Life After Life

Content Warning: This section of the guide contains discussion of death and graphic violence.

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. What aspect of Atkinson’s writing affected your reading experience the most? Which character did you find most relatable or most like you? 

2. Which of Ursula’s many lives resonated with you most powerfully, and why did that particular timeline stand out among the others?

3. How does Life After Life compare to Atkinson’s companion novel A God in Ruins, which follows Teddy’s story through a single life rather than multiple iterations?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. Dr. Kellet introduces Ursula to the concept of “amor fati”—the acceptance of whatever comes. When have you embraced this philosophy in your own life, and when have you found it impossible to accept what fate brings?

2. The novel repeatedly shows how small choices can dramatically alter life’s course. What seemingly minor decision in your own life had unexpectedly significant consequences?

3. Ursula’s relationship with her mother Sylvie changes dramatically throughout her lives. In what ways have your important relationships evolved over time?

4. If you could relive a period of your life with the knowledge you have now, what would you change?

5. Fox Corner represents a haven amid chaos. What physical place is your emotional anchor during turbulent times? Why does it help you?

6. Several characters in the novel find different sources of meaning—from Sylvie’s devotion to motherhood to Miss Woolf’s commitment to service during war. Which character’s approach to finding purpose most resonates with your personal philosophy?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. How does Atkinson portray the societal expectations for women across the different eras of Ursula’s lives?

2. The novel depicts the setting of the London Blitz and wartime England. What parallels do you see between civilian responses to crisis then and current reactions to global emergencies?

3. Ursula attempts to assassinate Hitler, raising questions about individual responsibility in the face of historical evil. What moral questions does this scenario pose about altering the course of history, and where would you draw the line between activism and acceptance?

Examine technical and thematic elements.

1. The novel opens with Ursula’s assassination attempt on Hitler in 1930, then jumps back to her birth. What purpose does this nonlinear structure serve in establishing the novel’s themes and building narrative tension?

2. Darkness is described as “falling” throughout the novel whenever Ursula dies. What other recurring symbols or motifs did you notice throughout the book?

3. Atkinson uses repetition to show how characters remain essentially themselves despite different circumstances. Which character demonstrates this principle most effectively?

4. How does the juxtaposition of pastoral imagery—such as “the smell of new-mown grass” and “corn poppies, red campion and oxeye daisies” (427)—with wartime devastation enhance the novel’s emotional impact?

5. In what ways does Ursula’s evolving awareness of her repeated lives affect her approach to fate and choice?

6. What significance do you find in the novel’s ending, returning to Mrs. Haddock the midwife sipping rum while stranded in the snow?

Encourage imaginative interaction with the text.

1. If you were to live multiple lives like Ursula, what would be your primary mission across these lives, and would you focus more on personal happiness or historical intervention? Write a paragraph describing each of the lives you imagine for yourself.

2. Imagine Ursula’s story continued beyond the novel’s conclusion. What would her next life look like, and what lessons might she carry forward? What song would be the soundtrack for that life?

3. If this novel were adapted to film or television, what visual techniques might best capture the recursive nature of Ursula’s lives?

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