How It All Began: A Novel

My first Peneope Lively but eager to read more. The author treats each character with such a gentle unconditional love, that even when I wanted to be annoyed with them, I gave them a break because of who she had shown me they were. The story, I thought, was masterful and creative; full of beautiful well thought out words. Loved the end which is not an end at all. I am not an reviewer per se, as one can tell, won't go ito plot except to say it was clever and very believable.

On a fairly slight premise, a range of characters are introduced to the reader. I would call it a 'kind' read with no character's foibles too harshly drawn. An enjoyable escape to the fictional characters lives and trials. Not demanding and not trite.

I enjoyed this book as much as her earlier books. Now in my sixties I am close enough to old age to feel the vulnerability of it - the realisation that you don't bounce as well as you once did.Her prose is still as clear and concise as ever and the characters are beautifully drawn. Some may find their moral compasses somewhat old-fashioned but I appreciated this aspect of the story - it is not all about me.

I recommend this gentle book to anyone. The characters are true to life, yet each gives us insights to consider about our own life. The story thread keeps the reader moving easily along until the end, without the author intruding on it.

An older woman is mugged and temporarily moves in with her daughter, which sets off some serious and hilarious chain reactions in the lives of a group of disparate characters, all of whom are amazing in their own way and extremely well depicted. As a reader, I was empathizing all over the place, particularly with Charlotte, the muggee. I've never read a better description on how it feels to be aging and become less independent. But fear not, Charlotte is far from through, and all the characters find ways to cope with the changes in their lives - for better or worse. Great fun!.

If you are a Penelope Lively reader, you will know that the little wisdoms along the way and a gentle mystery-like plot will care you along to a satisfying read. Take this one to the beach or pass on to a friend with literary tastes who also enjoys an engaging time-out from the heavy stuff.

Intimate, non-dramatic but credibly human.The intertwining of human destinies is influenced by one random event and allows the author to portray various divergent characters.A most satisfying novel of human relationships !

Ever since I turned the last page of Penelope Lively's Booker Prize winning novel Moon Tiger nearly 25 years ago, I was hooked. Her peek inside modern British culture was a look at a world that probably no longer exists. Lively's characters are complex--especially her women--and drive the story; I've often envisioned the conversations we'd share. And so The Road to Lichtfield, The Photograph, and Moon Tiger remain some of my favorite reading memories. The author is now eighty and I'd thought she was no longer writing--so imagine my delight when I discovered How it All Began written in 2011.

I loved the concept--one event sets off a series of events ala the butterfly effect--when I read the blurb. The elderly Charlotte Rainsford is mugged and must move in with her daughter and son-in-law after her release from the hospital. The web of characters affected by this event move outward from there: Charlotte's daughter Rose, Rose's employer Lord Henry, Henry's niece Marion and her lover Jeremy, Anton, the eastern European immigrant Charlotte comes to tutor.

The makings of a satisfying read ... except it's not. The characters are not interesting enough to carry a plot and by the end, I simply didn't care what happened to them. To make matters worse, the last chapter was six pages of disappointing epilogue. How sad that this will be my last impression of Lively's work.

What a pleasant time I had reading this novel. The abundant characters are quite varied and well-developed in revealing detail. They merrily criss-cross over each other's lives, interact with and without contact. The novel utilizes simple words to portray complex emotions, setting scenes with precision. I especially loved the elder statesman, Henry. Throughout this book, my senses were alerted.

Penelope Lively always has a great concept for her books, often historical, always philosophical. So I find every one of them worth getting. Unfortunately I find that she creates better novels from some of her ideas than from others. This was a book I much looked forward to, and I really like the concept and the start of the book. But about a third of the way in I found myself bored, and so I skipped sections, cheated and read the end. I found myself really disappointed. I thought more would happen to the characters, and one thing would lead to another. But like real life, it became mundane and very ordinary. If you are a Lively fan, do get the book, but I warn you, it's not one of her best.

In this exceptional novel, Penelope Lively expertly and captivatingly details how the fates can work for us and how they can work against us and, in the process, reveals how far reaching the consequences of these fateful happenings can be.

This was a slice of life story and pretty realistic. I thought the mother's reaction to having to come to live with her daughter on target. She doesn't want to be a burden. However, it does give her the opportunity to know her son-in-law and her daughter better. The romance with the immigrant was very touching and the ending very realistic. I won't give the ending away.

My books arrived on schedule and in better condition than I expected. I read a review of this book in the New York Times book section and look forward to reading it later this spring. Right now, it is in my "to read" pile of books beside my bed. Happy reading...

A notable wordsmith, Penelope Lively. Excellent use of language, good characterization, realistic dialogue. Perfect grammar. But it's one of those novels that never seems to get to even the start of a story-line. It's a good read if all you want is internal character development and don't mind an absence of plot.

One thing leads to another. That's really the whole story of this going-through-the-motions novel by Lively. A combination of the obvious and the unlikely, revolving around characters who fail to develop from beginning to end. The writing is enjoyable, but it's really a bucket of air.

An elderly woman is mugged, falls and breaks her hip and other lives are effected (even the mugger makes a brief appearance). Lively fans won't be disappointed and her first-time readers will discover a new other with a flock of books they may read.

Now that's a movie showcasing unintended consequences. Domino affect etc. This book, for me, was a light weight compared to that. Quick synopsis: Marion leaves a cell phone voice mail for her lover who is married to Stella. Stella hears it and quickly asks Jeremy (the lover and husband) for a divorce. This is supposed to set in motion a sort of 6 degrees of separation. There are seven main characters supposedly affected by this voicemail. I only cared about one, Anton, the eastern European trying to learn english and find a job and find happiness. There are no gripping cliff hangers nor any great dialog unless it's the blathering on of Henry the octogenarian academic. I read that this would be a great book for book club discussions because of the law of unintended consequences or which fork in the road should I take and what would be those consequences if I took one. I think book clubs have been there and done that before. I guess the author was going for a more mundane set of circumstances...

Interesting twist on Chaos theory and intertwining lives. I felt that the characters were both compelling and believable. My initial impressions of a few of the main chracters changed over the course of the book owing to the author's skill.

I liked the book and the ending was satisfactory, but, really, was it necessary for Anton to" tongue" kiss Rose to say goodbye? Wouldn't a sweet. ;loving, chaste kiss have been more appropriate and believable?

How it all began follows a series of incidents that happen after a young thief knocks an older woman down and steals her purse. It answers in a very interesting way "What would happen if a mom was attacked, injured, and had to go and live with her daughter?" I liked the story.

The characters in this novel feel real. The experiences they have and their reactions to them are believable. Their "stories" are the stories of life, the ways in which lives evolve and the interrelationships between them. A thought provoking, interesting, and enjoyable book.