I'm unsure why it took me so long to write this review. I loved reading every word of this novel. I relished in the writing, the structure, the descriptions, the history, and the characters.

Perhaps writing this review means I have to let go, say goodbye to Ursula Todd and all those that color her life....lives?

I've been telling nearly anybody that will listen to read this book and I've explained it simply by telling them what happens in the first two chapters: a baby is born in England on a snowy day in 1910 but dies because it choked. In the next chapter, that same baby is born in England on a snowy day in 1910 and the doctor arrives in time amidst the snowstorm to snip the cord choking the baby. The baby lives.

And so on and so forth -- she keeps dying, but then something changes the next time (sometimes minor sometimes major) and her whole life changes direction. I often would find myself examining my own life and the "what ifs" and decisions I made...I haven't self-reflected this much while reading a novel...perhaps ever. I enjoyed that aspect of this novel, too, it felt almost interactive? That's an odd word to use, but it works.

It's fascinating. And definitely one of the best novels I've read; I'm finding it so hard to say goodbye.