"I have always loved Jill McCorkle’s books: her characters are such characters! But in Life After Life, she has outdone herself . . . There’s talk about magic in this wonderful novel, and Jill McCorkle displays her own sleight of hand in delivering a powerful message in such a subtle and beautiful way." —Elizabeth Berg, author of The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted and Once Upon a Time, There Was You
"With Life After Life, Jill McCorkle knocks it out of the park and into the cosmos. Each character holds unique surprises that unveil the intricate magic of this brilliant novel." —Beth Henley, Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright and screenwriter (Crimes of the Heart)
3 comments:
I suspect we will read this book differently depending upon our stage of life. I found the entire book engaging but was struck and shook by a 'Rachel' chapter about 60% through (I am reading on Kindle and do ot have page numbers). She describes a person of an age still clear headed and capable, but wondering what is next. When will the dimentia become evident or the stroke occur or the physican deliver the bad test report?. I find it a liminal state and troubling personally. Bob Partlow
I finished Life After Life a week ago and have since been allowing its grace to process through my mind. First impressions of books as profound as this one are rarely what I carry forward in life, and I knew that would be the case with this one too. Finally, early one morning, I had one of those hand-pumping “Yesssss!” moments you see sports fans do these days. This is what I got:
Something like an “infographic” formed in my mind. In lieu of a Dramatis Personae at the beginning – something one of my friends said she had wished for along the way – at about the halfway point my map began to form. I “saw” all the people in parallel columns. But the neat thing was that lines among them all began to form too, some straight and bold, others dotted or dashed.
My infographic stuck with me and forced my own conclusion, rather than some spoon-fed Cliff’s Notes thing. And that made all the difference in finding myself in Life After Life. I felt myself amidst all the flawed, battered, lonely people acting out their loneliness. But then, were they? Not really. The connections – the lines broken or bold – trumped all in the end both here and hereafter – a great and encouraging testament to the resilience, resourcefulness and value in all of our lives.
… And, as I suspected it would, the literary device of Dollbaby was genius. Abby’s faith runs like a gentle gold chain though the stories. Despite all the fragility, Dollbaby seemed somehow to pull all the lines in my infographic together.
--Doug Blue
Bob, I think you are spot-on. Different ages and stages absolutely lead to a different reading.
Doug, what a marvelous way to become truly absorbed by a book! I agree that the different voices are interwoven in some profound and surprising ways.
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