving. When I finished it, my first urge was to read it again immediately. Could it really be as good as I thought? I need to reread it to decide. It seems to be one of the best books I've read, ever. I highly recommend it. To anyone who hasn't discovered Atkinson, it will be a revelation. Grade: A