The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August

PerFiction_ist Rating

4 out of 10

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Claire North's intelligent and ambitious novel attempts to reinvent the time travel narrative, only partially succeeding, while tackling large theories and philosophies.

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I bought this book several years ago, and, around 50 pages in, I decided to stop reading and try again another time. I almost never give up on a book, but I just found this one to be...boring. Flash forward some years and I decided to give it another try so that I could write a review for it. This time I finished it, but unfortunately, the opinion that I formed is an unpopular one. The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel and was nominated for the Arthur C. Clarke Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, and it is set to be adapted for the big screen, directed by Wes Ball (Maze Runner franchise).

Harry August is a man repeatedly born into the same life, no matter what he does or decides, remembering all his past experiences in perfect detail. At the end of his eleventh life, he receives a message, from the future, that the world is ending and it is up to him to stop it. The story that unfolds, slowly, is that of our protagonist trying to outmaneuver and stop the man responsible for the acceleration of the end of the world. This man also experiences the same death and rebirth cycle as Harry (a condition experienced by a minority of people all over the world, calling themselves Kalachakra).

"She leaned in close and murmured in my ear, 'The world is ending, as it always must. But the end of the world is getting faster.' That was the beginning of the end."

What I liked about this book was the intelligent use of language and the artful structure of the story. It gives us an interesting look at several countries at different points during the 20th century, and there is even a surprising trip to South Africa. It also explores the history of mental illness, and the treatment thereof, in a stark and honest way, something that I think should be discussed more often. The concept for this novel is excellent, however in the end it left much to be desired.

Now on to the problems I had with this book. Firstly, the hard-to-follow scientific, philosophic, and technical conversations made me anxious that I was missing something important to the plot. Maybe I just don't have an aptitude for science, but I felt that the author did not make the science accessible in the way that, for example, Michael Crichton, does in his books (especially in his time travel novel, Timeline). I love sci-fi and time travel novels, but this book lacked the sense of urgency that usually accompanies the genre. Key components of the "save the world plot" did not work and felt perfunctory, contributing to an unsatisfactory ending.

In my opinion, Harry August, our protagonist, lacks personality and as a result, I found it very hard to care about him. He has little sense of who he is, being Kalachakra defines him and makes him seem two-dimensional. Many of the other characters are completely forgettable and pretty much all Harry's relationships lack emotion. Whether this is as a result of the general apathy experienced by many Kalachakra I can't say, but I know that I was as equally unmoved by his loves as his traumas.

“This thing you carry inside you,” she said at last. “I don’t know what it is. I don’t know where you got it. But Harry,” … “the past is the past. You are alive today. That is all that matters. You must remember, because it is who you are, but as it is who you are, you must never, ever regret. To regret your past is to regret your soul.”

Even though the philosophical angle caused me some anxiety, I would be remiss if I did not commend the author for some well expressed, interesting questions and musings on human behaviour, memory, and accountability. Ultimately, this is a cautionary tale about what happens when people try to take history into their own hands and play at being God.

"Is there innocence in ignorance? And if there is, do we tolerate others for their innocence’s sake?"

Humans are inherently selfish and perhaps the most cutting quote, which deserves some introspection, was this:

"Are you God, Dr August? Are you the only living creature that matters? Do you think, because you remember it, that your pain is bigger and more important? Do you think, because you experience it, that your life is the only life that gets counted?"

In conclusion, I did not particularly enjoy this book. I wish I did because at first glance it contained all the elements I enjoy. Unfortunately, I think that there are just so many time travel books out there that are better. However, if you enjoy getting stuck into philosophy and science, then by all means give it a read. I, personally, hope that this will be one of those rare cases where the movie turns out to be better than the book.

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First published in Great Britain in 2014

ISBN: 978-0-356-50257-1