Ursula Todd is born on a snowy night in an English village in 1910. She dies before taking her first breath. But what if things had happened differently? What if she had lived?

Ursula is born again on that snowy night, and again, though older this time, she dies. Then she is born again, and we see another life she could have led. Atkinson has crafted an entrancing novel in which the same event is repeated, but always varied, changing both Ursula’s lives and the lives of those around her. While Ursula is born and dies many times throughout the novel, it never feels repetitive. She doesn’t exactly remember her previous lives, but there is a sense of subconscious memory that prompts her to respond differently each time. Her family think she’s a little odd, but are otherwise oblivious to Ursula’s frequent reincarnation.

I know it’s early to make statements like this, but I think this might be my favourite book of 2013. I wanted to re-read it as soon as I’d finished. Life After Life reminds me a bit of Sarah Waters’ The Night Watch, partly because of the wartime English setting, but also because I felt the point of both books was not the ending so much as the journey. Atkinson has constructed a complex narrative – we go back and forth many times, yet still feel like we’re moving forwards because of the way Ursula develops as a character.

We all have things we might have done differently if given the opportunity. Here Atkinson extrapolates that feeling to explore how if one person had that chance, she could have changed the course of history.

Edwina Kay is a bookseller at Readings Carlton.