Sunday 3 March 2019

Review: The First Time Lauren Pailing Died by Alyson Rudd



Since early childhood, Lauren Pailing has experienced glimpses of other lives she might have lived - homes and mothers recognisably her own, yet slightly different. When Lauren dies for the first time, in an accident aged thirteen, she is able to somehow slip sideways into one of those other lives, into a world where Lauren Pailing is still alive. But that’s not the only time Lauren Pailing dies.

This book was so far up my street it might have been written just for me. The “other worlds” concept is endlessly fascinating and while there is an element of speculative fiction here, the main focus is on the people - on Lauren herself (themselves?) and the effects of her (their) death(s) on those around her, branching off into further possible worlds. Despite the narrative slipping in and out of different worlds, it somehow manages never to be confusing.

The other worlds differ in subtle or not so subtle ways. In one, Britain has never had a woman prime minister (though the USA does have a ferocious female president). Another, intriguingly, has no cats. Other differences are less remarkable - names differ slightly, kettles take longer to boil.

Moving, thought-provoking and beautifully written. I loved it.