Reading Backwards

I’ve just finished reading So Much Life Left Over by Louis de Bernieres – one of my favourite authors. However, I must admit I’ve fallen behind on his books, so I had no idea until I had already finished reading it that it was a sequel to The Dust That Falls From Dreams, which I have not read.

I wouldn’t have done this on purpose, but how much does it matter? His books are driven by character as much as by plot, so I like to think I haven’t ruined my potential enjoyment of the first volume.

Anyway… I loved the book, but it wasn’t what I’d expected based on the cover blurb, which seemed to misidentify who was the central character. It has a wonderfully ambiguous ending (I’m a sucker for that: see Villette, Inception, and the one I tried to write in my own novel Winterbringers). There is also an encounter between two characters which I find myself thinking might have been a religious experience for one of those characters (trying to avoid spoilers here). If you’ve read it and have an opinion, please share it with me!

It strikes me that this would be a really good Book Group book – there’s a lot in it to discuss and it’s not too long.

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