Rating: 
Summary: Cover design misleading...
Review: Call me shallow, but, from the cover of this book (a whimsical, illustration with an equally whimsical font), I thought, being unfamiliar with this author, that I was in for an Anna Maxted/Shannon Olsen type of read. (Sorry if I spelled the last names wrong). I do like reading novels of substance, but I felt that the cover design on this novel completely misrepresented the content. I am disappointed. I am (substance or not) perplexed by the novel's structure and not too interested in the gazillion characters presented (there are too many for my taste!). Also, I felt like the fact that Nora kept commenting on the fact that there were "too many characters" and "no plot" in the protagonist's stories were just excuses for putting in too many characters and failing to develop a plot. It's probably just all way over my head. I can tell the author is talented, it's just not my speed.
Rating: 
Summary: Extremely Offbeat, Funny and, yes, Weird
Review: I had never read anything by Kate Atkinson before this and was quite pleasantly surprised. What I hastily concluded from the jacket description was that this was going to be a play-like dialogue between a mother and daughter. This is, instead, a multilayered, multigenre piece of experimental fiction that is fun to read, thought-provoking and original. As much as anything else, Emotionally Weird is about writing and the creative process. Effie, the young woman who is the narrator, tells stories which may or may not be true to Nora, an older woman who may or may not be her mother. The two live on a secluded island off Scotland. The stories Effie tells are mainly whimsical character studies of bohemian college life in the 1970s. By contrast, the scenes that take place on the island beteen Effie and Nora are told in a somberly poetic, almost gothic (and very Celtic) style. To further complicate things, Effie is also herself writing a detective novel about yet another set of characters. If this sounds confusing, at times it is. Yet, you don't have to completely understand what's going on to enjoy this novel. After all, there is very little plot to worry about following. There are, appropriately enough, several references to Alice in Wonderland, though, compared to Emotionally Weird, Lewis Carroll's tale is almost conventional and straightforward. James Joyce is also mentioned, but despite her radical style, Atkinson is much, much easier to read. There is a very deliberate pointlessness to the book. When Effie is at college, for example, there are scenes that are little more than parades of absurd characters. Professors are portrayed as gibberish-speaking buffoons; some of my favorite scenes took place in the classroom, where the professors uttter meaningless jargon to apathetic students. Nora often interrupts the tales to deliver her quite valid criticisms, such as the fact that Effie creates too many characters. Some of the scenes could be considered more like writing exercises than actual scenes that propel a story. Some readers will find this novel tedious; it does take a suspension of your usual expectations regarding fiction. I enjoyed the contrasting styles and the existentialism of the characters that is alternately tragic and comical. Finally, I found it's labyrinthian stories within stories to be a fascinating exploration of creativity and of identity.
Rating: 
Summary: 'Weird,' indeed
Review: I loved "Behind the Scenes at the Museum," and I think that Kate Atkinson has yet to better herself. "Human Croquet" was not what I expected after "BTSATM" but was better than "Emotionally Weird," I am sorry to say.I think that Atkinson is being allowed to "get away with anything" after making a splash with "BTSATM". "Emotionally Weird" strikes me as an unfinished experiment in many respects. Yes, there are too many characters. And, yes, I hardly care about Effie's bizarre parentage because nothing in the previous 200 pages made me care about Effie at all, not for my lack of trying. If this is 3 stories in one, then why is it so dominated by the story of Effie at college? And this is a story filled with unnecessary sidetracks into co-op farms and m.j. experiences. It seems to be about anyone *but* Effie in many respects. I took 2 positives away from this book: (1) there were even bigger flakes than me in college who are now published authors, and (2) once you get one good book published, they will publish any unfinished thing you give them. I hope that Kate Atkinson's next book is more of a coherent whole with a purpose and a point. I really liked "BTSATM" so much that I will stick it out for yet another book ...
Rating:
Summary: 'Weird,' indeed
Review: I loved "Behind the Scenes at the Museum," and I think that Kate Atkinson has yet to better herself. "Human Croquet" was not what I expected after "BTSATM" but was better than "Emotionally Weird," I am sorry to say. I think that Atkinson is being allowed to "get away with anything" after making a splash with "BTSATM". "Emotionally Weird" strikes me as an unfinished experiment in many respects. Yes, there are too many characters. And, yes, I hardly care about Effie's bizarre parentage because nothing in the previous 200 pages made me care about Effie at all, not for my lack of trying. If this is 3 stories in one, then why is it so dominated by the story of Effie at college? And this is a story filled with unnecessary sidetracks into co-op farms and m.j. experiences. It seems to be about anyone *but* Effie in many respects. I took 2 positives away from this book: (1) there were even bigger flakes than me in college who are now published authors, and (2) once you get one good book published, they will publish any unfinished thing you give them. I hope that Kate Atkinson's next book is more of a coherent whole with a purpose and a point. I really liked "BTSATM" so much that I will stick it out for yet another book ...
Rating: 
Summary: Emotionally Wierd - Kate Atkinson
Review: I will admit, it was really hard to continue reading Emotionally Weird by Kate Atkinson. You're immediately thrown into several stories -- stories that are told within stories and stories that aren't. It's hard to figure out what's going on when, who is who, why you're even reading the book. But believe me, you must continue reading...it's worth it in every way. I think the parts that I love the most are when Effie's "mother" Nora interrupts her story telling of her experience at the University. Nora's quips are perfect ("does this story have a plot?," "There are too many characters and I can't keep them straight," and "No! Don't kill of Olivia!") for how I felt as a reader. Effie's story (which is a huge chunk of the book) is really funny. Atkinson holds a dry wit that just continues to roll with each page. And the end...yes, there is an ending, and yes, everything pulls together more coherently than you could ever imagine. I won't say anything more about the ending. If your fear is that you won't be able to get through Emotionally Weird, then just take heed that it will all make sense in the end and you should just keep plugging along.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't let the first 20 or so pages fool you
Review: I will admit, it was really hard to continue reading Emotionally Weird by Kate Atkinson. You're immediately thrown into several stories -- stories that are told within stories and stories that aren't. It's hard to figure out what's going on when, who is who, why you're even reading the book. But believe me, you must continue reading...it's worth it in every way. I think the parts that I love the most are when Effie's "mother" Nora interrupts her story telling of her experience at the University. Nora's quips are perfect ("does this story have a plot?," "There are too many characters and I can't keep them straight," and "No! Don't kill of Olivia!") for how I felt as a reader. Effie's story (which is a huge chunk of the book) is really funny. Atkinson holds a dry wit that just continues to roll with each page. And the end...yes, there is an ending, and yes, everything pulls together more coherently than you could ever imagine. I won't say anything more about the ending. If your fear is that you won't be able to get through Emotionally Weird, then just take heed that it will all make sense in the end and you should just keep plugging along.
Rating:
Summary: If you like a well told story, this is the book for you
Review: This book succeeded for me on two levels. I read because I enjoy a good story and this book has several. It has stories within stories within stories. And I found that to be a fun concept. It is sort of like the old play within a play carried to extremes. I kept turning the pages to see how it would all turn out, and how the author was going to bring everything together. I enjoyed the multiple plots and the author's use of language. I found the descriptive narrative wonderful. It also was a very funny picture of university life in the early seventies. The characters resonated for me - I think I met a version of most of them during my years at university. And I certainly attended the same philosophy classes. I kept assocciating the various characters with people I knew. It was great fun. The first few pages are a bit confusing, but it is worth carrying on. It was a fun book.
Rating:
Summary: If you like a well told story, this is the book for you
Review: This book succeeded for me on two levels. I read because I enjoy a good story and this book has several. It has stories within stories within stories. And I found that to be a fun concept. It is sort of like the old play within a play carried to extremes. I kept turning the pages to see how it would all turn out, and how the author was going to bring everything together. I enjoyed the multiple plots and the author's use of language. I found the descriptive narrative wonderful. It also was a very funny picture of university life in the early seventies. The characters resonated for me - I think I met a version of most of them during my years at university. And I certainly attended the same philosophy classes. I kept assocciating the various characters with people I knew. It was great fun. The first few pages are a bit confusing, but it is worth carrying on. It was a fun book.
Rating:
Summary: Emotionally Wierd - Kate Atkinson
Review: This book was a total load of rubbish. I have started to read it twice but after eventually arriving at page 103, I have had to put the book down as the story does not seem to be going anywhere.
Rating:
Summary: Clever but weird
Review: This is a REALLY strange book...undoubtedly very clever but strange. A mother and daughter are temporarily trapped by bad weather on a remote island off the Scottish coast and, to fill in the time, decide to tell stories of their lives. At this stage I thought that they were recounting real happenings about real people but, as time went on, I was no longer sure. Some of the characters are just too flaky to be convincing and on face value appear to be the grubbiest people on earth and with such bad diets that it's a wonder that they're not all suffering from scurvy! I also do like to feel an empathy with some of the characters in any book and in this, the only one I liked was a slightly batty old professor at the university where the daughter was half heartedly studying for a degree. I'll try another of M/s Atkinsons' books to see if we're at all on the same wave length...doubtful!
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