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The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August

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The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North is a unique and captivating novel that explores the concept of reincarnation in a fresh and intriguing way. The story follows Harry August, a man who is reborn with all his memories intact, living his life over and over again in the same body. As he navigates through his multiple lives, he discovers others like him and learns of a looming threat that could end the world. The book delves into themes of friendship, betrayal, and the complexities of living through endless cycles, all while trying to prevent a catastrophic event orchestrated by a fellow immortal.

Characters:

Characters are well-developed and complex, each representing different approaches to immortality and ethical dilemmas.

Writing/Prose:

The writing style is engaging and introspective, focusing on character development and philosophical themes, making it accessible yet thought-provoking.

Plot/Storyline:

The plot revolves around Harry August, a man who is reborn into his life repeatedly, carrying memories from each previous life. He struggles to prevent impending catastrophe linked to his fellow kalachakras.

Setting:

The setting spans much of the 20th century, intertwining historical events with the fantastical premise of reincarnation.

Pacing:

The pacing is slow initially, becoming more engaging as the story progresses, especially in the second half when the central conflict intensifies.
She was seven, I was seventy-eight. She had straight blonde hair worn in a long pigtail down her back, I had bright white hair, or at least the remnants of the same. I wore a hospital gown designed fo...

Notes:

Harry August is a Kalachakra, meaning he is reborn in the same place and time after each death.
He remembers everything from his previous lives from around the age of four.
The narrative explores themes of immortality, identity, and consequence.
The story features a mysterious group called the Cronus Club, composed of others like Harry, who also live multiple lives.
Harry learns that the end of the world is accelerating with each of his lives.
He has to navigate the challenges of repeated schooling and unique societal roles throughout his lives.
The book tackles the psychological impacts of experiencing the same life repeatedly, including madness and existential questions.
Claire North is a pseudonym for a well-known British author, adding a layer of intrigue to the book's identity.
The narrative structure jumps between different lives, enriching the plot with a complex timeline of Harry's experiences.
It combines elements of science fiction with historical fiction, setting many of Harry's lives against significant historical backdrops.

Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings

There are themes of violence, including torture, and discussions of suicide which may affect some readers.

From The Publisher:

Wildly original, funny and moving, The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August is an extraordinary story of a life lived again and again from World Fantasy Award-winning author Claire North.

Harry August is on his deathbed. Again.

No matter what he does or the decisions he makes, when death comes, Harry always returns to where he began, a child with all the knowledge of a life he has already lived a dozen times before. Nothing ever changes.

Until now.

As Harry nears the end of his eleventh life, a little girl appears at his bedside. "I nearly missed you, Doctor August," she says. "I need to send a message."

This is the story of what Harry does next, and what he did before, and how he tries to save a past he cannot change and a future he cannot allow.

Ratings (77)

Incredible (17)
Loved It (30)
Liked It (17)
It Was OK (7)
Did Not Like (3)
Hated It (3)

Reader Stats (223):

Read It (78)
Currently Reading (1)
Want To Read (114)
Did Not Finish (5)
Not Interested (25)

8 comment(s)

Hated It
1 week

Tedious. Nothing interesting happened in the first 90-pages. Slow read as words didn’t flow very well. The only positive was the short chapters. I believe I was at the start of Chapter 23 when I threw in the towel. Should’ve stopped at page 50.

 
Loved It
1 month

Really interesting concept! This is a clever book - well-executed. It started off slow, which made me extremely nervous. But, the ending was action-packed!

 
Loved It
1 month

Es un libro distinto, con una historia interesante y original, pero que al principio puede hacerse pesada, porque tarda demasiado en dejar la presentación y comenzar el conflicto.

Esa lentitud se agrava por el hecho de mezclar dos "líneas temporales", una lineal relacionada con la historia, y otra a base de flashbacks relacionados con lo que pasa en la lineal.

Una vez acabada la presentación la cosa gana enteros, mejorando mucho el ritmo y presentando las ideas más entretenidas de toda la novela.

 
Loved It
1 month

Disjointed and with some rather stilted prose,

The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August establishes a plausible alternate universe in which one's mind is simply reborn into an endless amount of timelines. At times the writing becomes too theoretical to follow, but the overall plot remains coherent and engaging.

 
Incredible
1 month

A fresh and clever take on the old question of "What would you do if you could live your life again?"

As it turns out, the answer is heroin.

I thoroughly enjoyed it.

 
Incredible
3 months

This is one of the best books I have read in a while! A smart, well-written, and engaging approach to the classic "Groundhog Day Loop" plot.

 
Loved It
6 months

I enjoyed the book “Touch”, so I dived into this book by the same author. This one reminded me of Groundhog Day, but on a larger scale, i.e. reliving your life over and over every time you die, but you get to change it each time.

"The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August" is a science fiction novel that tells the story of Harry August, a man who is born with the ability to live his life again and again, retaining all of his memories from previous lives. As Harry navigates through the different eras of human history, he becomes embroiled in a secret war between those who possess this same ability and those who seek to destroy it. The novel explores themes of identity, time, and the nature of power.

I found the book unique, e.g. how a young person reborn again passes on information to an elderly person who is about to die and be born again…and hence send information back in time. I’ll be checking out more books by this author.

 
Loved It
1 year

This was an excellent book. It is a story about a man who dies. Yet he somehow comes back to life in his past, back in the body he had when he was a child. But he retained all his old memories and knowledge of his past life. And the same thing happens each time he dies. This very well-written book tells the story of his various adventures. If you were a fan of Replay or the Middle Falls time travel series, this is the book for you.

 
 
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