Rating: 
Summary: A funny, tragicomic surprise
Review: I knew nothing about this book before I read it - I didn't even know anyone who had read it -- but now that I've finished it, I can't stop recommending it to people. This book is one of the best surprises I've had this year.It's the story of Ruby Lennox ("I exist!" she shouts in the first line of the book, describing her own conception): the York, England-born daughter of disappointed Bunty, granddaughter of disappointed Nell, and great-granddaughter of the mysterious but still disappointed Alice, all of whose stories are told and interwoven with Ruby's own. The story, which manages to cover almost the whole of the 20th century, from World War I to the present, is both hilarious and achingly sad at the very same time. It is rich with details and backstories in a way that does not crowd out Ruby's own story, which is essentially that of a girl trying to grow up in a family that all but conspires to forget she even exists. Her mother, Bunty, can't stand the sight of her philandering husband (and Ruby's father) George, the disappointment of a man that she married after the let-down that, for Bunty, was World War II. Anyone with a sister will recognize the simultaneous disdain and wise counsel that Ruby's dark older sister, Patricia, has for her, and will recognize the torture that Ruby's other older sister, the beautiful, mean Gillian, puts her through. If it were just a portrait of Ruby's family of assorted losers, even that would have been enough to make a good book, but Kate Atkinson has done us the favor of giving us the stories of Ruby's maternal relatives, from her great-grandmother Alice Barker, who ran away with a travelling photographer, to her grandmother Nell Cook, whose fiances kept on dying on her before she could get married, and all of the other cousins and aunts and uncles in between. Their stories are intertwined with that of the major events of the 20th century, giving the story a sense of meaning and context. This book is just a great read. Do yourselves a favor and read it. You'll thank me that you did.
Rating:
Summary: An Epic Yet Accessible Family Saga
Review: I could just kick myself for letting this book sit on my shelf for as long as it did before I picked it up to read. Behind the Scenes at the Museum has all the makings of a phenomenal book -- a little bit of mystery, humor, intriguing characters, and an enjoyable writing style. The novel is, in theory, a catalog of the life of Ruby Lennox from birth to middle age, but Ms. Atkinson manages to include the history of Ruby's mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother through her clever "footnotes." I would disagree with those reviewers who refer to the book as being about a "dysfunctional family"; it's more of a chronicle of four generations of women, all distinct entities who struggle with similar problems of family and self. Behind the Scenes at the Museum examines what it means to be a mother, a daughter, and a sister, as well as leading the reader through half of the 20th century. I can't wait to get my hands on more books by Ms. Atkinson -- I've been recommending this one to everyone! It's a pure pleasure to read.
Rating:
Summary: The brilliant story of a family unhinged
Review: In this book, the fictional Ruby Lennox reflects on her childhood and her family - her bizarre parents and strange, self-absorbed sisters, and ofcourse the small (and large) events that punctuate their lives. I found this dysfunctional family, who didn't seem to want to be a family (but were forced to anyway), really fascinating. Reading this book, it isn't until the end that you realise what Ruby finally realises: that the individuals in families don't have to get along, they don't have to like eachother, they don't even have to take the same paths in life. But they will always have shared experiences (even if they had no choice in the matter), and somehow this is an indelible bond. The anecdotes in the book are relayed with genuine feeling - as another reader has said, "tragi-comical" in their subject matter. The characters are brilliantly portrayed - amusing, quirky, selfish people who somehow still manage to have a bond with eachother (though they scarcely realise it). And the reflection on the meaning of family is subtle, not sickening and obvious. Put simply, this is a moving, and yet highly entertaining book. I would recommend it to anyone that wants more from fiction than a fast-paced, light read.
Rating: 
Summary: Yes, there is humour.
Review: I must disagree with some of the reviewers - I think this was a humorous book, of course with strong serious elements, but enjoyable and light-minded to the end. All the hard times these people had to suffer never made them give up. I've read both of Atkinson's novels now - I started with Human Croquet - and I must say I liked this one better. In this novel the atmosphere never cracks, not even once, whereas Human Croquet's ending was a disappointment. And Ruby Lennox certainly is a charming narrator for this story - it's very easy to, let's say, fall in love with her. This novel has a fair amount of magic, but it's very realistic in a typical English way. The main reason I'm nor giving it 5 stars is the misery of family life Atkinson describes. There are happy people out there too, and I just wonder why doesn't anyone ever write of them.
Rating:
Summary: What a delightful book!
Review: I liked this book so much I delayed reading the last five pages because I didn't want it to end! Though I couldn't always follow the backstory (the author uses chapters called "footnotes" to tell about the main character's ancestors), the writing was so wonderful that it didn't matter to me. Here is an example of the text, which is narrated by Ruby, our protagonist. In this chapter she is 11 or 12 years old. She is describing their new neighbors, the Ropers. The Gillian she mentions is her now-dead older sister, Bunty is Ruby's mother and George, Ruby's father. --------- "Our new neighbors are Mr Roper, Mrs Roper and their children, Christine, Kenneth and the baby-David. Mr Roper -- Clive -- is an ex-RAF squadron leader who now has some kind of executive job with British Rail -- exactly the kind of man my mother dreams about. And indeed, for several weeks after the Ropers move in at New Year, when Bunty is in her torpid phase, she lets fall a hail of remarks of the 'Why can't you be more like Clive Roper?' variety. These remarks stop with the upturn in Bunty's condition, somewhere around Whit, when she no longer needs George to be more like Mr Roper because she is toying with the original model. My friendship with Christine Roper is based solely on proximity -- there is no escape from her. She's a year older than me and a particularly bossy girl, in some ways she is more like Gillian than Gillian was, except that she is very plain and Gillian was pretty (althought it's only now that she's dead that I'm willing to say that). Kenneth, my junior by two years, is like a distillation of all the little boys that ever were, a kind of demonstration model -- from the sagging socks to the half-sucked gobstopper in his pocket. He's annoying but harmless. Less so the baby-David, who dribbles from every orifice and is always red in the face from either screaming or doing his 'big jobs' to use Mrs Roper's inelegant phraseology. Mrs Roper (Harriet) isn't really my mother's sort. She's more like a squadron-leader than her husband -- a big, raw-boned woman with an air of certainty about her -- very loud and very English. You expect her to rummage around in her extremely untidy house and produce a lacrosse stick or a riding crop rather than the unprepossessing baby-David -- or his accessory, a swollen breast, pumping with blue veins like a 3-D delta map." --------- The book is described as being "darkly comic," though I didn't feel the darkness unless I really paid attention to it as I was reading. There was much hardship in Ruby's family, but the way the story is told, there is so much to smile about that one needn't get bogged down in how depressing it all was. At the time I read this book, I didn't have the concentration for a complex plot, which may be why I had trouble with the backstory. But, amazingly, the book was a joy even when I didn't know what was happening! Having finally read the last five pages, I must now move on to other stories. To ease this separation, I've already picked up another of Kate Atkinson's books. I will consider myself fortunate if it is as delightful as this one!
Rating:
Summary: A Worthy Addition to the Empire of Chick Literature.
Review: Kate Atkinson's first novel, Behind the Scenes at the Museum, is a book which every piece of "chick literature" should be written like. The novel is most likely intended for women, but dissimilar from other girlish tinsel, it is not inaccessible to men. Most female writers of the present seem to be under the impression that it is their duty, as women, to write about nothing more than shopping and romance--as if this were the sort of superficiality that were needed in literature and our culture--like it were scarce or something. Atkinson, however--and as the novel illustrates--is in touch with her femininity but doesn't often use it as a steel shield to hide behind or use it as an excuse to be silly. The book description [back cover, yes?] explains the overall idea of the novel better and more concisely than I can, so here it is: "Ruby Lennox begins narrating her own life at the moment of her conception, and from there takes the reader on a whirlwind tour of the twentieth century as seen through the eyes of a girl determined to learn more about her family and the secrets it keeps." Behind the Scenes at the Museum is quite enjoyable--it is well written, entertaining, emotional and "darkly comic," [to quote The Boston Globe's review], and based on a concept that is not extraordinarily original, but is executed in an interesting and creative enough way. The characters--stereotypical as they may be [the aloof father, the frazzled mother, the sexually-liberated teenage daughter, and a young girl who cannot be understood] are portrayed well and in far more gratifying ways than one would expect--that is, Atkinson is quite skilled at broaching everyday situations and familiar standards in fresh and heartening styles. The novel doesn't offer many insights into society or innovative character analyses, but that can be forgiven since it is composed well and is a pleasurable read. The writer, remarkably, never loses awareness of her story--that is, when the reader starts to become unresponsive or bored with a storyline, Atkinson introduces new aspects and surprises in the story promptly. Overall, Kate Atkinson's Behind the Scenes at the Museum is a comforting novel--a book to be read when lonely and in which one can easily immerse oneself.
Rating:
Summary: Exhibit A: Family Secrets
Review: When you see the title of this book, you immediately come to the conclusion that this book must be about a little girl who's family owns a museum. This museum turns out to be just like the museum that YOUR OWN family owns. Exhibits at the "Lennox family museum" include:
A. A pink, daisy-shaped, glass button
B. A lucky rabbit's foot
C. A George VI coronation teaspoon
D. A bright, artificial smile
E. Bunty's unbearably sad childhood
F. Rabbit-shaped clouds hanging in the sky like zepplins
G. "Mind your boots, Lily"
H. A plane in a death spin
I. Your sister says not to worry
J. The silver locket
K. Thinking about home Strange exhibits for a museum, don't you think? These "exhibits" are simply items and memories belonging to several generations of the Lennox family. Each "exhibit" carries with it a history and a memory that the casual onlooker cannot fathom. Some people, like Ruby Lennox, feel that "the past is what you leave behind in life". However, others, like Patricia Lennox, feel that "the past is what you take with you". You decide. Can you really understand the past by simply viewing an object or are most museums (the real type and the kind you might have in your home) full of objects that are unable to tell their stories without an all-knowing narrator? This book follows the life of Ruby Lennox from conception onward: "I exist! I am conceived to the chimes of midnight on the mantelpiece in the room across the hall." From this intriguing beginning, the book draws you in. You immediately fall in love with Ruby, her flustered mother Bunty, and her quirky English family. Each chapter that takes place in the present generation of the Lennox family mentions an "exhibit" item from the "Lennox family museum." These are listed as footnotes. However, the footnote takes you to the next chapter where you learn a bit of Lennox family history surrounding the exhibit item. For example, the pink daisy-shaped button (the above Exhibit A) popped off of Alice Barker's dress only a few days before she "died giving birth" to Ruby's grandmother. It was later found and kept in a button box for years before Ruby's sister found it. A lot of family secrets are bound up in the exhibits of the "Lennox family museum". One in particular deals with the death of Ruby's mysteriously unmentioned sister. Another deals with the father of an unmarried family member's child. Still another deals with the identity of the mysterious late-night phone caller that never says a word. Every family has its secrets and the author is careful not to give enough hints to give away the family secrets until the end of the book. I simply loved this book. A fellow book-lover suggested that I read it. I was not disappointed. The characters were colorful and the author keeps up a certain level of suspense throughout the novel. I was surprised to learn that this is the author's first novel since it is written in such an original format. And it makes me wonder what "exhibits" belong to my own family's "museum".
Rating:
Summary: Lovely book!
Review: Every now and then one comes across a book that is so brilliant that you want to recommend it to everyone you know. Behind the Scenes at the Museum is one of those books. I enjoyed every bit of it. It is witty, clever, and entertaining. It is one of those books that I couldn't put down, but wanted to make it last at the same time. The story starts at Ruby, the narrator's conception and takes us through her life into adult. It is very cleverly written to cover the life stories of four generations. It took some paging back to keep up with all the characters, but the journey was well worth the paging. It is a novel about ordinary people, about their ordinary life's and their ordinary flaws. Kate Atkinson earned a Whitbread Prize in 1995 for this fine first effort. I highly recommend this one.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful!
Review: I bought this book about 3 ½ years ago, then let it sit on my bookshelf collecting dust. This year I have made an attempt to read as many "old" books as possible and decided finally to read Behind the Scenes at the Museum. I must say, I can't think of a better book to end 2002. There are many things that make this book wonderful. The story, the style of the story, the exquisite writing...all of it is fantastic! It's not often you find an author's debut work worthy of awards, but Behind the Scenes at the Museum is definitely one of them. It is truly an astonishing piece of literature. Kate Atkinson's writing is finely honed, with clear, crisp words that flow like silk. This is the way I like my books! The story is very addictive. If you are the type of reader that enjoys following a character from birth -- literally from the moment of conception -- until adulthood, then Behind the Scenes will please you immeasurably. But more than that, this novel also delves into the main character's history before she was born. We are privy to the lives of three generations of family and all their secrets and surprises. I highly recommend this novel. Behind the Scenes at the Museum is just that -- a behind the scenes look into the life of Ruby Lennox and her family. A real slice-of-life novel complete with comedy, sadness, and some really awesome plot twists. A great engaging book and one that will stay with me for a long, long time.
Rating:
Summary: The real imaginary world of Ruby Lennox
Review: Friends sharing books they love usually means you're in for a treat. Thanks, Anya! BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE MUSEUM is a total triumph of a book. Voted a Whitbread Book of the Year when published in 1995 this extraordinarily entertaining novel was the first novel by Kate Atkinson and she surely knows her stuff. Not only is the writing of the first caliber, but the technique of storytelling is invigorating and fun and warm and tragic and in short, about as fine a coming of age novel as anyone has written. Ruby Lennox narrates this delectable tale of her life in a dysfunctional geneology from the point of her conception ( thoroughly entertaining view of life from within the uterus) through her childhood and young adulthood up to the age of 41. Atkinson divides her book into Chapters and Footnotes: the Chapters are the chronological tale of the wonderfully crazy Ruby and her sisters and bizarre mother and father and the Footnotes after each chapter explore the history of her English family for the past century. This affords the reader with a history and an interpretation of that history by wily little girl who is wise beyond her antics. Ruby knows there must be a Lost Property Cupboard (her theory of the afterlife) 'where (when we die) all things we have ever lost have been kept for us - every button, every tooth..library books, all the cats that never came back...tempers and patience...meaning and innocence..dreams we forgot on waking, nestling against the days lost to melancholy thoughts....' That is just a sample of the beauty of Atkinson's writing gifts. The world finally focuses for Ruby but to tell how would alter the joy of discovery this wonderful little character. 'I'm in another country, the one called home. I am alive. I am a precious jewel. I am a drop of blood. I am Ruby Lennox.' This is some of the best writing you'll find. After you've spent a rewarding time reading it, share it with someone you love. Again, Thank you Anya!
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