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Thursday, July 26, 2012

How it All Began by Penelope Lively

Between work, my sister's wedding, and the many activities of summer, I have found myself way behind on my blog.  I'm going to focus on brief reviews and hopefully will get myself caught up one of these days!

How it All Began has an interesting premise. Charlotte Rainsford is mugged on the streets of London and this sets off a chain of events that changes the fates of her daughter and various other random people. I have always believed in fate and how one small choice by someone can have a ripple effect across the lives of many others. It was very interesting to see how this played out in the novel, although I did think it tended to be a bit dry at times. I thought Lively did a great job of bringing the tale full circle.


Charlotte’s daughter, Rose, has to leave her job as a personal assistant to Henry, an elderly Historian, to take care of his mother. Henry’s niece Marion has to take Henry to a conference, and cancels her plans with her boyfriend Jeremy. Jeremy’s wife catches the text and their marriage is in turmoil. Charlotte begins teaching her English language learner Anton at home, and soon married Rose and Anton find they have a spark. Henry’s conference does not go well, and he looks for a different avenue for his research.

The characters were all very unique and interesting. I enjoyed reading about them, but mostly about how their lives were all changed by this one event. This was the July FLICKS Book and Movie Club selection. Sadly I missed the meeting, but I was at my sister’s wedding, which was worth it.

Book Source:  The Kewaunee Public Library

1 comment:

  1. I'm with you on being behind. I started a full-time job, and with my son at home, and HIS summer activities, I haven't been able to keep my blog up or to visit my blogging friends. This one sounds like a quick, lively read!

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