by Claire North

“This thing you carry inside you, I don’t know what it is. I don’t know where you got it. But Harry, the past is the past. You are alive today. That is all that matters. You must remember, because it is who you are, but as it is who you are, you must never, ever regret. To regret your past is to regret your soul.”

My friend Sam was in an organization during undergrad that helped organize and put on local artists. Every other Wednesday, Coffeehouse (the name of the org’s chapter) set up concert equipment outside of a high-trafficked-student area. Local artists, usually students of the university, were invited to perform.

Coffeehouse provided none other than– coffee– but also supplied snacks and friendly conversations with the organizers. Students, who may or may not be just walking through, were invited to stop by, even if only for a drink or a snack. But if you were a regular every-other-Wednesday-fan, you could obtain and punch card and check in every time you attended. I never knew what would happen if you filled up the entire punch card– I guess I could have asked Sam.

On one chilly Wednesday, sometime around the end of the Fall semester, I was attending Coffeehouse, chatting with Sam. A student, sporting the only red mullet I had ever seen, ever, approached us, inquiring what was going on. As eager as I was to explain, Sam was the one who actually served on the org, so he gave him the rundown and mentioned that we were in a discussion about books.

Forgoing an introduction, I asked: “What is one book you would tell me to read?”

“I don’t read much, but, I suggest The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August,” he said.

We talked more about books, offered our suggestions and what we had been reading, and eventually said our goodbyes as he had to get on with his evening. I immediately added The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August to my Thrift Books cart and bought it two hours later.

The discussion of the book is coming soon, don’t worry.

It probably took me a few months to pick it up off my bookshelf. I am the worst when it comes to reading book suggestions from friends. Historically, I have seldom read a book I have gotten as a gift, as a loan, or even as a suggestion. But for some reason, I felt like I owed it to the “stranger” to read his suggestion. I mean, I was the one who asked him to share his thoughts with me and Sam.

But from the opening lines to the very end, I was engrossed. How elated I was to find a book that wasn’t sourced from a “top 10 article,” a popular TikTok, or an already well-established classic or hit. For maybe the first (and only) time, I followed a book suggestion from a person whose name I can’t even remember. I am sorry about that, my red-headed friend, I’ve never been good with names.

If you’re curious about the book’s content because I haven’t mentioned anything beyond the author’s name, here’s what it’s about:

Harry August dies, but he is born, again and again. When he is rebirthed, as Harry August, as the same being with the same family, he regains the memory of his past lives by the age of four. This book is, as stated in the title, an account of his first fifteen lives. But instead of living each life the same, there is an overarching mission: save the world and save himself. While what goes on in one life does not affect the world of the next, there is a villain like Harry who is endlessly reincarnated and spends much of his lives in pursuit of destroying reality itself, sufficiently ending every reality.

It was a joy to read about each of Harry’s lives. Many of the early ones were spent in confusion and anguish, grappling with basic immortality can be quite the burden. But each life was spent differently, with different love interests, different occupations, and different stories. But Harry was always Harry. The ability to live the same life, or at least a life which is started out in the exact same way, is a philosophical conundrum. Does anything matter if anything is possible in this life, the next, or even the next? If you find the love of your life, what does that say about the love in the next life?

If these questions of love and nihilism interest you, this book is for you. It is a solid read that is so easy to binge in a day or two. It is a story that keeps you wanting to read about the next life, and about the lives of other reincarnates.

This would be, disregarding any potential further reading this year, the “newest” fiction book I have read this year. In a year where I have tried to throw in some classics, this book, being less than a decade old, was a breath of fresh air. It makes me want to conquer the mental obstacles that prevent me from reading more contemporary works. There are plenty of great stories still being written today. If you yourself are looking for a way back into contemporary sci-fi or fiction, this book is for you.

I give The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August four and a half out of five stars.