Atkinson viewed this book not as a sequel but rather a companion to Life After Life. I was a bit thrown as I started reading because I thought it would be similar in structure to Life After Life, with different incarnations of Ursula's brother Teddy's life. This was actually just one thread of his "possible" lives explored through several generations of his family. 
 Atkinson wrote these characters so well and so completely that I was altogether absorbed in the lives of Teddy, his wife Nancy, their daughter Viola and her children Sunny and Bertie. Atkinson creates a multi-layered story told not in sequential order but rather in narratives with flashbacks and first person remembrances mixed in. While she deftly moves between characters, time periods and events (sometimes within the same paragraph) everything always comes back to the starting point and resolves itself. I wondered if the author used a story board covered in different colored threads to keep everything straight, it was done so well. I was in awe! 
 A wonderful and very moving read. I wouldn't mind if Atkinson wrote companion books for all of the rest of the characters from Life After Life. I didn't want to leave their world.