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"I exist!" exclaims Ruby
Lennox upon her conception in 1951, setting the tone for this humorous
and poignant first novel in which Ruby at once celebrates and mercilessly
skewers her middle-class English family. Peppered with tales of flawed
family traits passed on from previous generations, Ruby's narrative
examines the lives in her disjointed clan, which revolve around the
family pet shop. But beneath the antics of her philandering father,
her intensely irritable mother, her overly emotional sisters, and
a gaggle of eccentric relatives are darker secrets - including an
odd "feeling of something long forgotten" - that will haunt Ruby for
the rest of her life. Kate Atkinson earned a Whitbread Prize in 1995
for this fine first effort. ... one of the funniest works of fiction to come out of Britain in years ... - The New York Times Book Review, Ben Macintyre A great first novel. Follow
the journey of Ruby Lennox from conception to middle age and enjoy
her dysfunctional family along the way. Ruby is totally centred around
her "oneness" and her ability to stand apart from all of her family
and see them as who they are ~ or is she? This novel is a delightfully
engaging look at post-war Britain, whilst slowly unwrapping the box
in which lies all of Ruby's fears. And what a surprising box that
turns out to be! Kate Atkinson has created a kaleidoscope of characters
and situations, all the while juggling humour, satire and family bonds,
together with Ruby's very personal own story. This is a witty, beautiful
and sometimes caustic tale of family, sibling rivalry, adopted babies,
deaths in the family, the magnificent but hopeless Lucy-Vida, Daisies
and Roses, Rubies and Pearls... The older Ruby says: "I have been
to the world's end and back and now I know what I would put in my
bottom drawer. I would put my sisters." Me too. Powerful stuff and
compelling reading. Time plays with the Mind.
Enjoy bites of the life of Ruby Lennox and some of her more colourful
relatives. Both flippantly realistic and romantically idealised, the
various competing agendas of the stories, the telling of the stories,
the imaginings of the stories, can seem like a confused tumble of
impressions, ideas and certainty (all the more suspect because it
seems so certain - and how can Ruby know?) The effect: 1) You can
read it and be superficially entertained. 2) You can start to question
the reliability of the narrator Ruby (the book I think, is an attempt
at self-reflexivity). 3) You can start questioning not only the narrator
Ruby, but that of any story told. 4) You can reflect on yourself and
the way memory and truth (and untruth) collide, mesh, gel, repel.
5) Also, as an added bonus, it tests what a "good" reader you are
- did you get all the clues, did you see that, Ruby TOLD you, why
didn't you get it? Perhaps a comment on reading as a whole? Really
a mind bending experience. Pure delight. This is the
sort of book that keeps you up past your bedtime -- "just one more
page..." Kate Atkinson is wonderfully funny and inventive. I picked
up "Human Croquet" within days of finishing "Behind the Scenes," and
can't wait for her next book. Pure poetry! Amazing imagery!
I stumbled upon this book quite by accident. It turned out to be one
of the best books I've ever read. I can't believe this is Atkinson's
first novel. Her way with words is often breath taking. I had to read
some parts over again and sometimes out loud, pure poetry! |