RaveThe Portland OregonianLife After Life is not a mystery in the traditional sense. It is not a traditional novel at all, in fact, with its stops and starts, its looping repetitions; Atkinson builds a fully realized world by accruing a constellation of possibilities ... At first it can be a bit difficult to invest in each successive storyline emotionally, given that it might abruptly end and start over at any point. Though, to Atkinson\'s great credit, the book almost miraculously never feels repetitive...soon enough the general shape of Ursula\'s life emerges, the pivotal occurrences, relationships, and directions become clear, and the reader is wholeheartedly immersed in Ursula\'s family and friends, her opportunities for happiness and fulfillment, and the possibility that she\'ll change the course of history ...a fantastically ambitious novel, seeking to capture the complexity and momentousness of life itself.
