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How It All Began A Novel Penelope Lively 0884845010864 Books

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How It All Began A Novel Penelope Lively 0884845010864 Books

When Charlotte Rainsford, a retired schoolteacher, is accosted by a petty thief on a London street, the consequences ripple across the lives of acquaintances and strangers alike. A marriage unravels after an illicit love affair is revealed through an errant cell phone message; a posh yet financially strapped interior designer meets a business partner who might prove too good to be true; an old-guard historian tries to recapture his youthful vigor with an ill-conceived idea for a TV miniseries; and a middle-aged central European immigrant learns to speak English and reinvents his life with the assistance of some new friends.

Through a richly conceived and colorful cast of characters, Penelope Lively explores the powerful role of chance in people’s lives and deftly illustrates how our paths can be altered irrevocably by someone we will never even meet.

My Thoughts: From the very first page of How It All Began: A Novel, we are caught up in a series of events, beginning with the mugging of Charlotte Rainsford, and rippling forward to people she knows…and then to total strangers.

How we can all be connected by an event was a fascinating exploration. I liked how the author showed us the various characters as they meandered down the pathways that were affected by this one seemingly irrelevant moment in one woman’s life.

There was Rose, Charlotte’s daughter, who takes her in after the mugging and whose life is changed.

Another random connection occurs when Rose’s boss Henry asks his niece Marion to attend a luncheon with him when Rose cannot. A text Marion sends to Jeremy, a married lover, upends his marriage.

Numerous vignettes that spotlight how these several lives are changed kept my interest up, and while the story was not one I loved, I definitely enjoyed it. 4 stars.


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How It All Began A Novel Penelope Lively 0884845010864 Books Reviews

It happens that I am about to turn 78, the same age as Charlotte, one of the protagonists in this splendid novel; the author is close to our ages. She writes with great understanding of such age issues as independence, mobility and memory, but more important, she has written a narrative that's alive on every page, touching the problems of every adult character. No violence, no hidden agendas, no one out to "get" another character, but rather this is a novel of inner thoughts and feelings that holds the reader in its spell. I found the writing compelling and beautiful. Six stars, please.
I think this is one of Lively's finest novels, and there are many to choose from. I have enjoyed reading her over several decades and feeling the shifts in her characters and plots as she has grown older. This novel centers around an older woman whose life inter-weaves with that of eight others after she suffers an untimely fall. The characters are beautifully limned, as are their relationships, and the novel ends optimistically.
I do not think book reviews should summarize plots, so allow me just to say that Lively's writing is always wonderful, and in this book, it is at its best. The novel is both literary and accessible, the plot clips along at a satisfactory rate and the characters are beautifully developed. Enough said!
I have never read anything by Penelope Lively before and now I know what a shame that is and what I have been missing. How It All Began is a wonderful novel full of terrific characters and humor and wisdom. I loved how an accident (mugging) becomes an example of the ripple effect--and how true it is, at least for these characters, that chance determines so much of life. Though the book deals with some pretty heavy issues--everything from aging to adultery to the financial crisis/downturn to love--they are handled with a light touch and the humor is simply wonderful.

This a well-written book that has so much to recommend it! What I loved most was the optimism and the hope that shine through. I also loved that the book was not Americanized to the point that it could have been writen by anybody.

How It All Began is a book I want to tell all my friends to read. I think it would be an excellent choice for a book club, as there are many issues in the book to talk about. This was my first Lively book, but it will not be my last. I loved this book--can you tell? I highly recommend it.
I loved this witty, tender story because
1. I believe its central tenet -- everything and everyone is connected and the consequences of our most trivial actions echo across space and time.
2. I care about all the characters -- even Jeremy, the perennial optimist, opportunist, and infant.
3. Charlotte -- a lady of a certain age (mine) -- has to deal with the vicissitudes that come with advancing -- um -- maturity loss of independence, role reversals; vulnerability.
4. Charlotte volunteers as a tutor in an adult literacy program, as do I.
5.Henry reminds me of some aging academics I know who struggle to remain relevant, when clearly their glory days are in the rearview mirror.
6. Rose and Anton's story -- which could have been so treacley -- instead ends as it should, with an adult recognition of reality. I want to hug them!
When Charlotte Rainsford, a retired schoolteacher, is accosted by a petty thief on a London street, the consequences ripple across the lives of acquaintances and strangers alike. A marriage unravels after an illicit love affair is revealed through an errant cell phone message; a posh yet financially strapped interior designer meets a business partner who might prove too good to be true; an old-guard historian tries to recapture his youthful vigor with an ill-conceived idea for a TV miniseries; and a middle-aged central European immigrant learns to speak English and reinvents his life with the assistance of some new friends.

Through a richly conceived and colorful cast of characters, Penelope Lively explores the powerful role of chance in people’s lives and deftly illustrates how our paths can be altered irrevocably by someone we will never even meet.

My Thoughts From the very first page of How It All Began A Novel, we are caught up in a series of events, beginning with the mugging of Charlotte Rainsford, and rippling forward to people she knows…and then to total strangers.

How we can all be connected by an event was a fascinating exploration. I liked how the author showed us the various characters as they meandered down the pathways that were affected by this one seemingly irrelevant moment in one woman’s life.

There was Rose, Charlotte’s daughter, who takes her in after the mugging and whose life is changed.

Another random connection occurs when Rose’s boss Henry asks his niece Marion to attend a luncheon with him when Rose cannot. A text Marion sends to Jeremy, a married lover, upends his marriage.

Numerous vignettes that spotlight how these several lives are changed kept my interest up, and while the story was not one I loved, I definitely enjoyed it. 4 stars.