Scan barcode
bhnmt61's review against another edition
3.0
Harry August is one of a group of seemingly random people who die only to be reborn into the same life they just completed. Like Groundhog’s Day, except an entire life lived over and over instead of a day. He gradually finds others with the same ability/gift/curse. He discovers that they fall into two fairly distinct groups: the group that believes it is dangerous to interfere in the course of history, and thus ignores what is happening to normal, “linear” people; and the group who believes that they should use their unique knowledge to make the world a better place. The implications are interesting, and not always what I expected.
I didn’t dislike it, and towards the end, I was glued to it to find out what happens to Harry (and the rest of the human race). But on the other hand, this is not a book that connected well with me. Other than wanting to find out how it ended, I was not particularly invested. Harry never really seemed like a real person to me, he was more of a vehicle for considering ethical dilemmas. Disappointing, because I often love novels that have a theoretical or scientific bent.
It was a decent read, and there are moments when the writing is beautiful. The ending is clever, but it’s ambiguous enough that I wondered if North was leaving the door open for a sequel— but since it was published in 2014, probably not.
I’m waffling on what star rating to give it. Three? Four? I settled on three because I doubt this will be one of those books I think about for days/weeks after I finish it. But if that turns out not to be the case, I’ll come back and bump it up.
I didn’t dislike it, and towards the end, I was glued to it to find out what happens to Harry (and the rest of the human race). But on the other hand, this is not a book that connected well with me. Other than wanting to find out how it ended, I was not particularly invested. Harry never really seemed like a real person to me, he was more of a vehicle for considering ethical dilemmas. Disappointing, because I often love novels that have a theoretical or scientific bent.
It was a decent read, and there are moments when the writing is beautiful. The ending is clever, but it’s ambiguous enough that I wondered if North was leaving the door open for a sequel— but since it was published in 2014, probably not.
I’m waffling on what star rating to give it. Three? Four? I settled on three because I doubt this will be one of those books I think about for days/weeks after I finish it. But if that turns out not to be the case, I’ll come back and bump it up.
zhaines's review against another edition
5.0
A life loop science-fiction tale where each loop feels more like a link in a chain than a walk around the same block. Claire North keeps repetition fresh and does not shy away from gritty visceral depictions of the possible horrors of immortality. Harry August will have you thinking deeply about family, life, death, love, war, power, and purpose. A moving meditation on what it means to keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
tombennett72's review against another edition
4.0
This is a great read - easy to bang through in a couple of days, and great fun. And the voice of the narrator is wonderful. Yes, it's a bit of a pot boiler, and yes you have to suspend your disbelief, but it's a great read nontheless.
If you've enjoyed books like The Tine Travellers Wife and Life After Life, then you have to read this book.
If you've enjoyed books like The Tine Travellers Wife and Life After Life, then you have to read this book.
mardana's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Violence, Death, Genocide, Forced institutionalization, Miscarriage, Gaslighting, and Torture
Minor: Vomit, Drug use, Religious bigotry, Murder, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief
sidetracked's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
jackrabbit51's review against another edition
Did not hold my interest. Cool concept, didn't enjoy the execution.
one_womanarmy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Some stories cannot be told in just one lifetime. Harry August is a born again, born again, born again fellow - travelling always back to hai beginning no matter how often or in what manner he dies. North takes the classic time travel trope to dark and unique dimensions in First Fifteen Lives by exacting from Harry religious fervor, dreams of quantum world domination, poverty, wealth, academic fame, at least five marriages, 114 birthday parties, and most difficult, a range of quite graphic tortures by the CIA and close companions alike.
Unique, captivating, and filled with equal measures charm and oddity, I found this an excellently written book, compelling by the page and endearing as a first person travel. That said, this novel needs several serious physical and psychological trigger warnings.
Harry commits suicide repeatedly. As a child. As an adult. Harry is institutionalized and abandoned as an insane child, captured, and confined in long periods as an adult. The detailed, drawn out, and graphic torture scenes were so vivid and so accurately narrated in imparting their emotional trauma that I had nightmares many evenings. Harry's extreme, bitter loneliness as he relives life again and again was also a very keenly felt kind of emotional distress as a reader, North's analogy for the human condition turned up to painful high flame.
A stunning achievement, but not for the faint of heart.
Unique, captivating, and filled with equal measures charm and oddity, I found this an excellently written book, compelling by the page and endearing as a first person travel. That said, this novel needs several serious physical and psychological trigger warnings.
Harry commits suicide repeatedly. As a child. As an adult. Harry is institutionalized and abandoned as an insane child, captured, and confined in long periods as an adult. The detailed, drawn out, and graphic torture scenes were so vivid and so accurately narrated in imparting their emotional trauma that I had nightmares many evenings. Harry's extreme, bitter loneliness as he relives life again and again was also a very keenly felt kind of emotional distress as a reader, North's analogy for the human condition turned up to painful high flame.
A stunning achievement, but not for the faint of heart.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Toxic friendship, and Suicide
anitasbooks's review against another edition
5.0
Un uomo che, dopo la morte, rinasce costantemente nello stesso posto, mantenendo sempre tutti i propri ricordi.
Un libro che mescola vari generi: il fantasy, il sci-fi e il romanzo storico per arrivare a raccontare una storia meravigliosa, che mi è rimasta nel cuore. 🤍
Ho adorato la scrittura poetica di Claire North, che è riuscita a creare un libro unico, non soltanto per la sua trama particolare, ma anche per la struttura con la quale viene narrato: partendo in medias res, con un narratore che si dirige direttamente al lettore raccontando degli eventi, non in modo cronologico, ma per “tematica”.
Una storia che fa riflettere e di fronte alla quale è impossibile rimanere indifferente.
Un libro che mescola vari generi: il fantasy, il sci-fi e il romanzo storico per arrivare a raccontare una storia meravigliosa, che mi è rimasta nel cuore. 🤍
Ho adorato la scrittura poetica di Claire North, che è riuscita a creare un libro unico, non soltanto per la sua trama particolare, ma anche per la struttura con la quale viene narrato: partendo in medias res, con un narratore che si dirige direttamente al lettore raccontando degli eventi, non in modo cronologico, ma per “tematica”.
Una storia che fa riflettere e di fronte alla quale è impossibile rimanere indifferente.
vlookup's review against another edition
5.0
Wow. This book was amazing, the kind I am likely to re-read. I've never been happy to have accidentally come across this title in a bookstore. Highly recommended.