Although full of emotion and often very moving and intense I found the writing style grated on me and the confusing timelines were rather annoying. A good story I just couldn’t get past the style.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for this ARC

Astonishing but a little frustrating.
Alice is Alice – a troubled child, rebellious teenager, and suspicious of love. The one day the unexpected happens and she falls so deeply in love she would rather walk away than risk the pain. And yet she takes a leap of faith.
This book opens a wound. It is a study of emotion, driven forward by life events. It is most suitable for those who want to immerse themselves in no holds barred, gritty, realness of what it is to be human.
The story is about love, the fear of love, and the realisation of that fear when the worst happens and it is almost beyond belief that an author can craft out of words the cruelty, rawness, and self-destructiveness of grief.
After You’d Gone is such a hard book to review, because the book is about emotion and to do it justice requires a skill with words which I do not possess. Its as though I need to be telepathic so that you, the reader, can know how I felt afterwards.
But it’s also a frustrating read. I can’t ‘criticise’ because the book is too moving, too full of grace, too insightful for that, however, for me the high literary style was a concern. There are no chapters, just acts. And the point of view character can jump from one paragraph to the next. For the first fifty pages or so I was disorientated, spun around by the head hopping, and struggled to understand what was going on and whose story it was. I consciously had to consider who was ‘speaking’ and that kept reminding me I was reading a book. Needless to say once I got into the rhythm and began to accept these jumps, I couldn’t put the book down.
Possibly a book that is even more powerful and more devastating with a second read; which I will do, but need to breathe for a while and recover first.

I was given a copy of After You'd Gone by Maggie O'Farrell by NetGalley and Tinder Press in exchange for an honest review.

Around a 2.5 rounded down.

Gee, what a confusing read.

I read Instructions for a Summer Heatwave because of the idea (the summer heatwave of '76) and was slightly indifferent to it. However, this book had an interesting concept and I was ready to try another of her books.

I felt it was quite good in parts. However, it had a few elements that really ticked me off. Firstly, the book is divided into three unequal parts (non-lower, which confused me) and, therefore, has a messy structure, with the second part being extensive and with no real breaks; it's just a mass of text with line breaks. Second, it is also non-linear and multi-narrative (plus a combination between first and third person). Third, I did not find the protagonist enchanting; I found her brash and unrestrained. People like her exist, but I wasn't sure if she was strong enough to keep the story going.

This book could have been a lot shorter as its central mystery weaves in and out. The secondary stories, I don't think, landed particularly well. I guess it was like a light family saga. The scene in the restaurant was excellent nearing the end of part 2 was superb. In general, the book largely improved, although based on the themes, it was a depressing read.

I feel uncertain about giving this book two stars as O'Farrell can write, but I feel I'm just not her target audience, especially considering how loved this book is. However, with time, I'd try a third book from her.

Oh my goodness this was such an emotional book. I was laughing and crying all the way through. A brilliant story with romance and laughter . But, sad as well. What a great debut book. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

My first time reading this, it's a very different writing style which mixes up the timeline, although this was confusing to start with it kept me gripped and the authors writing style is superb

Intense and emotional. Told in brief bursts from different points of view, this novel is gripping and involving. The book centres on the lives of three women - Alice, her mother Ann, and Elspeth, her father's mother, but mainly it is about Alice. We go through Alice's relationships from her youth to her twenties, through awkward and irritating liaisons, to the love of her life. After You've Gone tells the story of life after love, of the tragedy of loss and the impossibility of living on in the early years of such loss.

But it's also about so much more - selfishness, adultery, small-mindedness, overwhelming passion, the whole gamut of emotional life.

There are irritations - the constant use of people's names by other characters, and a character being handed the deceased's ashes at the door of the crem when leaving after the service - but it's a first book and and amazing one so we won't quibble over that. I've read many of Maggie O'Farrell's other books but had not come across this one before and am very glad to have finally encountered it.

Excellent.

I can’t believe this novel is over 20 years old - it is fresh, immediate and absorbing. Maggie O’Farrell is such a good writer and it’s interesting to meet her at the start of her writing career. This is a cleverly layered story told from several different viewpoints. Romantic, heartbreaking, wonderful!

I first read this novel in 2016, one of many by this author that I have enjoyed. Rereading it now, it is so accomplished it is hard to believe that it was her debut novel. At first the jumping back and forth between characters and in time was a little confusing but as the story starts to hang together it ceased to be a problem.

O'Farrell creates her characters through what they say and how they behave, and through their complicated relationships, especially those of Ann and Ben, and Ann and Alice. I do not think there is any physical description, but they are vividly real and believable.

O'Farrell writes faultlessly and the way she portrays emotions such as Alice's grief after losing John had me riveted to the page. When all seemed completely hopeless, there is a glimmer of light in the final paragraph.

A very well written debut from Maggie O'Farrell but oh dear, what a pain to read it. It hops around in time, place and character without any notice and spmetime multiple times on a page. The story is a good one but the way it is presented spoiled it for me.

Consummate from the start.

I’ve read several O’Farrell novels, but not, curiously, her first, this one. It’s an astonishing first novel, told in both first person narration and in the traditional third person authorial overview. What is most interesting and poignant is the use of the first person narration when the main character, Alice, might be supposed to be least aware.

This might be regarded – indeed, should be – as a love story, but this is in the way that literary fiction does ‘love stories’ rather than ‘romantic fiction’ It is also a slowly revealing story of mental and emotional fragility and dysfunction across generations.

I don’t want to give ANYTHING away about plot, or character. The blurb pretty well reveals what the reader will learn very quickly, but if the reader knows nothing BUT this, so much the better. O’Farrell skilfully drip feeds in what the reader should learn, at any point, without any sense of over-contrived manipulation. This means, all way through, there are surprises in store which feel real and shocking.

Beautiful, heartbreaking and extremely profound.

There are not many authors who I return to time and time again - but Maggie O'Farrell is one of them. I hadn't read After You'd Gone so was pleased to get a chance to read this review copy. It isn't as good as some of the books that came later but it is still really enjoyable and fans won't be disappointed.

So glad I have read this again, I had forgotten just how good it is. The main character, Alice, is tightly interwoven with her mother and grandmother and her story is told in snippets mixed with Ann’s story and Elspeth’s. Family bonds are strong and both anchor and confine Alice through this tumultuous, tragic, funny, shocking tale of love.

After You'd Gone is a book about three generations of a family told mainly through the women. Elspeth, Ann and Alice. It is told by jumping backwards and forwards in the timeline between them as they move through their lives. This is done very randomly and without any warning. The jump can happen mid paragraph which can be quite disconcerting initially. However, as you come to know the characters the narrative becomes less disjointed. The narrative tends to concentrate on Alice as it is her story that carries the others. I have read numerous Maggie O'Farrell books and enjoyed them all. I was very surprised to find this was her debut novel. One not to be missed.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy. All opinions are my own.

Having read some of the other works by Maggie O’Farrell, I didn’t enjoy this one as much as I hoped I would.

After You’d Gone follows Alice, who is struggling with grief. It is well-written but from a personal perspective, I found the shifting timelines and perspectives rather confusing.
That said, I would read anything else she publishes in the future as I have enjoyed her last few books.

It took me about a third of the book to really get in to this. I found it quite slow going and was getting a bit confused about the quick time and perspective changes. But after that point I got really in to it. I felt very close to Alice - she was very relatable. The writing is brilliant and it feels like this could have been written today rather than 25 years ago. Couldn’t believe when I found out this is O’Farrell’s debut! I powered through the last third and thought the ending was great.

'I am somewhere. Drifting. Hiding. Thoughts running around tracks, random and unconnected as ball-bearings in the circuit of a pinball machine'.

'After You'd Gone' begins near its end. Alice is upset. Alice is not in her right mind. Alice now lies in hospital in a coma. What we get are snippets of her memory; scattered stories that let us know just how she got to this place. But this is not a linear journey. We also jump to Alice's mother's life and we also ricochet back to Alice's silent, comatose present.

This book doesn't read like a true story but rather a gamut of emotions, bundled together like letters left to a loved one. Its jumbled paragraphs can make it difficult at times to follow, yet I felt that best represented what it might feel like to be locked within your head.

With a title like, 'After You'd Gone', there's a spectre of heartache hanging over every vignette. Just what happened after you'd gone, where'd you go, and why? 'She knows enough about love to be aware of its double bind - that there's no love without pain, that you can't ever love someone without that tinge of dread at how it might end'.

This was Maggie O'Farrell's debut and it's a doozy. It's about life and love; finding love, showing love, being true to yourself and true to your love. Read it if you love your emotions being tossed around in a washing machine, as it slowly begins the spin cycle. Like a good wash, you'll feel great after.

'What are you supposed to do with all the love you have for somebody if that person is no longer there? What happens to all the leftover love? Do you suppress it? Do you ignore it? Are you supposed to give it to someone else'?

This is a mesmorisinng book that I have been wanting to read for such a long time. I am kicking myself that it has taken so long - indeed it is 25 years since this was first published.

I was gripped from the very first sentence.
"The day she would try to kill herself, she realised that winter was coming again"
What? Who wants to kill themself? Why? How?
This is what kept me turning the pages in the first instance. I wanted answers to those questions but before long I was engrossed in the story and when I had finished, I was utterly wrung out.

At its heart, this is a love story / family saga .
Told from the point of view of three generations of women. Alice, our main character her two sisters, mother and grandmother. We, the reader, are also pulled backwards and forwards n time as all of the different viewpoints come together.

The author's way with words is captivating and so evocative.
The way that she deals with the very difficult subjects of love, loss and grief, with such honesty yet sensitivity and compassion, is nothing less than astounding.

After You’d Gone is dark, intense, and beautifully written—Maggie O’Farrell really knows how to pull readers into complicated emotions. This one follows Alice and John’s all-consuming love story, with John giving up his family to be with her. After he dies in a London terror attack, Alice is completely lost, and as her grief unfolds, so do long-buried family secrets.

I loved the writing and was fully invested in Alice and John’s relationship, though I did wonder at times if Alice’s attachment to him was a little too much—it’s always unsettling to see a character who can’t imagine happiness without someone else. Also, I wasn’t expecting the twists about Alice’s mother, and they totally caught me off guard. On a lighter note, John having a pet axolotl was a fun little surprise.

Overall, this was a great read, even if I could have done without the spicy bits. Looking forward to reading more of O’Farrell’s backlist.

I read this originally in 2018 and since then Maggie O Farrell has been one of my favourite writers.

She writes so beautifully and tenderly but realistically about relationships. It’s hard to believe this was her debut

I love a multigenerational novel and I love the mix of characters and time periods. This is a truly stunning book.

5 stars.

Here is a quote from the book that sums up my exact experience while reading After You'd Gone.
'She has spent most of the day reading and is feeling rather out of touch with reality, as if her own life has become insubstantiall in the face of the
fiction she's been absorbed in.'
O'Farrell is a tremendous storyteller and brings us on a journey with a secret which is wrapped up in grief, despair, love and the deep complexity of human relationships.. Her writing is so beautiful that it's difficult to believe this was a debut novel - I've read all her other books and will read anything she writes in the future.