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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
It’s not easy to follow this book, but I highly recommend it if you like a huge plug, with a lot of characters. I give a special kudos to the English humor!
P.S.: I also recommend the audiobook!
P.S.: I also recommend the audiobook!
I was apprehensive about this book after not finishing Ms Atkinson’s 2019 Jackson Brodie novel Big Sky. (The horror! Of not finishing a book! And a Kate Atkinson one at that!) I needn’t have worried, as the author is back in fine form, weaving several seemingly unrelated story lines together, with her usual quips and observations on life. This time the story takes place in post-WWI England among flappers, criminals, police and innocents roaming London’s hottest night spots, back alleys, police stations and finest houses.
“Church? No, not any more.”
“No, nor me. It is a great freedom to lose your religion.”
“Church? No, not any more.”
“No, nor me. It is a great freedom to lose your religion.”
Set in the Jazz Age, London England, this book has a sprawling cast of characters, which some reviewers have said they didn't like. Sometimes a book with too many characters is not to my taste, but I was fine with this one. From the family of lawbreakers to the investigators - it's just too hard to describe.
Atkinson has a wonderful writing style and I think it was this that kept me engaged, sometimes amused throughout the book.
I enjoyed it.
Atkinson has a wonderful writing style and I think it was this that kept me engaged, sometimes amused throughout the book.
I enjoyed it.
300 pages in and nothing has happened. That includes any character development. There is none! I know as much about these millions of characters on haggle 300 as I did on page 10. I spent the better part of a year painstakingly trying to get through this book. I just can't keep going. It's a rare DNF for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual assault
Minor: War
In terms of setting, no other book could insert you into Soho in the 1920s with such detail and ease. I found the story a little hard-going and felt that the characters (of which there were a lot!) were still being introduced after 150 pages. But, once you get an idea of the forces at play here, it becomes more interesting and jaunty. The writing is always exquisite and I can't give it less than 4 stars, especially as I was reading it during a difficult period for my concentration.
I have a mixed experience with Kate Atkinson - I loved Life After Life, found A God in Ruins dull, and couldn't get into Behind the Scenes at the Museum. But this book largely didn't disappoint. I love ruthless historical women, London, and the interwar years, so I thoroughly enjoyed this story. Some might quibble that the ending is a little too pat, particularly in terms of each character getting largely what they deserve. It's definitely not the dark tale I thought it might turn into, and one character in particular had an implausibly happy ending, but it's a nice light snack if you've been reading heavier stuff for a while.
I was really excited for this book but it ended up falling a little flat for me. What this book got right: 1920s London, gangsters, nightclub owners, a bit of mystery, and great imagery. Where it fell flat: the middle dragged to me, there were too many characters (could have been solved with a list at the beginning), and it jumped around so much that it was hard to keep track of, and I didn’t grow very attached to any of the characters.
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
funny
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
~Gwendolen was so touched that she wept, but quietly, for her mother would have been monstrously jealous of such emotions. She had claimed grief for her own long ago.~
~You've made frame sound very pedestrian, Chief Inspector. It's a word that seems to demand a sparkle.~
~'I'm not entirely sure what happened, but Pierrots were involved.'
'Pierrots?' Frobisher echoed. Dear God, was there no end to the dratted creatures?~
~What on earth did people see in books? They were so boring, although not, the Greek myths, she was willing to make an exception for them. If only books were edible, how much more use they would be!~
~The worst thing was that he laughed all the time, as if it was the greatest joke in the world to try and choke a girl to death.~
~You've made frame sound very pedestrian, Chief Inspector. It's a word that seems to demand a sparkle.~
~'I'm not entirely sure what happened, but Pierrots were involved.'
'Pierrots?' Frobisher echoed. Dear God, was there no end to the dratted creatures?~
~What on earth did people see in books? They were so boring, although not, the Greek myths, she was willing to make an exception for them. If only books were edible, how much more use they would be!~
~The worst thing was that he laughed all the time, as if it was the greatest joke in the world to try and choke a girl to death.~