I don't know what it is about Kate Atkinson's writing that gets under my skin, but whenever I finish anything by her I always feel vaguely disturbed fI don't know what it is about Kate Atkinson's writing that gets under my skin, but whenever I finish anything by her I always feel vaguely disturbed for a time. This proports to be a fizzy, frolicky book about Nellie, a nightclub owner, in 1920's London, but she doesn't have any more screen time than other characters, who are all quite distinctive and interesting. And for a "fizzy" story it has a rather peculiar atmosphere and some very sad and affecting moments. An odd book overall, I suppose, but then most of her books are a little odd. But I like them....more
I've realized something , and that is that I always like Kate Atkinson's books better on a second reading. I tend to be a little befuddled when I finiI've realized something , and that is that I always like Kate Atkinson's books better on a second reading. I tend to be a little befuddled when I finish, not entirely clear what my opinion was. Then I let it sit and after a reread, think, yep that was pretty good. I don't know exactly why that is. Maybe because I read so fast, perhaps I just don't always absorb properly until the second time around and her books are heavily packed. Like watering a really dry patch of ground, you have to go back and give it another soak. At any rate, this certainly squeezes in a lot of plot, although Jackson Brodie himself wasn't as much a focus as he has been and I sort of missed that. But let's wait and see what I think when I read it again....more
Oooh, it pains me to give Kate a 2. Now part of this is probably my fault, when I heard she was writing a book about WW2 espionage I was expecting a nOooh, it pains me to give Kate a 2. Now part of this is probably my fault, when I heard she was writing a book about WW2 espionage I was expecting a nice long meaty saga, so my disappointment began at seeing how short this was. I wonder if I had read it without any prior expectations it would have made a difference, I don't know. It was of course, full of bright and sparkly writing, often very funny. But I just had trouble connecting with both the story and the characters, (although I did sort of like Juliet). I found some of the male characters to be so similar I got them mixed up. In fact I frequently went back and reread because I was confused and figured I'd missed something. Which happens when I am slightly bored and tending to skim a little. Which is terrible, its Kate, who I love. So I am going to put this on the shelf, leave it alone for awhile and attempt a reread at a later date. ...more
I don't know what exactly it is about Kate's writing that can beat me up so badly, but I have to recover from this a bit before I can write anymore abI don't know what exactly it is about Kate's writing that can beat me up so badly, but I have to recover from this a bit before I can write anymore about it....more
Okay, I love Kate, I love her writing, I've read all her books but the new one which I've started, I think she is swell, but these stories were just aOkay, I love Kate, I love her writing, I've read all her books but the new one which I've started, I think she is swell, but these stories were just a little too bleak and depressing for me to enjoy. I didn't much like them the first time I read them in 2004, and I didn't much like them this time. "If this collection of stories WAS the kind of thing you liked, you would really like this collection of stories," I kept thinking, but since it wasn't, I didn't....more
3.5 Finished my reread of the Jackson Brodie novels. There are bleak and creepy aspects of these books that I don't always love, but overall they are 3.5 Finished my reread of the Jackson Brodie novels. There are bleak and creepy aspects of these books that I don't always love, but overall they are more than just detective novels, she creates real characters. The end is always sort of a surprise, as in oh Yeah, there is a mystery to solve, that's right. Unlike so many of the same genre where the plot is the thing and whether or not you like the book rests solely on the cleverness of the outcome. There is enough meat in series to make that not the main focus, which I appreciate....more
These Jackson Brodies are more about the characters than the plot, although the plot does rear up near the end. (that seems to be what Tana French is These Jackson Brodies are more about the characters than the plot, although the plot does rear up near the end. (that seems to be what Tana French is aiming for, after reading two of her books I have not warmed to her) There are some pretty amazing coincidences here, but you know when a book is this engaging over all I let myself get suckered into it.
(rereading all four of them in anticipation of the fifth)...more
Re-reading the Jackson Brodie books in anticipation of the new one...there are a couple of things about these books I don't like...in this one in partRe-reading the Jackson Brodie books in anticipation of the new one...there are a couple of things about these books I don't like...in this one in particular there are references to animal abuse, and although the character is planning to go on a crusade against it, she still tells us about these things, so it sticks in my mind and upsets me....but that's my particular Achille's heel. I am reminded by how much better a writer Kate Atkinson is than 99% of the authors of most of the "thriller" crap clogging up the shelves everywhere at the moment......more
I didn't really mean to re-read this since I just did recently, but in sorting out books realized I own all the Jackson Brodie books but this one and I didn't really mean to re-read this since I just did recently, but in sorting out books realized I own all the Jackson Brodie books but this one and ordered it. When it arrived I opened it, and the next thing I knew I had reread it. This is certainly a slightly weird story but the writing is just a delight....more
I love Kate Atkinson, but she can be odd and not for everyone. This book is certainly odd, and very unusual and I think I will need to read it a seconI love Kate Atkinson, but she can be odd and not for everyone. This book is certainly odd, and very unusual and I think I will need to read it a second time to really appreciate it.
Okay, I just finished rereading, and like I expected, (although I always knew it was a terrific book) I did embrace it more thoroughly. I think I was a little thrown off the first time by the plot device of restarting the story after the main character Ursula repeatedly dies, having never encountered anything like that before. Now, with the "huh? What?" factor gone I was able to appreciate the lovely writing, the cleverness, the wit. Of course it is also horribly, horribly sad, consoling yourself by saying its fictional doesn't work, because so many of the horrible events portrayed are real. Read it, by all means read it, just keep the Kleenex handy.
Also...in reading some of the discussions about Ursula's continued "redos" of her life, many seemed to be confused as to what it all really meant, was she being reincarnated, was she living parallel lives, etc..did she really kill Hitler and why didn't it stop WW2, etc, etc. Without an explanation from the author we really don't know, so I think it is okay to just take it at face value- as a demonstration of how one tiny little occurrence can completely change the direction of your life. In the sections about the Blitz, for example, the same things seem to be happening each time, it's just Ursula who is in a different situation. ...more
Loading...
