Consequences

A Novel

By: Penelope Lively

Narrated by: Josephine Bailey

Consequences is a love-story-times-three that opens on the eve of the Second World War with a chance meeting in St. James' Park, London. Wholly in love, Lorna and Matt leave the city for a cottage in a rural Somerset village. Their intimate life together is shattered when the war begins and by Matt's tragic death in action.

Twenty years later, their daughter, Molly, happens upon a forgotten newspaper - a seemingly small moment that leads to her first job and, eventually, a pregnancy by a wealthy man who wants to marry her but whom she does not love. But it is her own daughter, Ruth, who begins the journey that will take her back to 1941 and a redefinition of herself and of love.

Told in Lively's incomparable prose, Consequences is a powerful story of growth, death, and rebirth and a study of the previous century: its major and minor events, its shaping of public consciousness, and its changing of lives.

©2007 Penelope Lively (P)2007 Tantor Media Inc.

Critic reviews

"Intricate, heartbreaking, and redemptive." ( Publishers Weekly)
"[Lively's] greatest gift...is her ability to...grasp the unchanging essences of life....A writer like Ms. Lively [is] worth treasuring." ( The Wall Street Journal)
"[Lively's] characters are beguiling, and her blend of romance and stinging social commentary is tonic." ( Booklist)

Panoramic family history

Lpved this. Wonderful generational novel with women as central characters. Didn’t want it to ever end. Such good writing with the ironical twist of Penelope Lively’s pen. Narrator excellent

Captivating

What a terrific novel, beautifully narrated by Josephine Bailey.
I had a tough time not racing through it, savoring it instead like a box of chocolates.
My first Penelope Lively novel.
I can't wait for the rest.

Great love story

Would you listen to Consequences again? Why?

Probably not because I don't listen to many books a second time.

What other book might you compare Consequences to and why?

It is much like other books by that author.

What does Josephine Bailey bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

She had a gorgeous brit accent ( I love that)!

Who was the most memorable character of Consequences and why?

I loved the original love story between Lorna and Matt.

Lovely book but not a classic

I've been reading through some of the great English authors: Trollope, Dickens, etc. Penelope Lively is not in their league. But she creates a lovely story here, and it is worth reading.

Could have been so much more...

This was an easy listen and good performance but just as I was getting into each characters story, it jumped ahead. Could have been so much more about the people and the eras it moves through but the author just seemed to want to skip ahead to the end and tie it all neatly together. It's ok

Highly recommend.

A sweet book, slow, romantic without being soppy, beautifully written. I sometimes find Penelope Lively, for all her lovely prose, a little too dry, but not in this book. A delightful respite from the hyperbolic age we currently live in.

I remember now why this is my favorite Lively

I first read this book in 2009. It was the first book I had read by Penelope Lively. Since then I have read and enjoyed many other novels by her but never came across one I like as much as this one. So much the case that I thought maybe I was overstating my enthusiasm for Consequences, perhaps remembering it to be something better than it is. But no. Listening to the audio version not only reminded me why I love this book, but it makes me love it even more.

It's a Multi-generational saga of a slightly non-conformist family in England. Action begins in the 1930s and ends in the early oughts.

Wasn't a big fan of the narrator. Quite robotic. But not so annoying that I didn't enjoy it.

Panoramic miasmic dream

A lovely sweeping novel beautifully written and read, effortlessly encompassing several generations. Tour de force!

Awesome storytelling at its best!

Where does Consequences rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Consequences ranks among the highest of all my 'listen' books. Author, narrator and story!!!This was a dark horse for me and I have been pleasantly surprised

What did you like best about this story?

There is an easy flow from one generation to the other with each making the reader seem so much a part of the lives of the characters. The author's historical content was outstanding and woven in with the fictional portion one would think these were actual characters being written about. Its difficult to put time into a character in order to convey the atmosphere of that era, but this has been done very will with the utilizing of one family and the extended characters, Kudos too, go to the narrator. Her flow from character to character was smooth and easily done and no question whose role was being taken. Outstanding all the way around. Best about the story-the whole thing!!

Which scene was your favorite?

There were too many excellent scenes to choose one. This was such a well written and narrated book

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I laughed, I cried, I celebrated and thoroughly enjoyed!! The author has a way of making the reader feel so much a part of the story as did the narrator!

Any additional comments?

To anyone who is interested in pre-WWII England to the present, I highly recommend this book! I hope they enjoy it as much as I.

What Is the Story?

No chapters —- just a long stream of consciousness that made no sense at all. Is this a love story or just a story where people die?