A review by jesshindes
Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson

dark funny mysterious medium-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

3.5

I have loved Kate Atkinson's books in the past (Life After Life and A God in Ruins are peak novel), although I was underwhelmed by Transcriptions, the spy novel that was the last of her works I read, which felt a bit tired and predictable. Shrines of Gaiety is better than that: it's set in the 1920s Soho underworld, building up its portrait of the period through a cast of characters including the criminal Coker family, the reforming Inspector Frobisher, aspiring starlet Freda Murgatroyd, and librarian Gwendolen Kelling, who plunges into the midst of all of them. Atkinson is great on period detail and good, too, at building character: even though there are a lot of people here to juggle, as the novel went on I got attached to a bunch of them. There were some lovely scenes and a good sense of building momentum and tension as the novel went on.

But... The pacing on this guy felt wildly off! It took a while to get going, which is okay, but just as it was getting really interesting, the relationships were becoming nicely complex, and a good tranche of mysteries were unfolding, it ended! I wasn't really ready to let go of the characters and it wasn't very clear to me why Atkinson decided to wrap it up (which she does very comprehensively) when she did. I think the book could have started later and gone past the ending point we're given, and been better for it. So, a mixed bag - I wouldn't have minded the abrupt ending as much if I hadn't been enjoying myself when it happened, after all.
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