Consequences by Penelope Lively

Publisher: Viking Adult
Publish Date: May 31 2007
Format: Audio Book
Discs: 7
ISBN:978 1400105021

Consequences is a love-story-times-three that opens in the eve of the Second World War, with a chance meeting in St. James Park, London.  Wholly in love, Lorna and Matt leave the city for a cottage in a rural Somerset village.  Their intimate life together is shattered when the war begins and by Matt’s tragic death in action.

Twenty years later, their daughter, Molly, happens upon a forgotten newspaper – a seemingly small moment that leads to her first job and, eventually, a pregnancy by a wealthy man who wants to marry her but whom she does not love.  But it is her own daughter, Ruth, who begins the journey that will take her back to 1941 – and a redefinition of herself and of love.

My Thoughts

Well, it was ok, nothing special and will I most likely forget what even happened.  I listened to this on Audio and maybe it was the narration, but I found it to be quite boring at times.  I did however enjoyed the story of Lorna and Matt and if it was an entire novel about them I maybe would have enjoyed it more. 

I found the characters flat and uneventful and the entire novel was full of run on sentences and felt (to me) that it was written by an armature. Big events that happened throughout the novel such as deaths, births, marriages, illnesses were mentioned as just a blimp in everyday life, I wish there had been more detail with some of these happenings.  I felt that each story line was very rushed and much was over looked.

Buy the last disc I was just down right bored and just finishing to finish.  I found the character of Ruth mind-numbing and could care less for her story.  Her big "journey" back to 1941 was useless and uneventful.  Maybe I was being too generous giving this 3 stars, but I liked the overall concept of the story, maybe just not the execution, and especially not the narrator.  This was my first Penelope Lively...maybe I will try another at some point so she can redeem herself.

My Rating: «««

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The reviews made here are my personal opinion. I’m not being paid to review any of these books. I am by no means a professional book reviewer or editor.  I do this for the love of books.