Item: The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August
Rating: 5.00
Author: adamfortuna

by Claire North

'ONE OF THE FICTION HIGHLIGHTS OF THE DECADE' Judy Finnigan, Richard and Judy Book Club

Featured in the Richard and Judy Book Club, the BBC Radio 2 Book Club and the Waterstones Book Club
Winner of the John W. Campbell Award
Shortlisted for the Arthur C. Clarke Award

SOME STORIES CANNOT BE TOLD IN JUST ONE LIFETIME

No matter what he does or the decisions he makes, when death comes, Harry always returns to where he began, a child with all the knowledge of a life he has already lived a dozen times before.

Nothing ever changes - until now.

As Harry nears the end of his eleventh life, a little girl appears at his bedside. 'I nearly missed you, Doctor August,' she says. 'I need to send a message.'

This is the story of what Harry does next, and what he did before, and how he tries to save a past he cannot change and a future he cannot allow.

This is the extraordinary journey of one unforgettable character - a story of friendship and betrayal, loyalty and redemption, love and loneliness and the inevitable march of time. Perfect for readers of How to Stop Time by Matt Haig, The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman.

'Utterly readable, utterly believable and compelling' Judy Finnigan, Richard and Judy Book Club

'Beautiful and gripping' Guardian

'An astonishing re-invention of the time-travel narrative. Bold, magical and masterful' M. R. Carey, author of THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS

'Terrific, smart and entertaining' Patrick Ness

'The writing is impeccable . . Plus Harry is a fascinating main character' Heat

'I don't say this lightly but The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August is one of the top ten books I've ever read' James Dashner, bestselling author of THE MAZE RUNNER

Also by Claire North

Novels:
Touch
The Sudden Appearance of Hope (winner of the World Fantasy Award)
The End of the Day (shortlisted for the Sunday Times/PFD Young Writer of the Year Award)
84K (shortlisted for the Philip K. Dick Award)
The Gameshouse
The Pursuit of William Abbey

Digital novellas:
The Serpent: Gameshouse Novella 1
The Thief: Gameshouse Novella 2
The Master: Gameshouse Novella 3

I'm a sucker for stories where the main characters is stuck in a time loop. Groundhog Day and Edge of Tomorrow stand out, but this one took it to an entirely new level. The title itself is a giveaway for the time loop -- an entire lifetime. The concept of replaying your entire life sounds interesting, but the complications that come up when you (and perhaps others) can do this were problems I hadn't seen explored in Sci-Fi before.

The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August

by Claire North

Reviewed by adamfortuna on Apr 19, 2015

Reading updates