I found this book to be rather amazing at how intricately layered it was, the story line progressing very nicely over the 400 pages. Living lives over again is not a new topic, but the way that Claire North has put a fresh spin on the idea with this book, creating a world where her protagonist, Harry August, lives the same life over and over again, able to change how he lives, and remembering each life from one to the next. His birth is always the same, but the life that follows can be different, and when he dies, at the next time he is born again, he remembers what has come before. The coolest part about this book that I was not expecting is that others in this universe have the same ability, in fact, there is a whole society of these people, referred to as the kalachakra. There is also an organization called 'The Cronus Club' which has various branches around the world, where the people with this power to live again and again band together to assist one another.
Harry's lives are distinct and intriguing. I found the main character to be someone I was constantly rooting for. I don't know if he had a super memorable personality per se, instead I loved the way that he was able to change himself from one life to the next, to absorb knowledge and grow as an individual, never taking his multiple lives for granted. I really enjoyed the philosophical tone of this book, that wondered about complex things such as God, religion, politics, family, love, and war. It has a little bit of everything. The author did a great job of revisiting early plot points, characters, and topics later in the book in an expertly crafted way. I especially liked how she brought one of Harry's first loves back unexpectedly towards the end of the novel.
There are a great number of memorable supporting characters, and this only strengthened the novel. For the most part, the narrative is linear, but it would sometimes jump around, yet never in a confusing way to the reader. The short chapters make it a quick read. In essence, although the book is about Harry, it is also about the complicated friend/enemy relationship between him and a man named Vincent, who seeks to change the world through the multiple versions of the lives he lives. I wasn't expecting this kind of plot arc, as it takes up nearly half of the book, but found it rather compelling. I don't want to give too much about the dynamic between these two men away, but let me just say that towards the end, the author mentioned how Harry wondered if they would ever sleep together, even though he had never considered himself gay. He admits that he would sleep with Vincent if the proposition came up, without really even thinking about it. This is just an example of how complex the two characters intertwine in one another's lives.
My favorite books are often the ones I wish I had written, and this book is certainly one of those. Now that I'm done, I'll be interested to see how the themes explored here come up in my thoughts. It'd be remiss of me if I didn't mention that it reminded me of my own debut novel, 'The Second Chances of Priam Wood.' The two books have very similar themes/idea, yet go about them in completely different ways, which was really fun for me to read, and probably part of the reason I liked this so much. I also read 'Life After Life' by Kate Atkinson which has gotten a lot of praise and has a similar idea, however, to be quite frank, I basically thought that book was terrible and uninspired. This is so much better. Everything that I wanted 'Life After Life' to be and wasn't, 'The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August' is, and then some.
I could go on more, but I think I've said enough. I'm definitely going to be reading more of Claire North/Catherine Webb's work. I'm dutifully impressed.
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The chilling story of the abduction of two teenagers, their escape, and the dark secrets that, years later, bring them back to the scene of the crime. | Learn more
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Reviews with images
WTH is going on???
I seriously have no clue what the heck is going on! I'm on page 100+ and it just gets worse and worse... switching lives perspectives is getting really confusing and just makes no sense to me... I literally can't read this book. I thought I would get better but I seriously can't read this.. first book I have ever put down and stopped reading. Shame. I gave it a 2 star because one of the chapters was actually pretty interesting until the author chose to stop talking about it and focus on another life and then come back to the other one after I have invested into the next one.. it's only just me at the end of the day..I couldn't comprehend it and found it boring to read...it's my fault.. so please if you think that this book is for you, try to find a few chapters for free to see if you could keep reading it until you buy.
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