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This wretched novel begins with the mugging of an old lady and it appears I may be in the process of repeating that loathsome crime as Dame Penelope Lively was 78 when she wrote it. It is not nice to put the boot into such a poor defenceless old creature lying there with only a damehood, a Booker Pr Leggi tutto

Another charming and erudite novel from Penelope Lively, whose books are always a pleasure to read. This one was conceived as an illustration of the butterfly effect. Charlotte, an old widow, is mugged and falls, breaking her hip. This sets in chain a series of events that demonstrate the interconne Leggi tutto

Around the 100 page mark I was wondering with a growing apathy what was at stake in this novel. All the characters seemed stuck at a red light. Then, of a sudden, the lights turned to green and it flourished into life and I grew immensely fond of all the characters. The novel begins when an elderly

I loved this book about how an event, in this case a mugging of an elderly lady, can have reverberating affects on so many other people. A light read on the surface, but touching on some serious subjects of life, aging, and adultery; throw in some of Penelope Lively's humor and you get a delightful

In How it All Began, Penelope Lively proposes the butterfly effect in the small lives of ordinary people. When an elderly mother is mugged, her daughter cannot accompany her boss to an appointment. This mugging, this random event precipitates a series of life-altering events: an impending divorce, a Leggi tutto

Oh, I dearly loved this book about an event which spawned a series of follow-on events, some of which could be termed momentous, in the context of a life. The story was funny and true and ridiculous and painful and all those things that life can be. It was comforting to hear about folks whose lives

Friends whose opinions I highly value have enjoyed this book. I can only explain my personal reaction. Perhaps it is best you read other reviews too. Please start by reading the short GR book description. The first paragraph tells you how the story unfolds. The idea is that one event leads to another Leggi tutto

A lovely, character driven study in which life is impacted by Charlotte’s mugging and injury. Set in motion is a chain of events that require multiple characters to make thoughtful decisions and choices. Aging parents, romantic affairs, financial crises, and academian jealousies are human complicati Leggi tutto

I went ahead and marked this five stars for "amazing," because it's rare that a contemporary novel is quotable. The main character is an educated British woman in her seventies, recovering from a mugging. First sentence: The pavement rises up and hits her. Terrific, right? Here's a bit from when she Leggi tutto

This is how it all began: While the premise of this book --the butterfly effect -- is intriguing, the execution was a real turn off. Incomplete sentences and a very British style (and I love England!!) kept me from getting into it. Take the first page: "...A face is alongside hers. Woman. Nice woman. Leggi tutto