July Book: Life after Life by Kate Atkinson

I wavered between a 3 and a 4 on this book. I really wish I could do the 3.5 stars. I would give some sections of the book a 2 and some a 5 so it balanced out for me. The premise is that Ursula Todd keeps dying and gets to live her life over again. It wasn't really reincarnation since she always came back as herself. She also had deja vu about her previous lives so she was able to make different decisions and thus change the outcome of her life. 

The story is set in England. Ursula is born in 1910 over and over again. I thought the book started out very gimmicky. I got very irritated with the baby deaths and then the child deaths. Once the book focused on the adult Ursula it was a fantastic read. Both World Wars are covered in this novel. World War II is more captivating because it takes place during Ursula's adult lifetime.

Not only did Ursula's life change in each of her "lives", but so did the lives of those around her including family members, lovers and friends. The detail of the bombings in London were difficult to read because they were so realistic. The horror of war was brought to the forefront.

Spoilers: The section of her life where she marries a German could have been tossed. The section where she shoots Hitler was a complete waste of time and was sadly used as the teaser for the book. So happy that was a very short, unimportant part of Ursula's life.

It also ends as it began. That was rather a simplistic way to end this novel.

I also got confused by who some of the characters were. My favorite parts were when Ursula interacted with her family. The characters were the most developed.

Overall I would recommend the book.

Shakespeare on the Green

   This was the 27th year for Shakespeare on the Green. The company performs 2 plays every summer, and they are free to the public. I have wanted to go for a long time and am happy we finally did. The evening begins at 6:00 when different activities and entertainment are offered to the crowd. You are also able to pack food and drink. Some people sit in lawn chairs and some just throw a blanket on the ground and sit on the grass. Entertainment includes a juggler, singers and 2 minute Shakespeare where a group of actors perform a play in 2 mintues. The crowd calls out a play from the list in the program.

   The outing for July (I will call it June if we end up doing something else this month) was to go to Shakespeare on the Green. We ended up going over 2 nights. Dakota and I went on July 3. The play was Twelfth Night. I had read the review and decided I really wanted to see this. The director chose to go with modern costumes and since music is an important part of this play, the director added many modern songs. They ranged from "When the Lights go down in the City" to "Call Me Maybe". Sometimes the lyrics were changed by adding Shakespearean words to the songs. 

  I was pleased that I understood a great deal of the language even though I haven't taught Shakespeare for many years. I was able to follow the plot with little problem. Dakota was also able to follow the action. We both loved the experience. The crowd for July 3 was estimated to be 1500. 

  On July 5, Glen, Alaric, Savana, Alexsei, Rachel, Mikayla (these 2 are Alexsei's friends), and I trekked to Shakespeare. We brought a picnic lunch. The weather was remarkably nice for a July evening. The humidity was low. We also found my brother Jeff and his wife Ana. We sat by them. They left at the intermission. The crowd was estimated at 4000. It was packed. We ended up sitting in almost the same spot that Dakota and I did.

  Alaric brought electronics along, but never used them during the play. At intermission, I explained to Alaric and Savana who the characters were and what was going on. That helped them with the the second half of the production. I was shocked that Alaric actually enjoyed it. I reminded me of a Baz Luhrman production. The music worked well with the action and the actors were having fun with the production. 

  Overall, everyone enjoyed the production. I don't know that the kids would like a traditional Shakespeare production, Dakota might, but at least they got to experience Shakespeare live.

2 Minute Shakespeare

Brass Monkey!