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There are currently 22 member reviews
for So Much Life Left Over
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Debra C. (Vienna, GA)
So Much Life Left Over
What a delight! Of the nearly 100 novels I have read in 2018, this is my most loved, enjoyed, and thought provoking read yet, and I do not believe it will be topped...unless, of course, DeBernieres releases a third book in this series. Because I previously read THE DUST THAT FALLS FROM DREAMS, my reading experience was enhanced, but this novel can stand alone.
The continuing British saga of the McCosh and Pitt families, after WWI, is crisply written and historically insightful. As you travel with these characters, observe their unique emotional journeys, and witness the bravery, honesty, happiness, sorrow, and remorse they experience, you cannot help but become captivated with every decision made as each seeks a response to the challenge,"there is a man (woman) who has more to do...who has life left over."
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Brenda D. (Lincoln, CA)
So Much Life Left Over
This book might take a little effort, but it is so worth it. To me, it started a little slowly and it is quite British, so some elements are unfamiliar. The characters are just incredible and the story unfolds as you read about Daniel Pitt, the main character, and the people, in varying chapters, who come in and out of his life. It takes place over a number of years – from World War I through to World War II. "If you have been embroiled in a war in which you confidently expected to die, what are you supposed to do with so much life …left over."
There are themes of love, family, loyalty, decisions made that greatly impact each character's life.
I have read several of this author's books, and he never disappoints in his ability to tell a compelling story. Outstanding.
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Carole A. (Denver, CO)
Life Stories are Never New
The basic story line is one replayed over and over in terms of those who live through a life altering experience - in this case war. How to go on - where to go - how to live and how to love. De Bernieres offers a different take on friendship and the fall out from war. I would correlate much of it with the PTSD the warriors of today experience and how it changes their relationships with everyone. Is there survivors guilt from not having died as were many of the others. De Berniers explores if those who do not experience the same life altering experience can ever relate to how another person has changed. Is friendship enough to pick up that thread? They have to, each in their own way, learn to get on with their day to day life and with each other. It was slow getting into the book but worth pursuing. The book is well written with good character development but I now realize it is a sequel and intend to read the first book and then reread this. I did not; however, like it as well as Corelli's Mandolin.
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Teresa R. (Fort Collins, CO)
Well-suited to Anglophiles
This novel packs an impressive range of settings and period detail into its 273 pages and 20 year time frame. Secrets, betrayals and multiple love triangles abound, marking the profound reckonings faced by a group of British friends as they try to adapt to peacetime life following The Great War. Fans of this author's style and depictions of this era (think Merchant Ivory, only racier ) will enjoy the wide cast of characters and profusion of sub-plots involving shifting societal norms and cross-cultural misadventures. I found the structure (50 short chapters, or episodes told from different characters' perspectives.) interesting, if perhaps too busy. Also, I was personally challenged by the frequent and often arcane "veddy British" colloquialisms, references and place names. This book won't make my "Best of 2018" list, but it provided some interesting background on cultural imperialism and poignant insights into both the sunset of the British Empire and the long-term social and psychic casualties of war.
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Florence H. (Laguna Woods, CA)
So Much Life Left Over
As I read each short, seemingly disjointed chapter the novel came together with a beautifully written emotional conclusion. We are shown many different points of view from that of a native girl, a brother who has given up, the children, a confused elderly woman, a píus yet selfish wife,and a father in a loveless marriage. In all the tragedy there is humor and sensitivity. The awareness of the historical time leading up to and including WW 2 is well done.
The title accurately is played out in many ways where decisions have to be made that there is more in life that has to be done.
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Terri O. (Chapel Hill, NC)
So much life left over
So Much Life Left Over is set in the years between the end of WWI and the beginning of WWII and examines the lives of characters who are struggling to find meaning in a post-war world that many of them did not expect to live to see. The novel is written as a series of short vignettes from many points of view. Because of this, and because I did not know that this novel is the sequel to a previously published novel about the same characters (The Dust That Falls From Dreams), it took about half the book for me to really get to know the main characters and decide which ones I sympathized with and which ones I didn't. De Bernieres is a fantastic writer and effectively evokes the time period, and I did enjoy the book once I understood who all the characters were. I just felt as I was reading that I was missing part of the story, and it turns out I was! So I recommend reading the first book first and then reading this one. And then keep in mind at the end that there will be a third book that continues the story.
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Deanna W. (Port Jefferson, NY)
Stopped reading after 3 chapters...
I stopped because I was enjoying this book too much...it has many things I enjoy in novels...historic backgrounds, exotic locals,captivating characters and social commentary...realized it was the second installment of a trilogy...I am now reading part 1 - THE DUST THAT FALLS FROM DREAMS ... excellent so far... when completed will continue with this novel...
