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dennisfischman 's review for:
Shrines of Gaiety
by Kate Atkinson
I went through distinct phases with this book. It started off very slow for me, perhaps because I didn't find Ma Coker and her brood all that interesting. It picked up quite a bit when Gwendolen entered the scene: I liked reading about her and about her interactions with DCI John Frobisher. Along the way, observations on London after WWI and how it affected the lives and personalities of so many different people piqued my interest.
The ending, though, seemed designed to flout the expectations of the mystery reader: even though we find out what happened and why, justice is never done--in fact, in one case it is miscarried--and many things just happen because, well, things happen. Just like in real life.
In fact, I wondered if that was Kate Atkinson's intent. She is too good a writer to let them happen without meaning to, so perhaps she is purposefully exploding the conventions of the mystery novel? It's cynical, though, to expect us to care about people and then watch them lose the plot.
The ending, though, seemed designed to flout the expectations of the mystery reader: even though we find out what happened and why, justice is never done--in fact, in one case it is miscarried--and many things just happen because, well, things happen. Just like in real life.
In fact, I wondered if that was Kate Atkinson's intent. She is too good a writer to let them happen without meaning to, so perhaps she is purposefully exploding the conventions of the mystery novel? It's cynical, though, to expect us to care about people and then watch them lose the plot.