Publication
Thorndike, Me. : Center Point Pub., 2012.
Collection
Call number
Large Print Fiction L
Physical description
350 p.; 22 cm
Status
Available
Call number
Description
The mugging of a retired schoolteacher on a London street has unexpected repercussions for her friends and neighbors when it inadvertently reveals an illicit love affair, leads to a business partnership, and helps an immigrant to reinvent his life.
Genres
Media reviews
The Guardian
How It All Began begins in uncharacteristically violent fashion: "The pavement rises up and hits her. Slams into her face, drives the lower rim of her glasses into her cheek." Charlotte, a retired schoolteacher in her late 70s, finds that she has been mugged and relieved of her house keys, bank
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cards and £60 in cash. As a reader, you share her sense of shock and bewilderment – after all, one might expect to be reasonably safe from street crime in a Penelope Lively novel; though the book introduces a number of elements you wouldn't ordinarily expect to find, including East European immigrants, chocolate cream frappuccinos and errant text messages used as a plot device.
It soon becomes apparent that being knocked down has a knock-on effect. Charlotte is forced to move in with her daughter Rose while she recuperates, which means that Rose is unable to accompany her employer, Lord Peters, to receive an honorary doctorate in Manchester. His Lordship's niece, an interior designer named Marion, goes with her uncle instead, though a text explaining her absence is intercepted by the wife of her lover, thus hastening the demise of their marriage. It all unfolds with the inescapable logic of a well-oiled farce, though every so often Lively's authorial voice intrudes to comment on the domino-toppling effect: "Thus have various lives collided, the human version of a motorway shunt, and the rogue white van that slammed on the brakes is miles away, offstage, impervious."
The novel contains some of Lively's funniest and most enjoyable character studies, not least the pompous bubble of self-esteem that is the academic relic Lord Peters; once a leading authority on Walpole, he now worries that "the 18th century has passed him by", and hopes to re-establish his reputation with a David Starkey-style television series. Lively is deliciously intolerant of interior designers – Marion's paramour, who runs a reclamation yard, is painted as little more than an jumped-up junk merchant; while Marion's business is principally based on the resale of "a cargo of interior adornments forever on the move, filtering from one mansion flat or bijou Chelsea terrace house to another".
Yet the most telling relationship is that which develops between the comfortably married Rose and Anton, an economic migrant who comes to visit Charlotte for literacy lessons. Rose surprises herself by developing an affection for this timid man with soulful eyes and fractured English, but sensibly limits the relationship to wistful strolls round London parks and weekend assignations in Starbucks.
Anton, a trained accountant, has had to accept work on a building site while struggling to master the language. Charlotte achieves a breakthrough by throwing away the standard uninspiring teaching materials and presenting him with a copy of Where the Wild Things Are. "I am like child," he says, happily. "Child learn because he is interested … Story go always forward – this happen, then this. That is what we want. We want to know how it happen, what comes next. How one thing make happen another."
It can only be a matter of time before Anton graduates from Maurice Sendak to Penelope Lively novels, as she remains a sublime storyteller – the opening sentence has us riveted with curiosity as to what will happen next. Yet she also keeps us consistently aware of the nature of the illusion. "So that was the story," she concludes, "so capriciously triggered because something happened to Charlotte in the street one day. But of course this is not the end of the story … These stories do not end, but spin away from one another, each on its own course." In other words, they momentarily collide and separate to form the kind of narrative at which Lively excels: the untidy, unpredictable one in which everyone lives ambivalently ever after. Show Less
Booklist
*Starred Review* The ruling vision of master British novelist Lively's latest is the Butterfly Effect, which stipulates that a very small perturbation can radically alter the course of events. The catalyst here is a London mugging that leaves Charlotte, a passionate reader and former English
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teacher become adult literacy tutor, with a broken hip. She moves in with her married daughter, Rose, to recuperate. Rose works for Henry, a lord and once-prominent historian, whose ego is as robust as ever but whose mind is faltering. With Rose out helping her mother, Henry prevails upon his niece, Marion, an interior designer, to accompany him out of town, where she meets a too-good-to-be-true client. When she texts her lover, to postpone a rendezvous, his wife intercepts the message. Charlotte begins tutoring Anton, who affirms her ardor for language and awakens Rose out of her smothering stoicism. Throughout this brilliantly choreographed and poignant chain-reaction comedy of chance and change, Lively shrewdly elucidates the nature of history, the tunnel-visioning of pain and age, and the abiding illumination of reading, which so profoundly nourishes the mind and spirit.--
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User reviews
LibraryThing member vancouverdeb
When elderly Charlotte Rainsford is mugged and pushed to the ground, many other lives are affected in a domino- like fashion. Charlotte's hip is broken, necessitating her daughter Rose to attend to her in hospital. Rose's employer, the snobbish self - important Lord Peters, finds himself forced to
Unable to return home immediately following her broken hip, Charlotte finds herself temporarily living with her daughter Rose and her son -in -law Gerry. Bored and housebound, Charlotte seizes on the opportunity to tutor a new immigrant , Anton, from the adult literacy programme where she volunteers .
On the surface the story is about one event leading to another and causing a ripple effect, but How It All Began is about so much more than that. The characters are very well drawn, and themes of aging, love, marriage, social class and immigration are dealt with gently, insightfully and deftly.
Perhaps an excerpt from a New York Times review summarizes the book best: " An elegant, witty work of fiction, deceptively simple, emotionally and intellectually penetrating."
Pure pleasure to read! This is my first Penelope Lively novel , but it most certainly won't be my last.
Highly recommended! 4.2 stars
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give a lecture with the assistance of his niece, Marion, rather than the reliable Rose. Unable to rendezvous with her lover , Jeremy, Marion texts his cell phone, only to have the text intercepted by Jeremy's wife, Stella. And so it begins. Unable to return home immediately following her broken hip, Charlotte finds herself temporarily living with her daughter Rose and her son -in -law Gerry. Bored and housebound, Charlotte seizes on the opportunity to tutor a new immigrant , Anton, from the adult literacy programme where she volunteers .
On the surface the story is about one event leading to another and causing a ripple effect, but How It All Began is about so much more than that. The characters are very well drawn, and themes of aging, love, marriage, social class and immigration are dealt with gently, insightfully and deftly.
Perhaps an excerpt from a New York Times review summarizes the book best: " An elegant, witty work of fiction, deceptively simple, emotionally and intellectually penetrating."
Pure pleasure to read! This is my first Penelope Lively novel , but it most certainly won't be my last.
Highly recommended! 4.2 stars
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LibraryThing member brenzi
As I was reading Penelope Lively’s most recent book, I was struck by its similarity in tone and style and in character development to another writer, one that I spent last year reading on a monthly basis. I’m looking at you Barbara Pym. And since I love Ms. Pym, unabashedly, I am now,
Her book is based on the idea of the domino effect, the chain reaction or more precisely, the Butterfly Effect, which assumes that a distressing incident can evolve to encompass other unrelated incidents and individuals. In the opening pages, seventy-seven year old Charlotte is knocked to the ground, her purse stolen by a teenage mugger. The ensuing narrative demonstrates, with great humor and compassion, how this one incident goes on to incite one incident after another, and effect the lives of several individuals.
Charlotte’s daughter Rose, is unable to accompany her irascible boss Henry, to a Manchester conference on the weekend because her mother, unable to return to her own home, will need to settle in with her and her husband. Henry therefore, asks his niece Miranda, an interior designer operating during the heights of the recession. She texts her lover to let him know that she will be gone for the weekend but the message is intercepted by his wife, who suspects the worst and initiates divorce proceedings. And Charlotte, now unable to maintain her volunteer tutor position, allows an Eastern European immigrant to come to her daughter’s home to be tutored there which presents other complications. Lively presents the conundrum through prose that lives up to her name and develops these very complex characters in a way that makes the reader cheer for them to overcome the obstacles that present themselves.
Charlotte, it turns out, is one of us: a voracious reader. Literary references are scattered throughout the narrative and Charlotte is finding herself adrift, when she fears her reading has also taken a hit after her mugging:
”Forever, reading has been central, the necessary fix, the support system. Her life has been informed by reading. She has read not just for distraction, sustenance, to pass the time, but she has read in a state of primal innocence, reading for enlightenment, for instruction, even. She has read to find out how sex works, how babies are born, she has read to discover what it is to be good, or bad; she has read to find out if things are the same for others as they are for her---then, discovering that frequently they are not, she has read to find out what it is that other people experience that she is missing.” (Page 34)
Lively brings us along through the effects of happenstance on the lives of the unsuspecting, with great style and adroitness. This is a big, feel good novel delivered in a slight package by an author at the top of her game. Very highly recommended.
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officially, head over heels for Ms. Lively.Her book is based on the idea of the domino effect, the chain reaction or more precisely, the Butterfly Effect, which assumes that a distressing incident can evolve to encompass other unrelated incidents and individuals. In the opening pages, seventy-seven year old Charlotte is knocked to the ground, her purse stolen by a teenage mugger. The ensuing narrative demonstrates, with great humor and compassion, how this one incident goes on to incite one incident after another, and effect the lives of several individuals.
Charlotte’s daughter Rose, is unable to accompany her irascible boss Henry, to a Manchester conference on the weekend because her mother, unable to return to her own home, will need to settle in with her and her husband. Henry therefore, asks his niece Miranda, an interior designer operating during the heights of the recession. She texts her lover to let him know that she will be gone for the weekend but the message is intercepted by his wife, who suspects the worst and initiates divorce proceedings. And Charlotte, now unable to maintain her volunteer tutor position, allows an Eastern European immigrant to come to her daughter’s home to be tutored there which presents other complications. Lively presents the conundrum through prose that lives up to her name and develops these very complex characters in a way that makes the reader cheer for them to overcome the obstacles that present themselves.
Charlotte, it turns out, is one of us: a voracious reader. Literary references are scattered throughout the narrative and Charlotte is finding herself adrift, when she fears her reading has also taken a hit after her mugging:
”Forever, reading has been central, the necessary fix, the support system. Her life has been informed by reading. She has read not just for distraction, sustenance, to pass the time, but she has read in a state of primal innocence, reading for enlightenment, for instruction, even. She has read to find out how sex works, how babies are born, she has read to discover what it is to be good, or bad; she has read to find out if things are the same for others as they are for her---then, discovering that frequently they are not, she has read to find out what it is that other people experience that she is missing.” (Page 34)
Lively brings us along through the effects of happenstance on the lives of the unsuspecting, with great style and adroitness. This is a big, feel good novel delivered in a slight package by an author at the top of her game. Very highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member BLBera
17. How It All Began is perfect. Everybody run to the library or bookstore. Lively is a virtuoso, exploring chance, old age and stories in a gem of a book.
Each character is pitch perfect, with his or her distinct voice. Charlotte, at the beginning, after being mugged and setting off a chain of
This is Charlotte. She breaks a hip during the mugging and has to go to stay with her daughter, Rose, to recover. I don't want to retell this wonderful story. Each person in the story is affected by this mugger -- a random event that no one sees coming. Charlotte discusses stories with one of her students. We always expect a beginning, a middle and an ending, with cause and effect. Yet, life is not like that: "What we all add up to, in the end, is a handful of images, apparently unrelated and unselected. Chaos, you would think, except that it is the chaos that makes each of us a person."
It's hard to do this book justice. Highly recommended.
Each character is pitch perfect, with his or her distinct voice. Charlotte, at the beginning, after being mugged and setting off a chain of
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events that affect people she will never meet, ponders old age: "Twilight my foot -- roaring dawn of a new life, more like, the one you didn't know about. We all avert our eyes, and then -- wham! You're in there too, wondering how the hell this can have happened, and maybe it is an early circle of hell and here come the gleeful devils with their pitchforks ... Except that life goes on in parallel -- real life, good life with all its gifts and graces. My species tulips and blue tits on the bird feeder and a new book to look forward to this evening and Rose ringing up..." This is Charlotte. She breaks a hip during the mugging and has to go to stay with her daughter, Rose, to recover. I don't want to retell this wonderful story. Each person in the story is affected by this mugger -- a random event that no one sees coming. Charlotte discusses stories with one of her students. We always expect a beginning, a middle and an ending, with cause and effect. Yet, life is not like that: "What we all add up to, in the end, is a handful of images, apparently unrelated and unselected. Chaos, you would think, except that it is the chaos that makes each of us a person."
It's hard to do this book justice. Highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member lit_chick
When Charlotte Rainsford, retired literature instructor, is accosted by a petty thief on a London city street, the consequences of her injuries and subsequent rehabilitation ripple through the lives of family, acquaintances, and strangers alike – creating a butterfly effect of which she is
“Her life has been informed by reading. She has read not just for distraction, sustenance, to pass the time, but she has read in a state of primal innocence, reading for enlightenment, for instruction, even ... She is as much a product of what she has read as of the way in which she has lived; she is like millions of others built by books, for whom books are an essential foodstuff, who could starve without.” (34-35)
Lively writes beautifully and has created a wildly diverse and interesting cast of characters. Wittingly, she shows us how our lives can be irrevocably altered by circumstances in the life of another whom we have never even met. A keen and wise observer of human nature, a consummate and often humourous storyteller, Lively delights with this wry tale of character and consequence. Highly recommended!
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largely entirely unaware. Her daughter and son-in-law’s life is thrown out of routine when Rose insists her mother convalesce in their home. Lord Henry, an aging historian and Rose’s employer, is terribly put out that Rose can no longer accompany him on a business trip. His niece, Marion, a creative but financially strapped interior designer, agrees to travel with Henry – and in doing so, makes the acquaintance of an elusive banker, George Harrington. In texting her lover, Jeremy, that she will be out of town, Marion unwittingly causes the Dalton marriage to come an abrupt end. Meanwhile, Charlotte is bored and takes up tutoring a foreign student, Anton, who meets Rose and seeks to take up with her. To my further delight, there are several bibliophiles in this book, Charlotte among them:“Her life has been informed by reading. She has read not just for distraction, sustenance, to pass the time, but she has read in a state of primal innocence, reading for enlightenment, for instruction, even ... She is as much a product of what she has read as of the way in which she has lived; she is like millions of others built by books, for whom books are an essential foodstuff, who could starve without.” (34-35)
Lively writes beautifully and has created a wildly diverse and interesting cast of characters. Wittingly, she shows us how our lives can be irrevocably altered by circumstances in the life of another whom we have never even met. A keen and wise observer of human nature, a consummate and often humourous storyteller, Lively delights with this wry tale of character and consequence. Highly recommended!
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LibraryThing member lauralkeet
Growing up, my friends and I used to muse on how everyday events influence the course of our lives. It was mostly silly: “If I hadn’t come outside this afternoon, I wouldn’t have seen you, and we wouldn’t have gone swimming, and my whole life would be different.” In How it all Began,
I loved both the plot device and the character development in this novel. I was fascinated by the far-reaching impact of Charlotte’s situation, reaching people completely unknown to her (e.g., Marion, her married lover Jeremy, and Jeremy’s family). Naturally some characters were more likeable and sympathetic than others, but all were complex, fully-developed human beings. Most were confronted with moral dilemmas, causing me to ponder how I would respond in a similar situation. Rose’s story struck the strongest emotional chord, perhaps because we are about the same age, and I am equally prone to taking stock of my first half-century and looking ahead to the rest of my life.
This is my second Penelope Lively novel, and has made me a true fan. I will be reading more of her work.
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Penelope Lively takes a more serious look at the ripple effect of one life event: the mugging of Charlotte Rainsford. The injuries sustained in the assault force Charlotte to move in with her daughter, Rose, during her recovery. Rose is unable to go on a business trip with her boss Henry, so he asks his niece Marion to accompany him. The business trip changes Marion’s life both personally and professionally. Charlotte’s quest for fulfilment during her convalescence has an unexpected impact on Rose. And so on.I loved both the plot device and the character development in this novel. I was fascinated by the far-reaching impact of Charlotte’s situation, reaching people completely unknown to her (e.g., Marion, her married lover Jeremy, and Jeremy’s family). Naturally some characters were more likeable and sympathetic than others, but all were complex, fully-developed human beings. Most were confronted with moral dilemmas, causing me to ponder how I would respond in a similar situation. Rose’s story struck the strongest emotional chord, perhaps because we are about the same age, and I am equally prone to taking stock of my first half-century and looking ahead to the rest of my life.
This is my second Penelope Lively novel, and has made me a true fan. I will be reading more of her work.
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LibraryThing member rosalita
The butterfly effect is a metaphor used in the study of chaos theory to explain how a small action in a remote part of a system can have large effects far from the source. That’s the phenomena that Penelope Lively examines to great delight in How It All Began.
An elderly woman is mugged. She
Lively has taken a common premise — the effect of chance in all of our lives — and deftly turned out a uniquely charming and thoughtful novel. Charlotte is that elderly crime victim, a widowed retired schoolteacher. Rose is her dutiful and loving daughter, who brings her mother into her home completely unaware of the emotional havoc that will be wrought. Charlotte herself remains oblivious to much of the havoc that will result, even in the lives of people neither Rose nor Charlotte have ever met. Marriages are destroyed and saved, romances go sour and blossom, careers are ended and begun, and all because a juvenile delinquent decided to assault a total stranger.
Lively’s writing lives up to her name. On the surface it is lighthearted, breezy, casual, but I found myself stopping again and again to mark passages that managed to capture truths that felt universal:
Charlotte knows herself to ride upon a great sea of words, of language, of stories and situations and information, of knowledge, some of which she can summon up, much of which is half lost, but is in there somewhere, and has had an effect on who she is and how she thinks. She is as much a product of what she has read as of the way in which she has lived; she is like millions of others built by books, for whom books are an essential foodstuff, who could starve without.
Charlotte, left alone for great swaths of the day, has plenty of time to think about her current circumstances:
You are on the edge of things now, clinging on to life’s outer rim. You have this comet trail of your own lived life, sparks from which arrive in the head all the time, whether you want them or not — life has been lived but it is all still going on, in the mind, for better and for worse. But don’t imagine that anyone else wants to know about it; this narrative is personal, and mind you remember that.
Her injury brings her face-to-face with the reality of having lived seventy-seven years:
You slide, in old age, into a state of perpetual diffidence, of unspoken apology. You walk more slowly than normal people, you are obliged to say “what?” too often, others have to give up their seat on the bus to you, on train journeys you must ask for help with your absurdly small and light case. There is a void somewhere in your head into which tip the most familiar names. … When you were young yourself you were appropriately nice to old people, gave up your seat and so forth, but you never really thought about them. They were another species, their experience was unimaginable, and in any case it was irrelevant; you were not going there, or at least not for so long that there was no need to consider it.
Balancing a light tone with some heavy philosophical musings isn't easy, but Lively manages to walk the tightrope without a wobble. I read this book as part of the British Author Challenge in the 75 Book Challenge group, where Lively was one of two authors featured in January. How It All Began was a splendid introduction to the work of this venerable British writer.
An elderly woman is mugged. She
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falls, breaks her hip, is forced to move in with her daughter and son-in-law while she recovers. And that particular flap of the butterfly’s wings leads into consequences in a multitude of lives, near and far.Lively has taken a common premise — the effect of chance in all of our lives — and deftly turned out a uniquely charming and thoughtful novel. Charlotte is that elderly crime victim, a widowed retired schoolteacher. Rose is her dutiful and loving daughter, who brings her mother into her home completely unaware of the emotional havoc that will be wrought. Charlotte herself remains oblivious to much of the havoc that will result, even in the lives of people neither Rose nor Charlotte have ever met. Marriages are destroyed and saved, romances go sour and blossom, careers are ended and begun, and all because a juvenile delinquent decided to assault a total stranger.
Lively’s writing lives up to her name. On the surface it is lighthearted, breezy, casual, but I found myself stopping again and again to mark passages that managed to capture truths that felt universal:
Charlotte knows herself to ride upon a great sea of words, of language, of stories and situations and information, of knowledge, some of which she can summon up, much of which is half lost, but is in there somewhere, and has had an effect on who she is and how she thinks. She is as much a product of what she has read as of the way in which she has lived; she is like millions of others built by books, for whom books are an essential foodstuff, who could starve without.
Charlotte, left alone for great swaths of the day, has plenty of time to think about her current circumstances:
You are on the edge of things now, clinging on to life’s outer rim. You have this comet trail of your own lived life, sparks from which arrive in the head all the time, whether you want them or not — life has been lived but it is all still going on, in the mind, for better and for worse. But don’t imagine that anyone else wants to know about it; this narrative is personal, and mind you remember that.
Her injury brings her face-to-face with the reality of having lived seventy-seven years:
You slide, in old age, into a state of perpetual diffidence, of unspoken apology. You walk more slowly than normal people, you are obliged to say “what?” too often, others have to give up their seat on the bus to you, on train journeys you must ask for help with your absurdly small and light case. There is a void somewhere in your head into which tip the most familiar names. … When you were young yourself you were appropriately nice to old people, gave up your seat and so forth, but you never really thought about them. They were another species, their experience was unimaginable, and in any case it was irrelevant; you were not going there, or at least not for so long that there was no need to consider it.
Balancing a light tone with some heavy philosophical musings isn't easy, but Lively manages to walk the tightrope without a wobble. I read this book as part of the British Author Challenge in the 75 Book Challenge group, where Lively was one of two authors featured in January. How It All Began was a splendid introduction to the work of this venerable British writer.
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LibraryThing member whitreidtan
I have long been a fan of Penelope Lively's homely yet elegant writing so I convinced my book club to read this novel about the ripples and reverberations of one small happening in one person's life on so many others far and wide, both connected and seemingly unconnected. Chaos theory or the
When elderly ESL teacher Charlotte Rainsford is mugged and pushed to the ground breaking her hip, the repercussions set off a chain of reactions that upend the lives of a whole cast of characters. Charlotte must move in with her daughter Rose while she recovers, causing Rose to have to abandon her employer, the aging and pompously self-assured former academic Lord Henry Peters. With his assistant Rose unavailable to him, Henry calls on his interior designer niece Marion to accompany him to a conference lecture whereupon she is unable to keep a rendezvous with her married lover Jeremy. While Marion makes an important business connection at the luncheon after the conference, she has sent a text to Jeremy that, intercepted by his wife Stella, will threaten his happily settled life and marriage. And that is how it all began.
Each of the characters' lives continues outward from these unusual and yet prosaic instances forced into being by the mugging. Some characters are derailed from the path their life was taking while others are oblivious to the changed circumstances. And most of them are ignorant of the catalyst. No matter what effect the ripples have, their lives continue onward in ordinary ways with no fireworks or major plot events, just the sort of adjustments everyone makes on a daily basis. The novel is very much character driven and reflective. It touches on the march of time, memory, aging, relevance, infidelity, and the state of the economy. And like the chaos theory that pushes the tale into being would posit, there is no implied ending but instead an infinite continuation of the ripples of reaction. The characters' lives intertwined by accident, in realistic ways, through connections never neatly resolved or recognized.
On the surface an easy read, Lively is actually masterful in her design of this novel. The characters are so commonplace as to be unremarkable and it can be hard to connect to them as a reader but in fact their very ordinariness is important, highlighting as it does the underlying idea of the butterfly wing's influence at all levels of existence. The converging and diverging threads of the characters' lives are carefully handled and teased apart as the novel progresses and the whole of it comes full circle in the end even if that circle is more an open ended spiral than a closed and complete ending. Definitely not your usual narrative structure, this is a bit more work to read and appreciate but worth it all the same.
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butterfly effect is the study of unpredictable chains of events set into motion by an initial condition. Penelope Lively's novel How It All Began is a brilliant study of chaos theory at work in characters' lives.When elderly ESL teacher Charlotte Rainsford is mugged and pushed to the ground breaking her hip, the repercussions set off a chain of reactions that upend the lives of a whole cast of characters. Charlotte must move in with her daughter Rose while she recovers, causing Rose to have to abandon her employer, the aging and pompously self-assured former academic Lord Henry Peters. With his assistant Rose unavailable to him, Henry calls on his interior designer niece Marion to accompany him to a conference lecture whereupon she is unable to keep a rendezvous with her married lover Jeremy. While Marion makes an important business connection at the luncheon after the conference, she has sent a text to Jeremy that, intercepted by his wife Stella, will threaten his happily settled life and marriage. And that is how it all began.
Each of the characters' lives continues outward from these unusual and yet prosaic instances forced into being by the mugging. Some characters are derailed from the path their life was taking while others are oblivious to the changed circumstances. And most of them are ignorant of the catalyst. No matter what effect the ripples have, their lives continue onward in ordinary ways with no fireworks or major plot events, just the sort of adjustments everyone makes on a daily basis. The novel is very much character driven and reflective. It touches on the march of time, memory, aging, relevance, infidelity, and the state of the economy. And like the chaos theory that pushes the tale into being would posit, there is no implied ending but instead an infinite continuation of the ripples of reaction. The characters' lives intertwined by accident, in realistic ways, through connections never neatly resolved or recognized.
On the surface an easy read, Lively is actually masterful in her design of this novel. The characters are so commonplace as to be unremarkable and it can be hard to connect to them as a reader but in fact their very ordinariness is important, highlighting as it does the underlying idea of the butterfly wing's influence at all levels of existence. The converging and diverging threads of the characters' lives are carefully handled and teased apart as the novel progresses and the whole of it comes full circle in the end even if that circle is more an open ended spiral than a closed and complete ending. Definitely not your usual narrative structure, this is a bit more work to read and appreciate but worth it all the same.
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LibraryThing member SandDune
I used to read a lot of Penelope Lively and then around ten years ago we had a big clear-out of our bookshelves and I got rid of most of the old Penelope Lively books that we had (except Moon Tiger, one of my favourites. I think I had just read too many of her books in a short space of time and was
Charlotte is mugged: an independent woman in her seventies, she is forced to move in temporarily with her daughter and son-in-law while her broken hip heals. But the ramifications from her accident spread far beyond her immediate family. When her daughter Rose is forced to cancel her trip accompanying her employer, Lord Henry Peters, an ageing historian, he asks his niece Marian to accompany him instead, which forces her to text a cancellation to her married lover that is picked up by his wife. And without the ever efficient Rose, the lecture notes are forgotten, forcing Lord Peters to confront the signs of his own ageing as he stumbles through a talk that would once have been child's play for him. And Charlotte's introduction of an Eastern European immigrant to her daughter's house, as she continues to give the reading lessons which she has previously provided in class, has implications for Rose's own future.
Altogether a very good read: in detailing the different reactions of Charlotte and Lord Peters to the aging process it seems to provide a wonderful insight into the realities of ageing. I think that I'll be going back to read more Penelope Lively in the near future.
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a bit bored. And now of course, I'm regretting that we no longer have those books and want to re-read them. How it All Began is her latest book, written at the age of nearly eighty, which deals with the ramifications spreading out from a single chance event, and in doing so deals beautifully with the realities of ageing and family life.Charlotte is mugged: an independent woman in her seventies, she is forced to move in temporarily with her daughter and son-in-law while her broken hip heals. But the ramifications from her accident spread far beyond her immediate family. When her daughter Rose is forced to cancel her trip accompanying her employer, Lord Henry Peters, an ageing historian, he asks his niece Marian to accompany him instead, which forces her to text a cancellation to her married lover that is picked up by his wife. And without the ever efficient Rose, the lecture notes are forgotten, forcing Lord Peters to confront the signs of his own ageing as he stumbles through a talk that would once have been child's play for him. And Charlotte's introduction of an Eastern European immigrant to her daughter's house, as she continues to give the reading lessons which she has previously provided in class, has implications for Rose's own future.
Altogether a very good read: in detailing the different reactions of Charlotte and Lord Peters to the aging process it seems to provide a wonderful insight into the realities of ageing. I think that I'll be going back to read more Penelope Lively in the near future.
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LibraryThing member timjones
Well-written novel about the chain of consequences set in motion when an elderly woman is mugged, and how this affects a range of characters. The main storyline is beautifully written and well-resolved - some of the other storylines are less appealing, or dealt with too abruptly. Very enjoyable,
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LibraryThing member Baroniabelle
Penelope Lively cleverly uses the Butterfly effect to show the consequences of one random incident on a disparate range of characters.
Charlotte the elderly victim of a mugging reminisces on life and the effect of ageing. Higher on the social strata is Henry, who though even older and lacking
Though the primary theme is ageing this book is about so much more. In keeping with modern fiction the pace is quite fast as action switches between the character groupings but the writing throughout is elegant.
This book is a delight. Who better than Penelope Lively to express what is ahead for us without sentimentality but leaving much scope for human strength.
Charlotte the elderly victim of a mugging reminisces on life and the effect of ageing. Higher on the social strata is Henry, who though even older and lacking
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self-awareness, also comes to feel his influence waning and his reputation slide as the years pass. Though the primary theme is ageing this book is about so much more. In keeping with modern fiction the pace is quite fast as action switches between the character groupings but the writing throughout is elegant.
This book is a delight. Who better than Penelope Lively to express what is ahead for us without sentimentality but leaving much scope for human strength.
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LibraryThing member peggygillman
It all started with a mugging. This is the story of the cascading events it begins. Several lives are impacted and this writer made me care about them all. A lovely book, devoured after many not so good ones. 3/9/12
LibraryThing member booksinthebelfry
The famous "Butterfly Effect" of chaos theory, transmuted into a fictional consideration of chance and consequences. Penelope Lively ranks among my very favorite writers, but this is one of her slighter efforts. It can be enjoyed as a series of incisive and often amusing character studies, but
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taken as a narrative whole I found it somewhat unsatisfying. Show Less
LibraryThing member Beamis12
I usually love Lively and her writing, but even though the writing was still very good, I just couldn't identify with any of the characters. I really did not like them. The story is a play on the Butterfly effect and fate, how all our actions cause chain reactions. Yet at times I almost found this
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book tedious. Show Less
LibraryThing member nocto
review I love Penelope Lively and really liked this story. I think the references to "chaos theory" are a bit overblown in most of the reviews I've seen. The plot is more like watching dominoes fall over and seeing how far away the effects of the initial nudge to the first domino are felt.
The cover
The cover
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is the most delightful one I've seen in years! I kept going back and looking at the picture and figuring out what all the books pictured were. Most of them feature in the book (apart from the Lively's of course!) Show Less
LibraryThing member jaaron
Interesting, engrossing, right up until the end. An annoying misstep by the author, and I must downgrade what would have been a 3.5 or 4 star review.
Teacher of ESL is mugged, must stay a while with her daughter and family, daughter must take time from work, daughter's boss must get help elsewhere,
Teacher of ESL is mugged, must stay a while with her daughter and family, daughter must take time from work, daughter's boss must get help elsewhere,
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and the plot spins into many lives, with all the consequences of the random mugging. Show Less
LibraryThing member ccayne
Funny, well written, sophisticated tale of different stages of life told through different characters set in contemporary England. Story also plays an imporant role - Charlotte, a life-long English teacher passes it on to Anton, a new immigrant. Story brings Anton alive for Rose, Charlottes
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daughter. Then their is Lord Henry whose narcissism inspires him to inflate his story, very funny. A thoroughly enjoyable read. Show Less
LibraryThing member timswings
Penelope Lively is a superb storyteller. Also in good evidence is the fact that she studied history. How to look at history and what history is, now and than glimsed at in this charming story, which is also full of wisdom and good in character drawing . A citation of what, to her view, history is
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about: "That's what history is for - a morass of contentious stories that may of may not have a measure of veracity but are there to serve as fodder for the keen forensic analyst of another age". Show Less
LibraryThing member rmaitzen
The only mis-step in this elegant novel is a confusion about the actual processes of academic publications (no, it isn't done by way of a proposal to the editor followed up by personal meetings and consultations).
LibraryThing member Rayaowen
An interesting premise: a random event unleashes changes in the lives of people who have links but are not closely related. Engaging characters. The strength, though, is in the passages reflecting on aging and the impact of pain.
LibraryThing member rmckeown
My recent encounter with Moon Tiger, Penelope Lively’s Booker Prize winning novel, led me to a more in depth look at this clever, amusing, and skilled author. She is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, A member of PEN and the Society of Authors, and a receipt of several titles bestowed
Her 2011 novel, How it All Began, tells the story of Charlotte Rainsford, who is mugged in the first sentence. This sets off a chain of consequences, which dramatically affect the lives of several people, some of whom do not even know Charlotte. For example, her daughter Rose must give up a business trip with her employer, Lord Henry, to care for her mother who has been seriously injured. Monica, Henry’s niece, takes the place of the efficient Rose, and promptly forgets the typed text of his speech for a conference. Humiliation ensues. Before Monica leaves, she texts her lover, Jeremy, and his wife reads the message. Monica also meets a banker, named Harrington, and upon discussing her business as an interior designer, he hires her to redo a condo in London. I am not really giving that much away, since all this happens in the first few pages.
Charlotte moves in with Rose and her husband, Gerry. She has been teaching a class of immigrants to read and speak English, and one student presses Charlotte for lessons in her home, as he needs these skills for an upgrade in his employment. She agrees, and he has a peculiar effect on Rose and Gerry. Of course, Charlotte is anxious to get back on her own, and she constantly muses over her difficulties.
Lively writes, “Old age is its own climate, she reflects. Up against the wire, as you are, the proverbial bus is less of a concern: it is heading for you anyway. The assault upon health is inevitable, rather than an unanticipated outrage. You remain solipsistic – we are all of that – but the focus of worry is further from the self. You worry about loved ones – that tiresome term, as bad as closure – you worry about the state of the nation, about sixteen-year-olds sticking knives into one another, about twenty-year-olds who can’t find a job, you worry about the absence of sparrows and the paucity of butterflies, about destruction of habitats, you worry about the decline of the language, about the books that are no longer read, about the people who don’t read” (194).
That sure fits me to a tee! Interspersed are many moments of quiet humor, tenderness, and a dash of treachery. Like many English writers, I always pick up a handful of interesting terms and idioms. Charlotte has an obsession with books and reading. On a visit to her doctor, she notes others in the waiting room, “…few others had a book. People read magazines – their own, or the dog-eared ones supplied by the hospital – or they simply sat, staring at each other, or into space. One girl was immersed in a paperback with candy pink raised lettering on the cover. An elderly man had a battered hardback library book. She wanted to know what it was but could not see – unforgiveable inquisitiveness, but the habit of a lifetime” (117).
I never go anywhere without a book, and I always try and sneak a peek at what others are reading. How it All Began by Penelope Lively has convinced me to expand my collection of her works. A most pleasant and enjoyable read. 5 stars.
--Jim, 1/19/15
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by the Queen, including Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire. She was born in Cairo, Egypt, but now lives in London.Her 2011 novel, How it All Began, tells the story of Charlotte Rainsford, who is mugged in the first sentence. This sets off a chain of consequences, which dramatically affect the lives of several people, some of whom do not even know Charlotte. For example, her daughter Rose must give up a business trip with her employer, Lord Henry, to care for her mother who has been seriously injured. Monica, Henry’s niece, takes the place of the efficient Rose, and promptly forgets the typed text of his speech for a conference. Humiliation ensues. Before Monica leaves, she texts her lover, Jeremy, and his wife reads the message. Monica also meets a banker, named Harrington, and upon discussing her business as an interior designer, he hires her to redo a condo in London. I am not really giving that much away, since all this happens in the first few pages.
Charlotte moves in with Rose and her husband, Gerry. She has been teaching a class of immigrants to read and speak English, and one student presses Charlotte for lessons in her home, as he needs these skills for an upgrade in his employment. She agrees, and he has a peculiar effect on Rose and Gerry. Of course, Charlotte is anxious to get back on her own, and she constantly muses over her difficulties.
Lively writes, “Old age is its own climate, she reflects. Up against the wire, as you are, the proverbial bus is less of a concern: it is heading for you anyway. The assault upon health is inevitable, rather than an unanticipated outrage. You remain solipsistic – we are all of that – but the focus of worry is further from the self. You worry about loved ones – that tiresome term, as bad as closure – you worry about the state of the nation, about sixteen-year-olds sticking knives into one another, about twenty-year-olds who can’t find a job, you worry about the absence of sparrows and the paucity of butterflies, about destruction of habitats, you worry about the decline of the language, about the books that are no longer read, about the people who don’t read” (194).
That sure fits me to a tee! Interspersed are many moments of quiet humor, tenderness, and a dash of treachery. Like many English writers, I always pick up a handful of interesting terms and idioms. Charlotte has an obsession with books and reading. On a visit to her doctor, she notes others in the waiting room, “…few others had a book. People read magazines – their own, or the dog-eared ones supplied by the hospital – or they simply sat, staring at each other, or into space. One girl was immersed in a paperback with candy pink raised lettering on the cover. An elderly man had a battered hardback library book. She wanted to know what it was but could not see – unforgiveable inquisitiveness, but the habit of a lifetime” (117).
I never go anywhere without a book, and I always try and sneak a peek at what others are reading. How it All Began by Penelope Lively has convinced me to expand my collection of her works. A most pleasant and enjoyable read. 5 stars.
--Jim, 1/19/15
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LibraryThing member CasaBooks
This was great. Easy casual read.
Seems like this is the way all my "stories" of life are recounted:
Well. .. . first this happened, which then changed the way that .... then, that meant that this happened and that brought about this....
and, so you see - - - "I told you all that to tell you
Nothing in life is a simple stand-alone occurrence, and it's intriguing to think how each action creates ripples ....
By the way - just saw a traveler (normal looking hetero-male business suit)across the aisle on multi-hour flight reading it. Asked if he was enjoying it. He replied - immensely, almost at end, can't wait to finish it.
Guess it's not a chicka-book
Seems like this is the way all my "stories" of life are recounted:
Well. .. . first this happened, which then changed the way that .... then, that meant that this happened and that brought about this....
and, so you see - - - "I told you all that to tell you
Show More
this"Nothing in life is a simple stand-alone occurrence, and it's intriguing to think how each action creates ripples ....
By the way - just saw a traveler (normal looking hetero-male business suit)across the aisle on multi-hour flight reading it. Asked if he was enjoying it. He replied - immensely, almost at end, can't wait to finish it.
Guess it's not a chicka-book
Show Less
LibraryThing member alpin
An elderly woman is mugged on a London street. The mugger doesn't figure in the subsequent events but Charlotte's injury causes small disruptions in multiple lives and eventually upends some of them. A love affair blows up a marriage; a vain old historian envisages new popularity as a cultural
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icon; an immigrant begins to think he can make a successful new life. In Penelope Lively's hands, the well-worn literary device of tracking the repercussions of a random act takes on new life as a witty and satirical but emotionally wise contemplation of lives no longer young but still filled with hope and promise. Delightful. Show Less
LibraryThing member shirleybell
I really liked this. For me,it was less about the butterfly effect and more about the characters. They were beautifully portrayed, especially Charlotte and Henry. It is the first book I have read by this author, but I would definitely like to read more, which is surely the sign of a good book.
LibraryThing member carolfoisset
My first Penelope Lively book and I will definitely read more of hers. Loved the character of Charlotte - could identify with so many of her traits! Enjoyed Lively's insight into human nature and her writing style. Found the sections on Henry slow and drawn out - loved the rest!
LibraryThing member PennyAnne
I absolutely loved this story which demonstrates how the ripples of the 'butterfly effect' can affect many lives far removed from the pivotal event. The story begins with the mugging of elderly, retired school teacher Charlotte and then goes on to demonstrate the effect this event has on many
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unrelated lives. Penelope Lively is a master storyteller - she writes fluidly and with great insight. She's also quite funny! Show Less
Language
Original publication date
2011-11-03
ISBN
9781611733082