Happy Sunday book lovers! I’m having a lovely lazy day surrounded by books (and occasionally cats before they scurry off!). Things have been very busy recently and I have a bit of catching up to do when it comes to reviewing. So please forgive this being a little shorter than my usual reviews, but I just had to let everyone know about this book which really caught my attention – The First Time Lauren Pailing Died by Alyson Rudd.
It’s a phrase that gets used quite a lot, but I honestly don’t think I’ve read anything quite like this book before. The First The Lauren Pailing Died is a beautiful novel that explores the innermost corners of our psychology. As is hinted at in the title, early on in the story there is a tragic accident in which our protagonist Lauren dies. But things are not always as they appear on the surface in this book, and multiple stories begin to run in parallel, connected only by strange shards of light that pierce through Lauren’s reality and which seemingly only she can see.
This sort of idea can sometimes come across a bit serious and laboured – very clever but a bit too literary. This absolutely was not the case with this novel – instead these more theoretical elements balanced beautifully with very lyrical, readable and emotive story lines. Everything weaves together delicately to explore the different paths that small moments in our lives can lead us to – sometimes pivotal and sometimes mundane moments. Our lives are made up of infinite alternate lives that could have been – the possibilities live within and run alongside each other. Rudd handles all of this expertly, and the result is a really readable and thought provoking book.
The First Time Lauren Pailing Died is by Alyson Rudd and is published by HQ. It is available now in hardback, but you don’t have long to wait if you’d prefer to pick up the paperback in a couple of months. Many thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Let me know if you’ve read this one, would love to hear your thoughts!
Happy Sunday! Sophie @Sophie_Jo_Books 📚🐾
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