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949_peewee's review against another edition
4.0
Another great Atkinson. Though I liked PBS series based on J. Brodie, I much preferred this book to its televised episode.
hittery's review
1.0
I just realized while reading other reviews of this book that it is the 3rd in a series. Perhaps if I'd read the first two, I would have enjoyed this, but I found every single one of the characters tedious, and the plot intersections just awful. A great disappoint after the gorgeous Life After Life.
azket1965's review
4.0
The title caught my and eye and considering the state of the world as well as my own life (oh wait, the new president elect is good news!), this book seemed like a good fit. So far only about 1/3 of the way in and caught up in the lives of 3 rather disparate inviduals and how, most certainly, that their lives will converge.
curiouspolymath's review
4.0
I bought this book when it came out. It came highly recommended and with a lot of splashy reviews. I had a hard time getting into the story, especially with the way the story started. It was very disconcerting.
I picked it up and put it down a number of times in the interim. This year I decided that I must persevere at least up until the half way mark; I am happy that I persevered, for this is a remarkable book, even though it is gloomy and dark.
A professor once said that a good mystery starts with the murder weapon introduced on the first page, and the murder is solved on the last with the weapon prominently featured. While not following the edict exactly, Kate Atkinson does marvelous work entering tidbits of facts, clues and descriptions that makes very little sense initially but as the story gets rolling along, the tidbits begin to fit together in a coherent manner. She has a masterful way of describing and observing the people’s surroundings with their inner voice, their personality. Her eye for detail and words make those scenes, even when it is a head fake, extremely interesting to read.
The characters are well thought out and well developed; you see them as others see them as well as how they see themselves. Not all of them are sympathetic obviously, but the reader does hang their words as the story develops. They are all flawed in their own way, they have all been damaged in their own way, which is what makes for the tapestry of the plot so intriguing and enthralling. Atkinson is the weaver of multiple complex threads to create this tapestry. Even when she telegraphs the plot twist, I didn’t mind much as I was engrossed in the telling.
Without giving away the plot, the story involves the survivor of a long ago senseless crime, a young orphan girl, and a couple of police detectives, one former and one present, their entanglements, past and present. The resolution of the full story was complete without seeming fanciful, except for a couple of the storylines felt rushed at the end, as resolutions are wont to be.
A bonus for me is that part of the story takes place in Scotland, one of my favored locales. While the comparison to the Tartan Noir School could be loosely drawn, I would place this novel on its own because it is so uniquely told.
I am now a Kate Atkinson fan. More books to buy.
I picked it up and put it down a number of times in the interim. This year I decided that I must persevere at least up until the half way mark; I am happy that I persevered, for this is a remarkable book, even though it is gloomy and dark.
A professor once said that a good mystery starts with the murder weapon introduced on the first page, and the murder is solved on the last with the weapon prominently featured. While not following the edict exactly, Kate Atkinson does marvelous work entering tidbits of facts, clues and descriptions that makes very little sense initially but as the story gets rolling along, the tidbits begin to fit together in a coherent manner. She has a masterful way of describing and observing the people’s surroundings with their inner voice, their personality. Her eye for detail and words make those scenes, even when it is a head fake, extremely interesting to read.
The characters are well thought out and well developed; you see them as others see them as well as how they see themselves. Not all of them are sympathetic obviously, but the reader does hang their words as the story develops. They are all flawed in their own way, they have all been damaged in their own way, which is what makes for the tapestry of the plot so intriguing and enthralling. Atkinson is the weaver of multiple complex threads to create this tapestry. Even when she telegraphs the plot twist, I didn’t mind much as I was engrossed in the telling.
Without giving away the plot, the story involves the survivor of a long ago senseless crime, a young orphan girl, and a couple of police detectives, one former and one present, their entanglements, past and present. The resolution of the full story was complete without seeming fanciful, except for a couple of the storylines felt rushed at the end, as resolutions are wont to be.
A bonus for me is that part of the story takes place in Scotland, one of my favored locales. While the comparison to the Tartan Noir School could be loosely drawn, I would place this novel on its own because it is so uniquely told.
I am now a Kate Atkinson fan. More books to buy.
flollmanders's review
3.0
I like these books okay. My mom reads them, so I'll pick them up and read them in one night when I'm staying over at her house. This one was very quote-y. The girl quotes ancient Romans, the mom quotes nursery rhymes, the detective quotes poems, and there are many, many, many too many references to High Holy Literature. Theory, even.
We get it, Kate, you studied English. Well done!
We get it, Kate, you studied English. Well done!
laura_de_leon's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
I lost track of all the different storylines at times, so it never completely came together for me.
I lost track of all the different storylines at times, so it never completely came together for me.
k8degr8's review
4.0
Don't start reading this at night unless you can sleep in the next morning - definitely gripping. Felt like I was right there in the action and had a good understanding of her complex, flawed, lovable characters. Just when I thought I knew where the plot was headed, boy was I surprised to find how simple-minded I'd been!
I would highly recommend reading her other two "Jackson Brodie" books before this one.
I would highly recommend reading her other two "Jackson Brodie" books before this one.
nweem218's review
4.0
Started out just like the title says.. SHEESH. I even mentioned to my sister that the book was a train wreck, literally! But strong characters and a bit of humor made it a good read!!
nancyflanagan's review
5.0
I assume that Kate Atkinson must be an acquired taste--her books are so unique. They're intricate mysteries, characters are always connected in odd ways (the way people are, in real life), and nobody is ever perfect, strong or brave. And Atkinson's stream-of-consciousness prose keeps bending and twisting around, pulling in little bits of songs, books, history and cultural detritus. Absolutely nothing is neat and tidy, including the plot and the ending.
I do love Jackson Brodie, to whom Stuff Happens. Please let there be at least one more Jackson Brodie novel...
I do love Jackson Brodie, to whom Stuff Happens. Please let there be at least one more Jackson Brodie novel...