After You’d Gone

By: Maggie O'Farrell

Narrated by: Elle Newlands

Alice Raikes takes a train from London to Scotland to visit her family, but when she gets there she witnesses something so shocking that she insists on returning to London immediately. A few hours later, Alice is lying in a coma after an accident that may or may not have been a suicide attempt. Alice’s family gathers at her bedside and as they wait, argue, and remember, long-buried tensions emerge. The more they talk, the more they seem to conceal. Alice, meanwhile, slides between varying levels of consciousness, recalling her past and a love affair that recently ended.

A riveting story that skips through time and interweaves multiple points of view, After You’d Gone is a novel of stunning psychological depth and marks the debut of a major literary talent.

©2000 Maggie O'Farrell (P)2021 Blackstone Publishing

An intricate story told from several points of vie

"What are you supposed to do with all of the love you have for somebody, if that person is no longer there?”

Alice takes the train to Scotland to visit her family. Shortly after her arrival she is a witness to something that shocks her to her core. Completely distraught, Alice insists on leaving immediately and returns to London. Within hours of her return, Alice is the victim in a car accident the result of which is her being unconscious, in the hospital. Did she step in front of that vehicle accidentally or was it a suicide attempt?

In the hospital, in a coma, we learn of Alice’s family history, her background, her life and her love, as well as her loss and her grief. No one really knows to what extent Alice can hear her surroundings. As her family sits with her and talk among themselves, Alice learns the secret that her family has held for a lifetime.

An intricate, interwoven plot with the story told from several points of view, "After You’d Gone" hooks the reader from the beginning. A profoundly moving and compassionate story. Captivating. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ O’Farrell’s prose and writing style have me completely under her spell. I am on a mission to read everything that she has ever written (7/11 thus far). NOTE: After You’d Gone is O’Farrell’s debut novel from 2002.

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Well done all the way around

The book was an exciting Read, and the narrator was very good! You just have to pay attention because it’s hard to tell when they’re changing characters or perspectives or timeline. Otherwise, it was very very good.

Exploration of love and its many forms of loss

The reading and the story make a magnificent whole that exceeded my expectation. I enjoyed the re-experiencing of all types of love, loss, infidelities,and anxieties - this story gave me the ability to hold it out in front of me for examination was illuminating. Thank you!

Superb narration.

Maggie O. Farrell has this talent of pulling you into her characters’ psyche. This story about love and loss is exquisitely narrated. It is very detailed and goes into the minutia of thought processes and observations. I felt it was a little too long, but maybe the length and details were necessary in expressing Alice’s psychological state.

Too jumpy for an audio book.

I should have read the reviews. I’m quitting half way thru. Wish there were “ chapter markers” or longer pauses between scenarios.

Sublime!

Once I got used to the cadence of this novel, I was able to better toggle between timelines and the various characters' perspectives. It's a great read, and the sections on grief are searingly accurate! Love Maggie's attention to detail which places the reader (listener) into every room and scene.

Disappointing melodrama

This book was written with no happiness. Though descriptive and evocative, it strings you along in hopes that it can teach the reader something about emotions. It does not.

If you read Hamnet skip this!

The reader did a beautiful job with all the voices and accents. The text was unnecessarily burdened with reams of tedious detail, including characters ruminations about what they are going to say or do next, or what someone else is thinking or if they really meant what they said. Main character is self-absorbed, immature, impulsive. It takes 9 hours to get resolution to a situation set up early on. Only a very long car trip got me through this.

Very well written.

I enjoyed this book very much. It started out grabbing my attention and kept me interested until the very end. I am now a fan of Maggie O'Farrel and will look for other titles written by her.

thank you

I've now listened to this a few times. I'd loved Hamnet and was interested to read more work by Ms. O'Farrell. this book was so compelling, so gracious and compassionate. A thousand thanks for sharing.