Life after Life

by Kate Atkinson

Release: March 2013
Format: Novel
Genres: Fantasy, War
Audience: Adults
Content: Debatable Time Travel
Original Language: English

In one instantiation of her life, Ursula Todd dies just moments after her birth in 1910. Fortunately (for the sake of the novel), time seems to be cyclic, so she and the rest of the world get many chances at life. At times, she partially recalls her other lives, resulting in many consequences to history and her personal development.

— Michael Main

So much hot air rising above the tables in the Café Heck or the Osteria Bavaria, like smoke from the ovens. It was difficult to believe from this perspective that Hitler was going to lay waste to the world in a few years’ time.

“Time isn’t circular,” she said to Dr. Kellet. “It’s like a palimpsest.”
“Oh, dear,” he said. “That sounds very vexing.”
“And memories are sometimes in the future.”

DEBUT

Life after Life (Doubleday, March 2013).

VARIANTS

2 English variants

TRANSLATIONS

Bulgarian translation:
[ex=bare]Живот след живот | Life after life | Zhivot sled zhivot[/ex] ([ex=bare]Колибри || Colibri[/ex], 2016).
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Kate Atkinson as by Кейт Аткинсън
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by Ralitsa Karieva
Chinese translation:
[ex=bare]生命不息 | Endless life | Shēngmìng bù xī[/ex] (Hunan, May 2014).
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Kate Atkinson as by 凯特·阿特金森
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by unknown persons
Chinese translation:
[ex=bare]娥蘇拉的生生世世 | The life of Ursula | É sū lā de shēngshēngshìshì[/ex] ([ex=bare]高寶書版 || Calibre[/ex], September 2014).
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Kate Atkinson as by 凱特·亞金森
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by 陳佳琳
Croatian translation:
[ex=bare]Život za životom | Life after life[/ex] (Vuković and Runjić, 2016).
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Kate Atkinson
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by Vlatka Valentić
Czech translation:
[ex=bare]Život za životem | Life after life[/ex] (Argo, November 2014).
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Kate Atkinson as by Kate Atkinsonová
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by Daniela Theinová
Czech translation: Czech audiobook.
[ex=bare]Život za životem | Life after life[/ex] (Audiotéka.cz, August 2017).
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Kate Atkinson as by Kate Atkinsonová
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . narrated by Tereza Bebarová
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by Daniela Theinová
Danish translation:
[ex=bare]Liv efter liv | Life after life[/ex] (Gads Förlag, May 2014).
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Kate Atkinson
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by Anna Strandberg
Dutch translation:
[ex=bare]Leven na leven | Life after life[/ex] (Atlas Contact, August 2013).
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Kate Atkinson
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by Inge Kok
Finnish translation:
[ex=bare]Elämä elämältä | Life after life[/ex] (Schildts and Söderströms, March 2014).
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Kate Atkinson
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by Kaisa Kattelus
French translation:
[ex=bare]Une vie après l'autre | One life after another[/ex] (Bernard Grasset, January 2015).
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Kate Atkinson
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by Isabelle Caron
German translation:
[ex=bare]Die Unvollendete | The unfinished[/ex] (Droemer, July 2013) [e-book].
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Kate Atkinson
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by Anette Grube
Hebrew translation:
[ex=bare]חיים ועוד חיים | Life and more life | Heyyem v'eved heyyem[/ex] ([ex=bare]הוצאת ידיעות ספרים || Yedioth[/ex], 2014).
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Kate Atkinson as by קייט אטקינסון
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by שרון פרמינגר
Hungarian translation:
[ex=bare]Élet az élet után | Life after life[/ex] (Geopen, October 2018).
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Kate Atkinson
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by Katalin Szűr-Szabó
Italian translation:
[ex=bare]Vita dopo vita | Life after life[/ex] (Nord, May 2014).
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Kate Atkinson
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by Alessandro Storti
Korean translation:
[ex=bare]라이프 애프터 라이프 | Life after life | Laipeu aepeuteo laipeu[/ex] ([ex=bare]문학사상사 || Munsa[/ex], November 2014).
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Kate Atkinson as by 케이트 앳킨슨
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by 임정희
Latvian translation:
[ex=bare]Dzīve pēc dzīves | Life after life[/ex] (Zvaigzne ABC, 2015).
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Kate Atkinson as by Keita Atkinsone
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by Silvija Brice
Lithuanian translation:
[ex=bare]Gyvenimas po gyvenimo | Life after life[/ex] (Tyto Alba, 2014).
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Kate Atkinson
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by Jovita Liutkutė
Modern Greek translation:
[ex=bare]Ζωή μετά τη ζωή | Life after life | Zoí metá ti zoí[/ex] ([ex=bare]Εκδόσεις Μεταίχμιο || Ekdoseis Metaixmio[/ex], November 2013).
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Kate Atkinson
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by Μυρσίνη Γκανά
Norwegian translation:
[ex=bare]Liv etter liv | Life after life[/ex] (Forlaget Press, 2014).
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Kate Atkinson
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by Christian Rugstad
Persian translation:
[ex=bare]زندگی پس از زندگی | Life after life | Zendegua pes az zendegua[/ex] ([ex=bare]بوتیمار || Butimar[/ex], 2017).
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Kate Atkinson as by کیت اتکینسون
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by علی معصومی
Persian translation:
[ex=bare]زندگی پس از زندگی | Life after life | Zendegua pes az zendegua[/ex] ([ex=bare]هیرمند || Hirmand[/ex], May 2017).
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Kate Atkinson as by کیت اتکینسون
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by سعید کلاتی
Polish translation:
[ex=bare]Jej wszystkie życia | All her lives[/ex] (Czarna Owca, March 2014).
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Kate Atkinson
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by Aleksandra Wolnicka
Portuguese translation: Portugal.
[ex=bare]Vida após Vida | Life after life[/ex] (Relógio D'Água, February 2014).
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Kate Atkinson
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by José Miguel Silva
Portuguese translation: Brazil.
[ex=bare]O Fio da Vida | The thread of life[/ex] (Globo Livros, September 2014).
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Kate Atkinson
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by Celina Portocarrero
Romanian translation:
[ex=bare]Viață după viață | Life after life[/ex] (Art, June 2016).
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Kate Atkinson
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by Irina Negrea
Russian translation:
[ex=bare]Жизнь после жизни | Life after life | Zhizn posle zhizni[/ex] ([ex=bare]Азбука || Azbooka[/ex], 2014).
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Kate Atkinson as by Кейт Аткинсон
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by Елена Серафимовна Петрова
Russian translation: Russian audiobook.
[ex=bare]Жизнь после жизни | Life after life | Zhizn posle zhizni[/ex] (unknown audio publisher, 2017).
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Kate Atkinson as by Кейт Аткинсон
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . narrated by Ольга Плетнёва
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by Елена Серафимовна Петрова
Serbian translation:
[ex=bare]Život posle života | Life after life[/ex] (Laguna, April 2017).
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Kate Atkinson as by Kejt Atkinson
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by Eli Gilić
Slovak translation:
[ex=bare]Život po živote | Life after life[/ex] (Ikar, April 2015).
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Kate Atkinson as by Kate Atkinsonová
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by Tamara Chovanová
Spanish translation:
[ex=bare]Una y otra vez | Again and again[/ex] (Lumen, June 2014).
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Kate Atkinson
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by Patricia Antón
Thai translation:
[ex=bare]อดีตจะเปลี่ยนทุกครั้งที่ฉันตาย | The past changes every time I die | Xdīt ca pelī̀yn thuk khrậng thī̀ c̄hạn tāy[/ex] (unknown publisher, circa 2020).
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Kate Atkinson
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by นันทวัน เติมแสงศิริศักดิ์
Turkish translation:
[ex=bare]Hayat, Sil Baştan | Life, from the beginning[/ex] (Yapı Kredi Yayınları, February 2015).
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Kate Atkinson
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by Duygu Akın
Ukranian translation:
[ex=bare]Життя за життям | Life after life[/ex] ([ex=bare]Наш Формат || Nash Format[/ex], May 2018).
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Kate Atkinson as by Кейт Аткінсон
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by Ярослава Стріха
Vietnamese translation:
[ex=bare]Chuỗi đời bất tận | Endless life series[/ex] (NXB Lao Động, December 2018).
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by Kate Atkinson
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by Khánh Vân

34 translations

TAGS(SPOILERS!)

Time Periods

Timeline Models

Born Again
Cyclic Time: Don’t look at us! We have no clue what’s going on with Ursula, but it seems like all of time is repeating with everyone (not just Ursula) making different decisions during different cycles, and at one point Ursula discusses this possibility with her philosophically minded shrink. But Ursula is special in that she seems to remember varying amounts from other cycles. Then again, maybe the story is a better fit for the born again or time loop tag, so we’ll tag the novel that way, too.
Remembering Different Timelines
Time Loop

Themes

Fix History!
Fix Your Own Past!
Repeat until You Get It Right: for example, the repeated attempts to save Bridget

Real-World Tags

Adolf Hitler
Bombing of Berlin
Eva Braun
London Blitz (`)
World War I: from afar, through the eyes of a child
World War II

Groupings

Todd Family (story series)

TIME TRAVEL ITINERARY (SPOILERS!)

From various different times and places of Ursula’s death at an unknown time ⋙ to Buckinghamshire, at the moment of Ursula’s birth on 11 February 1910. Multiple trips. Note: Ursula’s method of living multiple lives is via repeatedly being transported from the moment of her death to the moment of her birth.

Todd Family 1

Life after Life

by Kate Atkinson

DEBUT