Customer Reviews

The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August (Unabridged)

I started reading this book expecting a nice read, that's all. It very soon became clear that this was no ordinary book though. Saying that, Harry is no ordinary man! He's a kalachakra, which means he relives the same life over and over again, born into the same life. He can change things but life will always start in the same way, and, if he manages not to get himself killed, the same disease will take him in the end. Interesting enough, but Harry is also mnemonic, which means he remembers everything from his past lives, amassing a great wealth of infomraion along the way.
This in itself would make for an interesting book, but add to the mix that there is another mnemonic out there too, who has big plans that will change the world. When Harry realises what is happeneing and that it will bring the world to an end, he has to use his knowledge and guile to put a stop to this, although it does take him several lifetimes! THe amount of detail that has gone into this book is quite astonishing, the story is original and entertaining, and the plot is gripping. I really loved this book and have been recommending it to family and friends ever since I first started to read it!

As 1918 turns into 1919, Harry August is born in the ladies washroom of a railway station in England's northeast; a birth that the mother does not survive. This, though, is not the first time. Harry August is one of the Kalachakra, or the ouroborans, people who are born time after time, reliving the same years but with the ability to make changes within their lives. This is because they are able to remember past lives. It also qualifies them to become members of the secret but widely spread Cronus Club, an organisation that exists to help those who are born this way but also there to ensure that certain rules are obeyed. When Harry is on his deathbed for the eleventh time, a young girl gives him a message handed down from the future into the past warning him of the end of the world. It is up to Harry, and men and women like him, to save the future.

The understanding that one will never permanently die, that one will always have to go through yet another childhood but with the experiences of an adult making one different from everyone else, has to twist and mark the character in so many ways. Along with the knowledge that past mistakes can be avoided comes the increasing awareness that it's not possible to save everyone else. Harry August lives a succession of alternate lives, exploring different roles and relationships with wives and family, and trying to determine what the point is of it all. When Harry is given the apocalyptic message from the future he is given the chance to explore that point, bringing him into contact with other ouroborans, all of whom are dealing with the same problem of purpose in different ways.

The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August is a marvellous novel, rolling up several genres into one, including thriller and science fiction. It is clever and full of grand themes but it is also witty and alive with fascinating characters, many of whom have their own ideas about how to take on this world that won't let them die. The humour in some of the situations - there are some great scenes from Harry's academic days, especially when out punting on the Cam with friend and verbal sparring partner Vincent - contrasts with the violence of others. Harry has to endure great suffering during some of his lives. Then there is the matter of the Second World War - how many times would one want to fight in that?! The novel is told in the first person by Harry himself which means that we are able to engage with him as he works out who he is, what he is and what he can and cannot do. It is wonderful prose, always engaging and pacey, through good times and bad. Harry is an immensely likeable leading character and there are others, too, that it is impossible not to care for even when perhaps one shouldn't.

Comparisons with Life After Life by Kate Atkinson are inevitable. In that novel, though, Ursula is in a very different situation, not able to remember the past, and the premise is used for an alternative purpose which has nothing to do with science fiction. In Harry August, discussions of the philosophical and moral consequences of the rebirth (and repeated dying) of the Kalachakra is paired up with a pageturning thriller, fed by its SF time travel, futuristic, multi-universe themes. Harry's story hops and leaps between his different lives, travelling backwards and forwards between the realities, as he picks up the scent.

As the novel goes on, Harry August becomes an unputdownable race of a thriller. Its plot is brilliantly structured and paced. It twists the brain in all kinds of directions but never stops being thoroughly entertaining. Claire North is, apparently, a pseudonym of a well-known British author. After reading Harry August, I can't help wishing that I knew who she/he is! I'm grateful for the review copy.

A disclaimer, I suppose - I went into this novel a bit jaded about "time travel" tales. And I was certainly not in the mood for another book about the apocalypse (or the prevention thereof). So finding that I liked this book - loved it, in fact - came as a bit of a surprise.

Harry August is an unforgettable character (there's a slightly spoiler-related pun in there, but I'll let you read the book and come back to mock me). Harry is born, lives a fairly unimpressive life (sorry Harry, you're a bit dull) and dies. But then, he's born again. With all the memories of his previous life. Disconcerting, to say the least. And again, and again and... as you can imagine, the title can be taken more-or-less literally.

Harry's one of the remarkable people who lives his life over and over again, a form of reincarnation that's both blessing and curse. Ms. North is quick to embrace all the possibilities, both positive and negative. Does immortality get boring? What is life like if you know everything that's going to happen? Does someone turn to excess or to saintliness? Does it get lonely? Do you go mad?

Harry is amazing because he is so utterly normal - a completely decent, flawed, usual (slightly nebbish, even) human being that's given the most extraordinary circumstances. It is all to easy to slip into his shoes and walk with him as he unpicks the complexity of his existence.

Nor does The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August fail to embrace the bigger picture. Although Harry's utterly-justified existential questions are fascinating, he's caught up in larger events. There are others like him, and they've settled into a routine - passing information forwards and back, creating an invisible network of support and occasionally even playing practical jokes. Through them Harry learns more about the 'rules' of his bizarre life. And through them, Harry sees more of the angst of immortality. Is their existence a blessing or a prison?

Harry's also given a perfect foil, someone else who is clever enough to ask these questions, but also brave enough to act on the answers. The First Fifteen Lives expands beautifully: first it is about Harry, then it is about his peers and, finally, it is about history itself - and what Harry (or anyone's) role is in shaping, or preserving, the world.

This book has all the intellectual rigour and thoughtfulness of great science fiction, but, more importantly, it is driven by incredible characters. Harry is so easy to empathise with and to understand that he becomes the perfect companion for an impossible trip. His life (lives!) and death (deaths?) quickly become our own.

As a bookseller I am in the extremely fortunate position of having access to a lot of new titles in proof. However, unlike Harry August I am restricted by time and have to choose carefully, the same as any reader browsing through books to find their next read. The title of this one `The First Fifteen Live of Harry August' was irresistible, I mean, not just `The Fifteen Lives' but `The FIRST Fifteen', then the blurb convinced me to start it immediately and I was hooked.

Harry August is a Kalachakra (Sanskrit word meaning time-wheel or time-cycles) and is part of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. There are a fair few of them living in the world, living their lives over and over again with memories of their previous lives but he is special, a mnemonic who remembers everything about his past lives perfectly. Kalachakra's aren't reincarnated in the traditional sense, Harry August is born on New Year's Eve 1918, when he dies, whether in childhood or in old age he is born again on New Year's Eve 1918. Of course his 2nd life is extremely confusing, but by his 3rd he is starting to come to terms with the situation and sets out to try and find out what he is and why this strange thing is happening to him. Harry is a wonderful character, flawed, and apart from being Kalachakra, quite ordinary although he does of course become involved in some very extraordinary situations.

It is a time-travel story, but not as you know it, think of lots of interlocking circles, each circle being a man's/woman's life, where they intersect is where the people meet up and are able to pass information to each other and that information can be passed into the future or back into the past - confused yet? Honestly it will all become clear when you read the book. In addition to time-travel it is also an historical novel that involves quantum theory, WW2, spies and relationships. As Harry remembers everything with each life he sees how things are changing and not for the better, how the world is drawing to its end much faster than it should be and he has to try to find out why and stop it.

The term Ouroboran is used and as a fan of the TV show `Red Dwarf' I immediately thought of Dave Lister, but then he moves around in time because he is his own son/father. There is also a bit of a `Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy' feel with a `Life the Universe and Everything' aspect to the story.

Claire North, is a bit of an enigma, it is `a pseudonym for an acclaimed British author who has previously published several novels' other than that neither the author or the publisher are giving anything away, could be male or female. I am sure plenty of people are trying to work it out for themselves though.

If you are looking for something really different, one of those books that is going to get people talking, both as to the content and authorship, then you should definitely read `The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August'. It is certainly one that I will be reading again and will be recommending to just about anyone who comes into the bookshop and stand still for more than 5 seconds!