Back from the dead
A bit of light reincarnation for the weekend that's in it
The whole Easter vibe is that a fella by the name of Jesus Christ got up out of a tomb following his own crucifixion. And given my previously-mentioned love of calendar-based hooks for each newsletter’s theme, this week we are talking about stories of reincarnation. This is a quick whip-through this week as we’d all much rather be curled up with a cup of something hot and at least a half ton of chocolate. That’s what Easter is really all about.
TL;DR
Listen to Extrasensory and read Life After Life & The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle.
LISTEN
Extrasensory had been on my ‘to-listen-to’ list for ages but I only got around to it quite recently.
The only reason I was keen to listen was that it is an Apple Original podcast, produced by a very classy production company Blanchard House stuffed to the gills full of ex-BBC talent etc. I didn’t know what it was about or that Will Sharpe (of White Lotus fame - look at me, referring to the zeitgeist - though in the second season, not the recent talk of the town) was the narrator - but Apple TV Originals have given us Ted Lasso, Severance and Slow Horses. So, I think it’s safe to say their bar is quite high.
Sharpe tells the story of the Pollock family - mostly focussed on the father John’s belief that his first set of twin daughters were reincarnated…into his second set of twin daughters. It’s all pretty mind-blowing stuff and whilst it, like many unsolved true crime podcasts nowadays, is sadly lacking any definitive discoveries, the listener doesn’t come away disappointed thanks to the great production values and Sharpe’s excellent delivery.
READ
Kate Atkinson is a hugely talented writer. A friend once gave me an insanely generous gift of all the books she had written in a series about fictional detective Jackson Brodie. I opened one and sped through the lot in a matter of days.
Life After Life is a standalone novel from 2013 which tells the story of Ursula Todd; or stories of Ursula Todd might be more accurate.
One of Atkinson’s finest and most complex creations, the book tells different versions of Todd’s life: from the first where she is stillborn through to living through World War II and even killing Hitler.
It’s hard to describe in a way that does it justice but it’s very much worth your time. And if you’re not up for reading the story, the BBC produced a four-part adaptation that came out in 2022 (and completely passed me by to be honest, so I haven’t watched it and so cannot vouch for it!)
The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton follows a similar style but in a different genre.
It’s very much about finding out: who killed Evelyn Hardcastle? For a week, upon waking, the reader inhabits a different character (eight in total), each with their own experience and eye-witness account of what happened in the lead up to the murder.
It’s a fun page-turner which is not overwhelming in its mind-bendiness and how on earth Turton created this insanely unique take on a murder-mystery I will never know.
BONUS: WATCH
This final bonus recommendation has nothing to do with the theme. It’s just always on at Easter and has some nuns in so it’s a bit religious.
Also it’s nice to remember a time when we fought against Nazis… Look at the TV guide and I’ve no doubt you’ll find a screening of The Sound of Music. It’s the perfect story to fall asleep on the sofa during after you’ve eaten your body weight in chocolate.