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A review by karieh13
When Will There Be Good News? by Kate Atkinson
4.0
It’s been a long time since I’ve savored a book. Lately, I’ve slogged through books, skimmed my way through books and inhaled books. (It’s been a hit and miss winter of reading, if you can’t tell.)
But “When Will There Be Good News?” is the perfect mix of gripping mystery, tongue in cheek societal commentary and careful character study. And? Even though it was more than difficult at times…I managed to savor it for a whole WEEK. (OK, there was one late night where I lost track of time, but still.)
Based on Atkinson’s previous Jackson Brodie novels, I was accustomed to her style and the pace of action, but I didn’t remember the wonderful snarkiness of some of her, I mean, the characters’ observations.
“In Jackson’s long experience, security covered a multitude of sins, but actually it was pretty straightforward – he had a card in his wallet that said “Jackson Brodie – Security Consultant” (consultant, now there was a word that covered an even greater multitude of sins).”
And when Atkinson read my thoughts, “…he believed that no woman should wear a pair of shoes that she couldn’t, if necessary, run away in.” “….None of the women at Bernie’s soiree looked as if they would be prepared to toss away their Manolos and Jimmy Choos to make a quick getaway. Yes, he knew the names of designer shoemakers, and no, that wasn’t the kind of stuff real men from the north should know…”
And one of my favorites: “…the walls had been spray-painted rather ineptly with the words, “Your dead.” Reggie felt bile rising up, making her nauseous. You cant hide from us. Who was us? Who were these people who didn’t know how to use an apostrophe? They must be looking for Billy. Billy knew a lot of ungrammatical people.”
Kate Atkinson has a sneaky way of easing into dramatic and usually violent scenes that catches me off guard, has me jumping back a few paragraphs in a startled, “Did I really just read that?” kind of way. Early in the book, she had me right smack in the middle of a sunny, humid summer day, feeling the sun, smelling dried grass…and then literally (hee) smacked me upside the head with a random act of violence that I did NOT see coming.
And the mystery and action build in such a character focused way that while I may not be able to predict what the characters will do, she’s laid enough groundwork that their actions never take a sideways turn that seem out of place.
In that character focused way, the book is filled with wonderful bits – simply said, but exactly right.
“Yes,” Reggie said. “My mother’s not here at the moment.” One lie, one truth. They canceled each other out and left the world unchanged.”
Or “It went without saying that Jackson didn’t believe in angels, but in extremis he was always willing to give credence to anything.”
And “He had drawn those terrible feelings inside himself, nourishing them in solitary confinement until they formed the hard, black nugget of coal at the heart of his soul, but now the disaster was external, the wreckage was tangible, it was outside the room he was sleeping in.”
Because this book involves a mystery…several mysteries, really, I’ve been trying to carefully pick quotes that are not spoilers. And – I just realized that in my review – I never really even touched on the plot.
I suppose it’s because this book was about the characters and the writing…and the feeling of the book for me. Which for me was enough – more than enough. To enjoy, to re-read, to savor.
But “When Will There Be Good News?” is the perfect mix of gripping mystery, tongue in cheek societal commentary and careful character study. And? Even though it was more than difficult at times…I managed to savor it for a whole WEEK. (OK, there was one late night where I lost track of time, but still.)
Based on Atkinson’s previous Jackson Brodie novels, I was accustomed to her style and the pace of action, but I didn’t remember the wonderful snarkiness of some of her, I mean, the characters’ observations.
“In Jackson’s long experience, security covered a multitude of sins, but actually it was pretty straightforward – he had a card in his wallet that said “Jackson Brodie – Security Consultant” (consultant, now there was a word that covered an even greater multitude of sins).”
And when Atkinson read my thoughts, “…he believed that no woman should wear a pair of shoes that she couldn’t, if necessary, run away in.” “….None of the women at Bernie’s soiree looked as if they would be prepared to toss away their Manolos and Jimmy Choos to make a quick getaway. Yes, he knew the names of designer shoemakers, and no, that wasn’t the kind of stuff real men from the north should know…”
And one of my favorites: “…the walls had been spray-painted rather ineptly with the words, “Your dead.” Reggie felt bile rising up, making her nauseous. You cant hide from us. Who was us? Who were these people who didn’t know how to use an apostrophe? They must be looking for Billy. Billy knew a lot of ungrammatical people.”
Kate Atkinson has a sneaky way of easing into dramatic and usually violent scenes that catches me off guard, has me jumping back a few paragraphs in a startled, “Did I really just read that?” kind of way. Early in the book, she had me right smack in the middle of a sunny, humid summer day, feeling the sun, smelling dried grass…and then literally (hee) smacked me upside the head with a random act of violence that I did NOT see coming.
And the mystery and action build in such a character focused way that while I may not be able to predict what the characters will do, she’s laid enough groundwork that their actions never take a sideways turn that seem out of place.
In that character focused way, the book is filled with wonderful bits – simply said, but exactly right.
“Yes,” Reggie said. “My mother’s not here at the moment.” One lie, one truth. They canceled each other out and left the world unchanged.”
Or “It went without saying that Jackson didn’t believe in angels, but in extremis he was always willing to give credence to anything.”
And “He had drawn those terrible feelings inside himself, nourishing them in solitary confinement until they formed the hard, black nugget of coal at the heart of his soul, but now the disaster was external, the wreckage was tangible, it was outside the room he was sleeping in.”
Because this book involves a mystery…several mysteries, really, I’ve been trying to carefully pick quotes that are not spoilers. And – I just realized that in my review – I never really even touched on the plot.
I suppose it’s because this book was about the characters and the writing…and the feeling of the book for me. Which for me was enough – more than enough. To enjoy, to re-read, to savor.