A vibrant new novel from Penelope Lively-a wry, wise story about the surprising ways lives intersect.
When Charlotte Rainsford, a retired schoolteacher, is accosted by a petty thief on a London street, the consequences ripple across the lives of acquaintances and strangers alike. A marriage unravels after an illicit love affair is revealed through an errant cell phone message; a posh yet financially strapped interior designer meets a business partner who might prove too good to be true; an old-guard historian tries to recapture his youthful vigor with an ill-conceived idea for a TV miniseries; and a middle-aged central European immigrant learns to speak English and reinvents his life with the assistance of some new friends.
Through a richly conceived and colorful cast of characters, Penelope Lively explores the powerful role of chance in people's lives and deftly illustrates how our paths can be altered irrevocably by someone we will never even meet. Brought to life in her hallmark graceful prose and full of keen insights into human nature, How It All Began is an engaging, contemporary tale that is sure to strike a chord with her legion of loyal fans as well as new readers. A writer of rare wisdom, elegance, and humor, Lively is a consummate storyteller whose gifts are on full display in this masterful work.
“An elegant, witty work of fiction, deceptively simple,
emotionally and intellectually penetrating, the kind
of novel that brings a plot to satisfying closure
but whose questions linger long afterward in the
reader’s mind.”
“The plot of Penelope Lively’s vital new novel is one
big snowball. . . . Writing with her usual poise and
cutting cinematically from one character’s story to
another’s, Ms. Lively elegantly orchestrates these
events while using them as a setup for another
series of developments.”
“Moving skillfully between streams-of-consciousness
and a wry omniscient voice, Lively investigates
her characters’ motives and afterthoughts with
precision and tenderness.”
“With grace, wit and wisdom, Man Booker Prize winner
Lively has crafted a highly readable tale about fates
intersecting amid the chaos of modern life.”
“Lives intersect in unexpected and comical ways in
this breezy, engrossing novel.”
“With How It All Began, Lively has provided a
golden passport that will sweep you through the
border control of other people’s lives.”
“With How It All Began, Lively has provided a
golden passport that will sweep you through the
border control of other people’s lives.”
“Another virtuoso performance . . . Lively continues
to surprise and illuminate, writing to ever more
dazzling effect.”
“Everyone in this elegantly told tale is connected by
chance and the power of story.”
Penelope Lively grew up in Egypt but settled in England after the war and took a degree in history at St Anne's College, Oxford. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and a member of PEN and the Society of Authors. She was married to the late Professor Jack Lively, has a daughter, a son and four grandchildren, and lives in Oxfordshire and London.
Penelope Lively is the author of many prize-winning novels and short story collections for both adults and children. She has twice been shortlisted for the Booker Prize; once in 1977 for her first novel, The Road to Lichfield, and again in 1984 for According to Mark. She later won the 1987 Booker Prize for her highly acclaimed novel Moon Tiger. Her novels include Passing On, shortlisted for the 1989 Sunday Express Book of the Year Award, City of the Mind, Cleopatra's Sister and Heat Wave.
Penelope Lively has also written radio and television scripts and has acted as presenter for a BBC Radio 4 program on children's literature. She is a popular writer for children and has won both the Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Award.
Publisher: Viking Adult
Distributor: Penguin Group USA, Inc
Publication Date: 01-05-2012
Pages: 240
Measurements: 9.30in X 6.31in X 0.90in X 0.91lb
