Lorna and Matt meet by chance on a London park bench in 1935. They fall in love, have a child, and the story continues on for three generations.

I've read one other book by Penelope Lively (The Photograph), and that was some time ago. I remember not loving that one -- it had a dark & depressing feel to it. This one was better, but there is still something about her writing that doesn't quite capture me as I feel maybe it should. Her books are somewhat of a slow burn, relying more on description than dialogue. I didn't dislike this one, but sometimes the way the timelines shifted back and forth were a bit disconcerting. And I never felt like I really got to know the characters -- it felt more like I was looking down from above. Reading this on audio, I also felt like the reader may have influenced my opinion. Though certainly capable, Josephine Bailey read this rather formally, without a lot of inflection in her voice, and I can't quite decide if that's because it fit the tone of the book or if that was just her style. Either way, it was kind of off-putting to me. ( )

Lovely story about about a British mother (WWII-era) and her daughter and granddaughter. The women are lovely (maybe a tiny bit too perfect) and both wonderful and very sad things happen. Their men are sometimes imperfect but mostly well-meaning.

I listened to this in audiobook form, superb reading by Josephine Bailey whose reading of Jane Eyre also moved me. ( )

Loved this book, but no surprise. It's full of people knowing and not knowing odds and ends about their parents and grandparents, something which fascinates me. And it has something I really love: the sense that the characters are engaged in time-travel while firmly rooted in their own time. The time-travel happens through stories and books and engravings and walls and cottages and cemeteries,and feels completely real to me. Wish I were still reading it. ( )

Penelope Lively is known for character-driven novels featuring strong women, with storylines advanced through a series of seemingly minor connections where the whole is much greater than the sum of its parts. By its very title, Consequences promises to deliver on this formula, but unfortunately the execution doesn’t achieve the excellence of Lively’s other novels.

The biggest problem with this book is Lively’s attempt to capture three generations in a mere 258 pages. The story opens with Lorna and Matt, a young newly-married couple living in the British countryside during World War II. Matt is a talented and promising artist. They have a daughter, Molly. Just as I was getting to know these characters, Molly is suddenly an adult and soon has a daughter of her own. And again, just as I began to care about Molly, the focus shifted again to her daughter, Ruth.

For the most part, the eponymous consequences -- which would seem to be a way for Lively to do her usual “thing” with connections -- fall short. The lone exception is a tiny breadcrumb left by Lorna, which resurfaces later in a very satisfying way. Consequences ultimately left me feeling frustrated and a bit grumpy. ( )

Enjoyable book starting 1935 when a young man and woman meet by chance on a park bench. The story travels over time into the 1960s through the lives of subsequent family members and events that happen by fate or their own choices. ( )