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hollybotterill's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
mixtapekate's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
moonieals's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
5 stars. No words.
bknight16's review against another edition
5.0
Loved it!
Such a compelling story about all kinds of love. Really love Chapman’s storytelling and that her endings don’t feel predictable or cliché.
Highly emotional and complex but the ending did give me hope!
Sad it’s over ):
Such a compelling story about all kinds of love. Really love Chapman’s storytelling and that her endings don’t feel predictable or cliché.
Highly emotional and complex but the ending did give me hope!
Sad it’s over ):
poppysreads's review against another edition
5.0
Another Life tells the story of Nick and Anna, a pair of star-crossed lovers, who meet when they are young working in the local cinema. They have an intense summer romance, and fall deeply in love. But life gets in the way, and years later tragedy brings Anna back into Nick’s life.
This is a tale of grief, loss, and trauma, yet also one of hope and love. I couldn’t put this book down once I started it, and I love the way Jodie Chapman manages to make the story so heartbreakingly relatable in her writing and dialogue. This did remind me a lot of Sally Rooney’s books, in the way that the characters don’t directly tell each other how they’re truly feeling. This is reminiscent of probably every modern romantic pursuit and I empathised painfully with both characters.
The story was beautifully emotive, the characters had depth and complex backstories, and the structure of the book was unique yet easy to follow. Overall, I absolutely loved this book and will be recommending it to all my friends!
Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review, I’ve really enjoyed reading it.
This is a tale of grief, loss, and trauma, yet also one of hope and love. I couldn’t put this book down once I started it, and I love the way Jodie Chapman manages to make the story so heartbreakingly relatable in her writing and dialogue. This did remind me a lot of Sally Rooney’s books, in the way that the characters don’t directly tell each other how they’re truly feeling. This is reminiscent of probably every modern romantic pursuit and I empathised painfully with both characters.
The story was beautifully emotive, the characters had depth and complex backstories, and the structure of the book was unique yet easy to follow. Overall, I absolutely loved this book and will be recommending it to all my friends!
Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review, I’ve really enjoyed reading it.
ellastone's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Normal people for people who listen t9 the smiths (also better)
lili_1952's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
eloise_reads's review against another edition
3.5
3.5 stars
Anna and Nick meet each other when they start working at a cinema during the summer. The two find themselves drawn to each other and become inseparable.
Anna has had a very different upbringing to Nick, her religious influences have a huge impact on her thoughts towards not only relationships and marriage, but the way that the world is going to end and what will happen to those who do not prepare.
Told over several years, we see how their differences affect their lives, their relationships with each other and how indescribable grief can have long term consequences.
Another Life has been on my shelf for several years now and 2024 was the year I finally listened to the audiobook. Reading about the impact Annas religion had on how she conducted her life was insightful and well researched, it isn't something I've read about before and I found the small snippets of Anna's chapters were a good addition to the story.
Reading from Nick's perspective for the majority of the book naturally meant I felt we learned more about him than Anna. He went through a lot with his family and I overall found his story incredibly sad.
Another Life was a well written story of watching two individuals lives over a number of years and what ultimately made them the people they became. I wasn't a big fan of the audiobook narrator and think if I had physically read this instead of listened to the audio, my rating would have been higher.
Read this if you like:
- Stories told over long periods of time
- Character driven novels
- Reading about family dynamics
I'd recommend this to people who enjoy books such as Normal People by Sally Rooney and Talking At Night by Clare Daverley.
Anna and Nick meet each other when they start working at a cinema during the summer. The two find themselves drawn to each other and become inseparable.
Anna has had a very different upbringing to Nick, her religious influences have a huge impact on her thoughts towards not only relationships and marriage, but the way that the world is going to end and what will happen to those who do not prepare.
Told over several years, we see how their differences affect their lives, their relationships with each other and how indescribable grief can have long term consequences.
Another Life has been on my shelf for several years now and 2024 was the year I finally listened to the audiobook. Reading about the impact Annas religion had on how she conducted her life was insightful and well researched, it isn't something I've read about before and I found the small snippets of Anna's chapters were a good addition to the story.
Reading from Nick's perspective for the majority of the book naturally meant I felt we learned more about him than Anna. He went through a lot with his family and I overall found his story incredibly sad.
Another Life was a well written story of watching two individuals lives over a number of years and what ultimately made them the people they became. I wasn't a big fan of the audiobook narrator and think if I had physically read this instead of listened to the audio, my rating would have been higher.
Read this if you like:
- Stories told over long periods of time
- Character driven novels
- Reading about family dynamics
I'd recommend this to people who enjoy books such as Normal People by Sally Rooney and Talking At Night by Clare Daverley.
thursdd4y's review against another edition
5.0
This is a story of layers - layers of time, narration, complexity, trauma, context and human emotion. It was fascinating to learn more about JW and the challenges it can bring to modern relationships, even if they’re just friendships. It’s a hard one to navigate and this story reflected that well.
I’m glad we got to experience this story through Nick’s voice, because it gave us so many reasons as to why he was so stoic and reserved. He keeps the peace and does what he thinks is right, so you know why he makes certain choices even if it makes you want to scream at him to do the total opposite.
Hearing it from his perspective shows us why he is the way he is, why he holds back, why he goes inward rather than speaking out. I think his characterisation is brilliant - when I was a teenager, I knew boys just like him and it astonished me when they actually voiced their thoughts and feelings as they’d done such a convincing job at suppressing them. For this reason it was fascinating to see an underlying thought process behind Nick’s actions, even if fictional.
The one thing I wasn’t a huge fan on was Anna’s poems - they felt quite messy and contrived, but I appreciated these to be something she would produce. Something intended to be an outlet, an expression, even if unrefined and a bit cliché.
I’m glad we got to experience this story through Nick’s voice, because it gave us so many reasons as to why he was so stoic and reserved. He keeps the peace and does what he thinks is right, so you know why he makes certain choices even if it makes you want to scream at him to do the total opposite.
Hearing it from his perspective shows us why he is the way he is, why he holds back, why he goes inward rather than speaking out. I think his characterisation is brilliant - when I was a teenager, I knew boys just like him and it astonished me when they actually voiced their thoughts and feelings as they’d done such a convincing job at suppressing them. For this reason it was fascinating to see an underlying thought process behind Nick’s actions, even if fictional.
The one thing I wasn’t a huge fan on was Anna’s poems - they felt quite messy and contrived, but I appreciated these to be something she would produce. Something intended to be an outlet, an expression, even if unrefined and a bit cliché.