Clever and thoughtful. For once, one of the more pompous blurbs on the cover comes closest to the mark: "A subtle study of friendship, love and the complexity of existence." (The Guardian) Well, yes, but also some good jokes ...
This is not, in my opinion, a book that you read for the plot. The plot is whisper-thin, the McGuffin that powers it is so "high-concept" that I can imagine North, in the early drafts of the book, leaving half-pages blank, with Insert McGuffin here in Comic Sans font.
And that doesn't matter. Well, not to me, because the real pleasure of this novel was watching Harry August live his lives, figures it all out, and play the game -- friendship, love and the complexity of existence -- with the hand he has been dealt. I love Harry's voice. I love the non-linear trajectory of his rememberings, skipping back and forth across lives as he remembers wives, lovers, parents, and friends; triumphs and tragedies.
My only reservation -- and the reason this lost one star for me was that the ending seems a little rushed, which was disappointing.
But, if you have the patience, I highly recommend this. If you have ever imagined returning to certain moments in your life, with "that's what I should have said," or "if only I knew then what I know now," you will find Harry's August's 15 lives an enjoyable journey.
This is not, in my opinion, a book that you read for the plot. The plot is whisper-thin, the McGuffin that powers it is so "high-concept" that I can imagine North, in the early drafts of the book, leaving half-pages blank, with Insert McGuffin here in Comic Sans font.
And that doesn't matter. Well, not to me, because the real pleasure of this novel was watching Harry August live his lives, figures it all out, and play the game -- friendship, love and the complexity of existence -- with the hand he has been dealt. I love Harry's voice. I love the non-linear trajectory of his rememberings, skipping back and forth across lives as he remembers wives, lovers, parents, and friends; triumphs and tragedies.
My only reservation -- and the reason this lost one star for me was that the ending seems a little rushed, which was disappointing.
But, if you have the patience, I highly recommend this. If you have ever imagined returning to certain moments in your life, with "that's what I should have said," or "if only I knew then what I know now," you will find Harry's August's 15 lives an enjoyable journey.
